http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/africa-news/ethiopia-wants-nigerian-troops-at-border-with-eritrea-200806247528.html Ethiopia wants Nigerian troops at border with Eritrea
June 24, 2008 Ethiopia Tuesday asked Nigeria to deploy a contingent of its troops for peace-keeping mission in its disputed areas with Eritrea .
Making the request when he paid a courtesy call on Nigeria's Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, Ethiopian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Suleiman Dedefo Woshe, said the deployment of troops to the border of the two countries would prevent the situation in the disputed area "from degenerating into a full scale war".
Woshe also solicited for Nigeria's assistance for peace sustenance between Ethiopia and the Eritrea.
He told Njeze that Eritrea, which shares a common border with Ethiopia, had violated the peace accord signed by the two countries.
Ethiopia, Dedefo said, had restrained itself from retaliation to avoid full-scale war between the two countries, adding that war was never a solution to such situations.
Responding, Njeze described Dedefo's visit as meaningful, saying Nigeria and Ethiopia had a good history of long-standing relationship in their peace-keeping efforts in Africa and beyond.
According to her, Nigeria has peace as its primary mission and will work to ensure the two countries live in peace.
She said peace in the African Region was of primary importance to the present Nigerian administration.
Nigeria, she added, would work towards signing a Memorandum of Understanding bet ween Ethiopia and Nigeria, to cement the existing relationship between the two countries. __________________ http://www.innercitypress.com/unsc2djibouti062408.html At UN, Djibouti Admits French Copter Flights, Blames Eritrea for Shoot-outs, Distributes Photos
June 24, 2008
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, June 24 -- The standoff between Djibouti and Eritrea was explained, at least by Djibouti, on Tuesday. Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said Eritrea's motive is to gain control of a military position and associated waterway at Doumeira.
While advancing on the position, according to Youssouf, scores of Eritrean soldiers deserted. That, he said, was when the shooting started on June 10, implying that Eritrea fired at its own defecting troops. Djibouti responded, and soon there were deaths and captured soldiers on both sides.
Inner City Press asked Minister Youssouf about Eritrea's claim that French helicopters landed on or near its territory, and that an Eritrean speedboat was recently sunk, allegedly by non-Djiboutian forces. To his credit, Youssouf did not dodge these questions. Video here.
He acknowledged that a French helicopter had carried him, his President and Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita to the disputed area, so they could see for themselves. He agreed that an Eritrean speedboat was recently sunk, but said that Djibouti itself has been responsible. He said that a Velo-bound, hundred-some page pamphlet prepared for submission to the Security Council on Tuesday afternoon contained proof and even photos of all this.
Inner City Press obtained a copy of the pamphlet, which strangely is dated February 2008, before the conflict at issue. The timeline inside, however, contains Djibouti's version of events, sometimes by the hour. On June 10 at 12:30, "the Eritrean troops opened fire to stop ("empecher") their soldiers from deserting," the Djiboutian presentation says. At 6:40 p.m., "the hour of prayer," the Eritreans again opened fire, the pamphlet continues.
What is Eritrea's side of the story? It appears that Eritrea will not make a presentation to the Council on Tuesday afternoon. To the President of Yemen, Ali Abdallah Salih, Eritrea has called the conflict a "fabrication," and has blamed it on the United States. There are reports that the U.S. plans a second base in Djibouti, closer to Eritrean territory.
Inner City Press asked Minister Youssouf how much of the conflict may spring from Djibouti having hosted Somali talks between the Transitional Federal Government and portions of the Alliance to Re-liberate Somalia which have since left Asmara. Youssouf acknowledged some connection or effect, speculating that Eritrea is against peace in Somalia because it wants Ethiopian troops to have to remain there.
Since Eritrea has not held a UN press conference, we must look elsewhere their views. According to reports, they have said there'd be peace if Djibouti "takes its hands off the affairs of the Somali opposition, and if the U.S. pressures Ethiopia to vacate Eritrean territories based on the ruling of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission."
Djibouti is putting the matter before the Security Council, supported by France and the U.S.. Who speaks for Eritrea in this process is not clear.
Watch this site.
_____________________ http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78912 IRIN, UN June 24, 2008ETHIOPIA: Malnutrition increasing in southern regions
Photo: Greg Beals/OCHA
The number of children requiring therapeutic feeding has increased.
ADDIS ABABA - The humanitarian situation in southern Ethiopia is becoming more critical, with increasing malnutrition being reported among young children in the past few weeks, a senior UN official said.
"The situation has actually [become] worse over the last few weeks," the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative to Ethiopia, Bjorn Ljungqvist, said. "We saw the number of children requiring therapeutic feeding, including stabilisation, increase tremendously."
Wolyata, Hadyia, Kembata, Alaba, Guarage, Sidama areas in Southern and West Arsi of the Oromiya region were the worst affected, he added.
After visiting Guarage and Kembata, UNICEF deputy executive director Hilde Johnson told reporters in Addis Ababa: "Together with our nutrition and emergency experts we have analysed the situation on the ground. It is our assessment that [it] is extremely serious according to the most recent data."
More than 15,000 children are receiving treatment at therapeutic feeding centres in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's (SNNPR) and Oromiya regions, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
"The nutrition crisis continues to escalate despite the concerted efforts of government and humanitarian partners to respond to the treatment needs of children," OCHA said on 20 June.
Risk of death
"Children are now at risk of dying in numbers in the hardest-hit areas if help is not provided urgently," Johnson said. "The government and partners are doing their utmost to help but needs are not met, at present, with adequate speed. More resources need to be provided."
NGO reports from East Badawocho in Oromiya, OCHA said, had found Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rates of 15.9 percent and Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) at 3.5 percent (with 2.2 percent oedema).
In Damot Pulaso, nutrition surveys found GAM rates of 16.7 percent and SAM at 2.9 percent. A GAM rate exceeding 15 percent reflects an emergency situation.
Photo: Tesfalem Waldyes/IRIN
Mothers and children wait for food at Ropi stabilization center, West Arsi zone, Oromiya region
"We are worried that WFP [UN World Food Programme] only has funding to cater for about half the needs required for June and July," Johnson said. "Lack of an adequate response in the short term can further exacerbate the situation of children, who are also dependent on the availability of adequate food in their households."
UNICEF plans to scale up therapeutic and supplementary feeding in all affected areas, and address health hazards, emergency provisions of safe drinking water along with sanitation and hygiene education.
Food price factors
An estimated 4.5 million people need assistance because of drought and rising prices that have caused massive food shortages. Since September, the cost of some cereals has increased by between 50-90 percent, stretching the ability of some households to meet their food needs.
"Malnutrition rates in Ethiopia, already alarmingly high in some areas, are on the rise," Charles MacCormack, head of Save the Children, said. "The poorest households are now resorting to drastic actions to meet their food needs.
Families are pulling their children from school because they cannot afford both food and school fees, putting their children to work, reducing spending on child healthcare and selling key productive assets including farm animals, equipment and tools."
However, the government has accused aid agencies of exaggerating the situation. "These humanitarian organisations are showing pictures of emaciated babies on television, telling the world six million children are malnourished and that there will be a calamity unless they receive funds," Deputy Prime Minister Adisu Legesse said on 20 June.
"While we appreciate assistance whenever it is needed, we reject being used as publicity to raise funds under false pretences."
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Failed States Index? or Collapsing Nations Index By Agnets of Gloom and Doom
Foreign Policy and The Fund for Peace
Date: Tue Jun 24 2008
Ethiopia ranks 16th in Failed States 2008 Index
Ethiopia is ranked 16th in the fourth annual Failed
States Index, published by FOREIGN POLICY and The Fund
for Peace.
Somalia is ranked as the world's most
unstable country followed by Sudan, Zimbabwe, Chad and
Iraq.
The index ranks countries where state collapse may be
just one disaster away.
Using 12 social, economic, political, and military
indicators, the report ranked 177 states in order of
their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and
societal deterioration.
According to the website, the report examined more
than 30,000 publicly available sources, collected from
May to December 2007, to form the basis of the index¢s
scores.
The Top 20 Most Unstable Countries in the world
Source: Foreign Policy
1 Somalia
2 Sudan
3 Zimbabwe
4 Chad
5 Iraq
6 D. R.
Congo
7 Afghanistan
8 Cote d'Ivoire
9 Pakistan
10 Central African Republic
11 Guinea
12 Bangladesh
12 Burma
14 Haiti
15 North Korea
16 Ethiopia
16 Uganda
18 Lebanon
19 Nigeria
20 Sri Lanka -------------------
-- Selected Countries 26 Kenya 40 Egypt 44 Eritrea 49
Iran 68 China 161 USA 177 Norway
Failed states Index 2008
Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPHGlobal Strategic Enterprises, Inc. 4 Peace & ProsperityWin-win synergestic Partnership 4P&P-focusing on 5Es: Education+Energy+Ecology+Economy+Enterpriseswww.Globalbelai4u.blogspot.com; Globalbelai@yahoo.com C: 703.933.8737
Date: Tue Jun 24 2008
Ethiopia ranks 16th in Failed States 2008 Index
Ethiopia is ranked 16th in the fourth annual Failed
States Index, published by FOREIGN POLICY and The Fund
for Peace.
Somalia is ranked as the world's most
unstable country followed by Sudan, Zimbabwe, Chad and
Iraq.
The index ranks countries where state collapse may be
just one disaster away.
Using 12 social, economic, political, and military
indicators, the report ranked 177 states in order of
their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and
societal deterioration.
According to the website, the report examined more
than 30,000 publicly available sources, collected from
May to December 2007, to form the basis of the index¢s
scores.
The Top 20 Most Unstable Countries in the world
Source: Foreign Policy
1 Somalia
2 Sudan
3 Zimbabwe
4 Chad
5 Iraq
6 D. R.
Congo
7 Afghanistan
8 Cote d'Ivoire
9 Pakistan
10 Central African Republic
11 Guinea
12 Bangladesh
12 Burma
14 Haiti
15 North Korea
16 Ethiopia
16 Uganda
18 Lebanon
19 Nigeria
20 Sri Lanka -------------------
-- Selected Countries 26 Kenya 40 Egypt 44 Eritrea 49
Iran 68 China 161 USA 177 Norway
Failed states Index 2008
Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPHGlobal Strategic Enterprises, Inc. 4 Peace & ProsperityWin-win synergestic Partnership 4P&P-focusing on 5Es: Education+Energy+Ecology+Economy+Enterpriseswww.Globalbelai4u.blogspot.com; Globalbelai@yahoo.com C: 703.933.8737
Good Governance: Preventing famine does not demand Record Keeping to save lives! Measuring Famine to respond to a crisis?
How can we prevent famine before we face it staring at us?
Any lessons from the past 40 years of Global Climate Change and Disasterous famines?
Imagine incompetent Lords of Poverty fighting over how to measure, estimate the impact of famine, instead of preventing it in the first place.
Such a shame, that the Lords of Poverty are fighting over figures when people are dying like flies/
What a shame! Why not just feed the people and prevent famine!
Voice of America
No Food in Drought-Hit Ethiopian Regions, UN Official
Says
By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
22 June 2008
The United Nations is sounding another alarm about
severe food shortages in Ethiopia, where tens of
thousands of children are facing starvation.
VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports
The U.N. children's agency UNICEF is appealing for
nearly $50 million in emergency aid for the
hardest-hit areas, where food stocks are depleted and
the next harvest is months away.
A senior U.N. children's agency official visiting
drought-ravaged areas of southern Ethiopia during the
past week found families with no food, not
enough money to buy any, and no hope of replenishing
supplies until at least late September.
UNICEF Deputy Director Hilde Johnson says everywhere
she went, government officials and aid workers gave
the same assessment.
"A clear message was conveyed to us from all of them:
There is no food," said Hilde Johnson. "The assistance
needs to be taken to scale, and it has
to happen urgently.
There was absolutely no inconsistency. That was the message from everyone."
The UNICEF official says during her four-day visit,
she had positive meetings with Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi and other senior leaders, some of
whom have accused aid agencies of exaggerating the
food shortages for fund-raising purposes.
UNICEF's Johnson says in her talks, all government
officials agreed the food shortages are serious and
getting worse. She told reporters the ministers
expressed hope the crisis would ease later this year
if conditions improve. But she says there are many
'ifs'.
"The government do think they will be able to curb in
the sense the situation later, meaning August,
September, If the rains come in accordance
with normal, If there is an adequate vegetable
harvesting, If other complementary measures are
kicking in, plus If the supplies they are buying
externally to come into the market, plus aid
bilaterally they are negotiating comes in," said
Johnson.
"So there is a clear "if", and that is
no secret."
U.N. humanitarian agencies say it is impossible to
know how widespread the food shortages are in a
country where record-keeping is poor.
"It is very very difficult for us to say how many
children are dying," she said. "From our visit in the
hot spot areas of Kambala, we were told by
health extension officers that children were dying in
the villages now, and that for quite many it was too
late. There is no doubt there is a risk of
children dying in numbers in the hot spots."
Ethiopian officials have repeatedly emphasized that
this drought is not a famine, such as the one in the
mid 1980s that killed an estimated one million people.
Ethiopia's disaster preparedness agency this month
more than doubled its estimate of the number of people
needing food assistance from 2.2 million to
4.6 million.
Disaster preparedness agency chief Simon Mechale is
predicting worse conditions in July. He recently
appealed to donor nations for $325 million
worth of emergency food aid to make up an expected
shortfall of 390,000 metric tons until the next
harvest comes in.
Any lessons from the past 40 years of Global Climate Change and Disasterous famines?
Imagine incompetent Lords of Poverty fighting over how to measure, estimate the impact of famine, instead of preventing it in the first place.
Such a shame, that the Lords of Poverty are fighting over figures when people are dying like flies/
What a shame! Why not just feed the people and prevent famine!
Voice of America
No Food in Drought-Hit Ethiopian Regions, UN Official
Says
By Peter Heinlein
Addis Ababa
22 June 2008
The United Nations is sounding another alarm about
severe food shortages in Ethiopia, where tens of
thousands of children are facing starvation.
VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports
The U.N. children's agency UNICEF is appealing for
nearly $50 million in emergency aid for the
hardest-hit areas, where food stocks are depleted and
the next harvest is months away.
A senior U.N. children's agency official visiting
drought-ravaged areas of southern Ethiopia during the
past week found families with no food, not
enough money to buy any, and no hope of replenishing
supplies until at least late September.
UNICEF Deputy Director Hilde Johnson says everywhere
she went, government officials and aid workers gave
the same assessment.
"A clear message was conveyed to us from all of them:
There is no food," said Hilde Johnson. "The assistance
needs to be taken to scale, and it has
to happen urgently.
There was absolutely no inconsistency. That was the message from everyone."
The UNICEF official says during her four-day visit,
she had positive meetings with Prime Minister Meles
Zenawi and other senior leaders, some of
whom have accused aid agencies of exaggerating the
food shortages for fund-raising purposes.
UNICEF's Johnson says in her talks, all government
officials agreed the food shortages are serious and
getting worse. She told reporters the ministers
expressed hope the crisis would ease later this year
if conditions improve. But she says there are many
'ifs'.
"The government do think they will be able to curb in
the sense the situation later, meaning August,
September, If the rains come in accordance
with normal, If there is an adequate vegetable
harvesting, If other complementary measures are
kicking in, plus If the supplies they are buying
externally to come into the market, plus aid
bilaterally they are negotiating comes in," said
Johnson.
"So there is a clear "if", and that is
no secret."
U.N. humanitarian agencies say it is impossible to
know how widespread the food shortages are in a
country where record-keeping is poor.
"It is very very difficult for us to say how many
children are dying," she said. "From our visit in the
hot spot areas of Kambala, we were told by
health extension officers that children were dying in
the villages now, and that for quite many it was too
late. There is no doubt there is a risk of
children dying in numbers in the hot spots."
Ethiopian officials have repeatedly emphasized that
this drought is not a famine, such as the one in the
mid 1980s that killed an estimated one million people.
Ethiopia's disaster preparedness agency this month
more than doubled its estimate of the number of people
needing food assistance from 2.2 million to
4.6 million.
Disaster preparedness agency chief Simon Mechale is
predicting worse conditions in July. He recently
appealed to donor nations for $325 million
worth of emergency food aid to make up an expected
shortfall of 390,000 metric tons until the next
harvest comes in.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Good Governance Illussion in the Horn: the Case of three failed Peace Treaties!
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVOD-7FVHB7?OpenDocument
========================================
CHATHAM HOUSE
June 23, 2008
Lost opportunities in the Horn of Africa - How
conflicts connect and peace agreements unravel
Executive summary
This report is a study of three peace processes in the
Horn of Africa, a region of Africa distinguished by
the prevalence and persistence of armed conflict.
It deals with the Algiers Agreement of December 2000
between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Somalia National
Peace and Reconciliation Process concluded in October
2004 and the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement of
January 2005.
It examines in turn the background and
historical context of the conflicts that these peace
agreements were intended to resolve.
It charts the developments since the agreements were signed, seeking
to assess how far they have achieved successful
outcomes for peace and stability. The results are very
mixed.
The Algiers Agreement continues to provide a framework
for relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea. But it has
not created a permanent settlement between the two
sides and now seems unlikely to do so.
The two instruments created by Algiers to help Ethiopia and
Eritrea reach a permanent peace were the
Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission and the United
Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
These both appear to have run their course. The two
countries have not returned to war. But their fierce
enmity has been played out elsewhere in the region,
notably through proxies in Somalia. There is no sign
of it ending.
Somalia’sMbgathi peace process produced a Transitional
Federal Government (TFG) that was supposed to
establish a transitional government and administration
based in Mogadishu.
The TFG still exists and is recognized as the government of Somalia in the region.
But it has proved quite unable to establish its
authority inside Somalia. When the Islamic Courts took
control of Mogadishu in 2006, Ethiopia decided to
install the TFG by force.
Since then Mogadishu has been in the grip of a powerful insurgency, part
anti-Ethiopian, part Islamist, directed against the
TFG and its Ethiopian sponsors.
An undersized African Union peacekeeping force is helplessly caught in the
middle. Reconciliation efforts pushed by the
international community have made little headway.
The conflict in South Central Somalia continues to deepen
and spread at a terrible human cost, creating
conditions that aremuch worse than those that existed
before the peace process began.
Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) has made
progress. The South of Sudan has established its own
government and the two sides rely heavily on the CPA
text to manage their relations.
However, some critically important questions remain to be resolved
about the territorial definition of the South and the
make-up of the Southern population. The results of the
recently completed census will be vital.
Slippage in the implementation timetable caused a political crisis
and near breakdown in late 2007. Anxiety and lack of
trust hinder progress; there is much still to do,
including elections, before a referendum on
independence for the South in 2011.
The failure to reach political settlements on key issues of
demarcation and administration in the oil-rich region of Abyei
bodes badly. Lack of political will, lack of capacity,
lack of trust and the long shadow of conflict in
Darfur continue to pose major challenges.
The prevalence of identity politics and processes of
state formation and disintegration are identified as
common structural features of conflict in the region.
The assessments of the peace processes helped to
illustrate the ways in which interactions between the
states of the region support and sustain the conflicts
within them in a systemic way.
The interplay of regional and global interests is especially
problematic in a region of Africa where the ‘global
war on terrorism’ has some resonance.
High levels of security interdependence exist among
the countries of the Horn, suggesting that it
constitutes a Regional Security Complex. Historical
memory plays an important part in how the states and
leaderships of the region understand and formulate
security threats. It also impedes the prospects for a
more stable security order.
The regional institution that should take the lead on conflict management, IGAD
(the Intergovernmental Authority for Development), is
severely hampered by conflict among its member states.
In the long term, economic change and growing economic
interdependence – an area deserving of further
research – seem the most likely drivers of stability.
The study ends with four broad conclusions that have
implications for outsiders engaged in conflict
analysis or designing conflict resolution
interventions:
1 - The need to take account of the long history of
amity and enmity in the region as a whole, recognizing
that the protagonists of contemporary conflicts
experience them as part of a long continuum of
warfare. Outsiders have limited influence over
conflict dynamics in the region and should set
suitably modest goals.
2 - The need to appreciate the problematic nature of
the state and its relations with its subjects,
especially those on the periphery and in unstable
border zones who have long struggled to resist
incorporation. This raises some real questions over
the applicability of the commonly used weak and
fragile state analysis as well as the familiar
‘state-building’ approach to conflict resolution.
3 - The need to see the Horn of Africa as a Regional
Security Complex in which the security problems of
each country impact on the security of all. The
different conflicts interlock with and feed into each
other, determining regional foreign policy positions
that exacerbate conflict.
The regional body, IGAD, is unfortunately too compromised by conflicts among its
member states to develop a new framework. Outside
actors cannot succeed with a conflict-byconflict
approach and need to factor other regional players
into their conflict solutions.
4 - Attention must be paid to the influence on the
Horn of global agendas. This is a two-way process,
with external actors seeking strategic alliances and
the regional players courting the attention of the key
global players.
Conflict has been exacerbated by the
insertion of the logic of the globalwar on terrorismin
an already complex web of regional conflict. It has
polarized parties and reduced the space for mediation.
Outsiders interested in mediation need to respond
judiciously to the allegations of terrorism levelled
against various parties to conflict in the Horn and to
seek to develop space for dialogue.
Given the apparent inability of the countries of the
Horn to develop a framework for a common regional
security order and the limited influence of outsider
powers to push successful settlements, the paper
recommends a policy approach that:
- Is even-handed in dealing with the states of the
region, requiring all of them to conform to the normal
conventions of international conduct;
- Prioritizes human security and the need to protect
people caught up in conflict;
- Favours local partners, whether states or non-state
actors, that protect their people and not those who
claim to protect Western interests.
NOTE: Click on the link below to read the full report.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVOD-7FVHB7?OpenDocument
========================================
CHATHAM HOUSE
June 23, 2008
Lost opportunities in the Horn of Africa - How
conflicts connect and peace agreements unravel
Executive summary
This report is a study of three peace processes in the
Horn of Africa, a region of Africa distinguished by
the prevalence and persistence of armed conflict.
It deals with the Algiers Agreement of December 2000
between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Somalia National
Peace and Reconciliation Process concluded in October
2004 and the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement of
January 2005.
It examines in turn the background and
historical context of the conflicts that these peace
agreements were intended to resolve.
It charts the developments since the agreements were signed, seeking
to assess how far they have achieved successful
outcomes for peace and stability. The results are very
mixed.
The Algiers Agreement continues to provide a framework
for relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea. But it has
not created a permanent settlement between the two
sides and now seems unlikely to do so.
The two instruments created by Algiers to help Ethiopia and
Eritrea reach a permanent peace were the
Eritrea–Ethiopia Boundary Commission and the United
Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
These both appear to have run their course. The two
countries have not returned to war. But their fierce
enmity has been played out elsewhere in the region,
notably through proxies in Somalia. There is no sign
of it ending.
Somalia’sMbgathi peace process produced a Transitional
Federal Government (TFG) that was supposed to
establish a transitional government and administration
based in Mogadishu.
The TFG still exists and is recognized as the government of Somalia in the region.
But it has proved quite unable to establish its
authority inside Somalia. When the Islamic Courts took
control of Mogadishu in 2006, Ethiopia decided to
install the TFG by force.
Since then Mogadishu has been in the grip of a powerful insurgency, part
anti-Ethiopian, part Islamist, directed against the
TFG and its Ethiopian sponsors.
An undersized African Union peacekeeping force is helplessly caught in the
middle. Reconciliation efforts pushed by the
international community have made little headway.
The conflict in South Central Somalia continues to deepen
and spread at a terrible human cost, creating
conditions that aremuch worse than those that existed
before the peace process began.
Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) has made
progress. The South of Sudan has established its own
government and the two sides rely heavily on the CPA
text to manage their relations.
However, some critically important questions remain to be resolved
about the territorial definition of the South and the
make-up of the Southern population. The results of the
recently completed census will be vital.
Slippage in the implementation timetable caused a political crisis
and near breakdown in late 2007. Anxiety and lack of
trust hinder progress; there is much still to do,
including elections, before a referendum on
independence for the South in 2011.
The failure to reach political settlements on key issues of
demarcation and administration in the oil-rich region of Abyei
bodes badly. Lack of political will, lack of capacity,
lack of trust and the long shadow of conflict in
Darfur continue to pose major challenges.
The prevalence of identity politics and processes of
state formation and disintegration are identified as
common structural features of conflict in the region.
The assessments of the peace processes helped to
illustrate the ways in which interactions between the
states of the region support and sustain the conflicts
within them in a systemic way.
The interplay of regional and global interests is especially
problematic in a region of Africa where the ‘global
war on terrorism’ has some resonance.
High levels of security interdependence exist among
the countries of the Horn, suggesting that it
constitutes a Regional Security Complex. Historical
memory plays an important part in how the states and
leaderships of the region understand and formulate
security threats. It also impedes the prospects for a
more stable security order.
The regional institution that should take the lead on conflict management, IGAD
(the Intergovernmental Authority for Development), is
severely hampered by conflict among its member states.
In the long term, economic change and growing economic
interdependence – an area deserving of further
research – seem the most likely drivers of stability.
The study ends with four broad conclusions that have
implications for outsiders engaged in conflict
analysis or designing conflict resolution
interventions:
1 - The need to take account of the long history of
amity and enmity in the region as a whole, recognizing
that the protagonists of contemporary conflicts
experience them as part of a long continuum of
warfare. Outsiders have limited influence over
conflict dynamics in the region and should set
suitably modest goals.
2 - The need to appreciate the problematic nature of
the state and its relations with its subjects,
especially those on the periphery and in unstable
border zones who have long struggled to resist
incorporation. This raises some real questions over
the applicability of the commonly used weak and
fragile state analysis as well as the familiar
‘state-building’ approach to conflict resolution.
3 - The need to see the Horn of Africa as a Regional
Security Complex in which the security problems of
each country impact on the security of all. The
different conflicts interlock with and feed into each
other, determining regional foreign policy positions
that exacerbate conflict.
The regional body, IGAD, is unfortunately too compromised by conflicts among its
member states to develop a new framework. Outside
actors cannot succeed with a conflict-byconflict
approach and need to factor other regional players
into their conflict solutions.
4 - Attention must be paid to the influence on the
Horn of global agendas. This is a two-way process,
with external actors seeking strategic alliances and
the regional players courting the attention of the key
global players.
Conflict has been exacerbated by the
insertion of the logic of the globalwar on terrorismin
an already complex web of regional conflict. It has
polarized parties and reduced the space for mediation.
Outsiders interested in mediation need to respond
judiciously to the allegations of terrorism levelled
against various parties to conflict in the Horn and to
seek to develop space for dialogue.
Given the apparent inability of the countries of the
Horn to develop a framework for a common regional
security order and the limited influence of outsider
powers to push successful settlements, the paper
recommends a policy approach that:
- Is even-handed in dealing with the states of the
region, requiring all of them to conform to the normal
conventions of international conduct;
- Prioritizes human security and the need to protect
people caught up in conflict;
- Favours local partners, whether states or non-state
actors, that protect their people and not those who
claim to protect Western interests.
NOTE: Click on the link below to read the full report.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVOD-7FVHB7?OpenDocument
Good Governance in the face of famine and Terror! Can the Horn ever make it?
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-06-22-voa31.cfm VOA No Food in Drought-Hit Ethiopian Regions, UN Official Says
Peter Heinlein
22 June 2008
The United Nations is sounding another alarm about severe food shortages in Ethiopia, where tens of thousands of children are facing starvation. VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports the U.N. children's agency UNICEF is appealing for nearly $50 million in emergency aid for the hardest-hit areas, where food stocks are depleted and the next harvest is months away.
A malnourished child waits for food aid in the southern Ethiopian town of Shashamane, 06 Jun 2008
A senior U.N. children's agency official visiting drought-ravaged areas of southern Ethiopia during the past week found families with no food, not enough money to buy any, and no hope of replenishing supplies until at least late September.
UNICEF Deputy Director Hilde Johnson says everywhere she went, government officials and aid workers gave the same assessment.
"A clear message was conveyed to us from all of them: There is no food," said Hilde Johnson. "The assistance needs to be taken to scale, and it has to happen urgently. There was absolutely no inconsistency. That was the message from everyone."
The UNICEF official says during her four-day visit, she had positive meetings with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and other senior leaders, some of whom have accused aid agencies of exaggerating the food shortages for fund-raising purposes.
Hilde Johnson (undated photo)
UNICEF's Johnson says in her talks, all government officials agreed the food shortages are serious and getting worse. She told reporters the ministers expressed hope the crisis would ease later this year if conditions improve. But she says there are many 'ifs'.
"The government do think they will be able to curb in the sense the situation later, meaning August, September, If the rains come in accordance with normal, If there is an adequate vegetable harvesting, If other complementary measures are kicking in, plus If the supplies they are buying externally to come into the market, plus aid bilaterally they are negotiating comes in," said Johnson. "So there is a clear "if", and that is no secret."
U.N. humanitarian agencies say it is impossible to know how widespread the food shortages are in a country where record-keeping is poor.
"It is very very difficult for us to say how many children are dying," she said. "From our visit in the hot spot areas of Kambala, we were told by health extension officers that children were dying in the villages now, and that for quite many it was too late. There is no doubt there is a risk of children dying in numbers in the hot spots."
Ethiopian officials have repeatedly emphasized that this drought is not a famine, such as the one in the mid 1980s that killed an estimated one million people.
Ethiopia's disaster preparedness agency this month more than doubled its estimate of the number of people needing food assistance from 2.2 million to 4.6 million.
Disaster preparedness agency chief Simon Mechale is predicting worse conditions in July. He recently appealed to donor nations for $325 million worth of emergency food aid to make up an expected shortfall of 390,000 metric tons until the next harvest comes in.
________________________ http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL22617239.html Somali gunmen kidnap senior U.N. aid worker
Sun 22 Jun 2008MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali gunmen have kidnapped the local head of the U.N. refugee agency in Mogadishu in the latest abduction of aid workers in the lawless Horn of Africa nation, witnesses said on Sunday.
Ten assailants raided the home of Hassan Mohamed Ali -- a Somali who runs the agency's operations in the Mogadishu area -- in Elasha, 11 miles (17 km) south of the capital on Saturday, residents said.
"They broke into his house after exchanging gunfire with his guards and took him with them," resident Farah Abdi told Reuters. "We see stains of blood in front of his house but we do not know who the kidnappers were and where he is held now."
Kidnapping is lucrative business in Somalia, with hostages generally treated well in anticipation of a large ransom.
Suspicion for kidnappings generally falls on clan militia and Islamist insurgents who are fighting the Somali government and their Ethiopian military allies.
Government officials and insurgent leaders could not be reached for comment on the latest abduction.
Gunmen are still holding hostage four foreign aid workers -- two Italians, a Kenyan, a Briton -- and another three Somalis abducted in April and May.
Mired in anarchy and awash with weapons since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Somalia is off-limits for most foreign aid workers, and local staff face extreme risks by association.
Visiting Somali refugees in Kenya last week, U.N. refugee agency head Antonio Guterres said Somalia ranked with Sudan's Darfur region, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan as the world's worst humanitarian crises.
One million of Somalia's 9 million people live as internal refugees, and their plight has been worsened by record food prices, hyper-inflation and drought.
Peter Heinlein
22 June 2008
The United Nations is sounding another alarm about severe food shortages in Ethiopia, where tens of thousands of children are facing starvation. VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports the U.N. children's agency UNICEF is appealing for nearly $50 million in emergency aid for the hardest-hit areas, where food stocks are depleted and the next harvest is months away.
A malnourished child waits for food aid in the southern Ethiopian town of Shashamane, 06 Jun 2008
A senior U.N. children's agency official visiting drought-ravaged areas of southern Ethiopia during the past week found families with no food, not enough money to buy any, and no hope of replenishing supplies until at least late September.
UNICEF Deputy Director Hilde Johnson says everywhere she went, government officials and aid workers gave the same assessment.
"A clear message was conveyed to us from all of them: There is no food," said Hilde Johnson. "The assistance needs to be taken to scale, and it has to happen urgently. There was absolutely no inconsistency. That was the message from everyone."
The UNICEF official says during her four-day visit, she had positive meetings with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and other senior leaders, some of whom have accused aid agencies of exaggerating the food shortages for fund-raising purposes.
Hilde Johnson (undated photo)
UNICEF's Johnson says in her talks, all government officials agreed the food shortages are serious and getting worse. She told reporters the ministers expressed hope the crisis would ease later this year if conditions improve. But she says there are many 'ifs'.
"The government do think they will be able to curb in the sense the situation later, meaning August, September, If the rains come in accordance with normal, If there is an adequate vegetable harvesting, If other complementary measures are kicking in, plus If the supplies they are buying externally to come into the market, plus aid bilaterally they are negotiating comes in," said Johnson. "So there is a clear "if", and that is no secret."
U.N. humanitarian agencies say it is impossible to know how widespread the food shortages are in a country where record-keeping is poor.
"It is very very difficult for us to say how many children are dying," she said. "From our visit in the hot spot areas of Kambala, we were told by health extension officers that children were dying in the villages now, and that for quite many it was too late. There is no doubt there is a risk of children dying in numbers in the hot spots."
Ethiopian officials have repeatedly emphasized that this drought is not a famine, such as the one in the mid 1980s that killed an estimated one million people.
Ethiopia's disaster preparedness agency this month more than doubled its estimate of the number of people needing food assistance from 2.2 million to 4.6 million.
Disaster preparedness agency chief Simon Mechale is predicting worse conditions in July. He recently appealed to donor nations for $325 million worth of emergency food aid to make up an expected shortfall of 390,000 metric tons until the next harvest comes in.
________________________ http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL22617239.html Somali gunmen kidnap senior U.N. aid worker
Sun 22 Jun 2008MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali gunmen have kidnapped the local head of the U.N. refugee agency in Mogadishu in the latest abduction of aid workers in the lawless Horn of Africa nation, witnesses said on Sunday.
Ten assailants raided the home of Hassan Mohamed Ali -- a Somali who runs the agency's operations in the Mogadishu area -- in Elasha, 11 miles (17 km) south of the capital on Saturday, residents said.
"They broke into his house after exchanging gunfire with his guards and took him with them," resident Farah Abdi told Reuters. "We see stains of blood in front of his house but we do not know who the kidnappers were and where he is held now."
Kidnapping is lucrative business in Somalia, with hostages generally treated well in anticipation of a large ransom.
Suspicion for kidnappings generally falls on clan militia and Islamist insurgents who are fighting the Somali government and their Ethiopian military allies.
Government officials and insurgent leaders could not be reached for comment on the latest abduction.
Gunmen are still holding hostage four foreign aid workers -- two Italians, a Kenyan, a Briton -- and another three Somalis abducted in April and May.
Mired in anarchy and awash with weapons since the 1991 overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre, Somalia is off-limits for most foreign aid workers, and local staff face extreme risks by association.
Visiting Somali refugees in Kenya last week, U.N. refugee agency head Antonio Guterres said Somalia ranked with Sudan's Darfur region, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan as the world's worst humanitarian crises.
One million of Somalia's 9 million people live as internal refugees, and their plight has been worsened by record food prices, hyper-inflation and drought.
Good Governance Vs Terror and Famine in the Horn? What a choice?
http://en.afrik.com/article13906.html PANA, Senegal
Saturday 21 June 2008
Ethiopia worried about spread of Eritrea and Djibouti dispute
Drought striken Ethiopia deals with consequences of conflicts
Though countries of the Horn of Africa maintain a common desire to keep conflicts away from their neighbourhood, the latest clashes between Djiboutian and Eritrean forces over their shared border could spawn more bloodshed in the region, according to ’Sub-Saharan Informer’ weekly.
Noting the ten-year border crisis between Eritrea and Ethiopia remained unsolved , the paper, this week, urged countries of the region to set up a mechanism that would enable them to settle any disagreement through dialogue.
"Unless we all stand together and opt for genuine political solutions, the region will continue to go through a vicious circle of conflict," the weekly warned in its editorial, pointing out that conflicts have severe economic repercussions in the region.
Concerned about the timing of the dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea, the paper said it "could not be any worse, with reports of a severe famine occuring in the region, coupled with massive population shifts."
"Conflict is not unique in this part of the world - the problem is that conflict seems to be the first choice of settling disputes," added Sub-Saharan Informer.
In another issue this weekend, the paper focused on refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa. "Political turmoil is often the root cause of massive displacement.
"When parties opt for guns rather than dialogue, when fear is used to pressure others to see one’s point of view, we not only destroy villages but put in motion a chain of events that could have regional consequences," the weekly observed.
The Ethiopian Herald had one of its daily leaders focused on the current food shortages in the country, echoing an appeal by the government to international humanitarian organisations to respond to the emergency.
Officially, the affected population has been put at 4.6 million by the Herald, which criticised reports that suggested a higher figure, saying "the attempt by some interests to exaggerate the number of people facing food shortage is an irresponsible conduct with selfish ends."
The government estimated that 75,000 children under the age of five in drought-affected areas face severe acute malnutrition and require immediate therapeutic care to survive.
In another editorial, the paper wrote that despite the success registered in the economic sector, a great number of Ethiopian children are still in abysmal poverty.
Without mentioning food as among children’s rights, the paper asserted that full respect of child rights could be realised with an active involvement of the society at large, schools, the family and other stakeholders.
"It is only when we work in unison that our children, the hope of this country, could enjoy a better future," the daily added.
Humanitarian reports by other papers have warned about the high vulnerability of children to nutritional shocks as they could easily succumb if they do not get enough food. Panapress .
________________________ http://en.ethiopianreporter.com/content/view/811/36/ Reporter, Ethiopia High inflation rate, current account deficit raise more concern
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Hayal Alemayehu
The high inflation rate and the widening current account deficit the country has been going through lately has become much of a concern for both local, expatriates and world economist.
The latest addition to the list who voiced concern over the same issue is Dr. Justin Yufi Lin, the first chief economist and senior vice president for the World Bank (WB) from a developing nation, China.
Dr. Justin, who assumed the vice presidency as a chief economist at the WB this month, has expressed his concern at a press conference held here on Tuesday over the high inflation rate and the widening current account deficit the country has been experiencing over the last few years.
"Currently, the high inflation rate is certainly an issue of much concern," Dr. Justin told the press conference. "How to bring down the inflation to an acceptable level is the key issue because, with high inflation, you are going to leave people vulnerable even if they sweat hard."
He said that he was informed of the government's temporary intervention and efforts being made to help the people affected with the high inflation to cope with the problem. However, the chief economist said that the government needed to bring down the inflation rate to an acceptable level eventually. This has, however, unfortunately failed to materialize with especially food prices rising by the day, as the local market witnesses.
The current account deficit, which is incorporated in the declining balance of payment, is the other issue of concern Dr. Justin shares with other economists.
"The sharp increase in petroleum, chemical fertilizers and grain (commodity) prices had partly contributed to bringing about high pressure on your balance of payment," Dr. Justin says. But at the same time, import bills had been four times as high as export earnings during the last few years.
"This is a large current account deficit, and how to finance that deficit becomes a key issue," he added.
"Certainly there are external shocks as I have already mentioned. And the international donor communities try to come up with ways and means to address these external shocks and support Ethiopia to deal adequately with the sharp prices increases," Dr. Justin says. "However, the government fundamentally has to find means to reduce import and increase export.
The government can, hopefully, introduce policy measures that can deal with this issue effectively, without affecting the growth momentum the country has passed through over the last few years."
Aside from his concerns over the inflation and the current account deficit, among others, Dr. Justin expressed hope concerning the growth trend of Ethiopia's economy.
"Although on a very small scale, some sectors, including horticulture, leather and shoe production, are going in the right direction in utilizing the competitive advantage the country enjoys, which includes minimal labour wages, ideal weather and land, among other resources," he said. "Utilizing these resources, these products are able to penetrate the European market."
"Although there are troubles and obstacles that need to be overcome and tackled, which I think is possible to be done with the right policy measures, Ethiopia is a land of hope," Dr. Justine said.
"Over the last four years, Ethiopia had achieved a remarkable growth rate of some 11 percent continuously," the chief economist said. "But there are still some people suffering from poverty which, I think, has got to do with the industrialization level in Ethiopia, which has failed to create enough employment in the countryside and the urban areas as well."
__________________ http://www.fews.net/docs/publications/whia_20080619.pdf Weather Hazards
Saturday 21 June 2008
Ethiopia worried about spread of Eritrea and Djibouti dispute
Drought striken Ethiopia deals with consequences of conflicts
Though countries of the Horn of Africa maintain a common desire to keep conflicts away from their neighbourhood, the latest clashes between Djiboutian and Eritrean forces over their shared border could spawn more bloodshed in the region, according to ’Sub-Saharan Informer’ weekly.
Noting the ten-year border crisis between Eritrea and Ethiopia remained unsolved , the paper, this week, urged countries of the region to set up a mechanism that would enable them to settle any disagreement through dialogue.
"Unless we all stand together and opt for genuine political solutions, the region will continue to go through a vicious circle of conflict," the weekly warned in its editorial, pointing out that conflicts have severe economic repercussions in the region.
Concerned about the timing of the dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea, the paper said it "could not be any worse, with reports of a severe famine occuring in the region, coupled with massive population shifts."
"Conflict is not unique in this part of the world - the problem is that conflict seems to be the first choice of settling disputes," added Sub-Saharan Informer.
In another issue this weekend, the paper focused on refugees and internally displaced persons in Africa. "Political turmoil is often the root cause of massive displacement.
"When parties opt for guns rather than dialogue, when fear is used to pressure others to see one’s point of view, we not only destroy villages but put in motion a chain of events that could have regional consequences," the weekly observed.
The Ethiopian Herald had one of its daily leaders focused on the current food shortages in the country, echoing an appeal by the government to international humanitarian organisations to respond to the emergency.
Officially, the affected population has been put at 4.6 million by the Herald, which criticised reports that suggested a higher figure, saying "the attempt by some interests to exaggerate the number of people facing food shortage is an irresponsible conduct with selfish ends."
The government estimated that 75,000 children under the age of five in drought-affected areas face severe acute malnutrition and require immediate therapeutic care to survive.
In another editorial, the paper wrote that despite the success registered in the economic sector, a great number of Ethiopian children are still in abysmal poverty.
Without mentioning food as among children’s rights, the paper asserted that full respect of child rights could be realised with an active involvement of the society at large, schools, the family and other stakeholders.
"It is only when we work in unison that our children, the hope of this country, could enjoy a better future," the daily added.
Humanitarian reports by other papers have warned about the high vulnerability of children to nutritional shocks as they could easily succumb if they do not get enough food. Panapress .
________________________ http://en.ethiopianreporter.com/content/view/811/36/ Reporter, Ethiopia High inflation rate, current account deficit raise more concern
Saturday, 21 June 2008
Hayal Alemayehu
The high inflation rate and the widening current account deficit the country has been going through lately has become much of a concern for both local, expatriates and world economist.
The latest addition to the list who voiced concern over the same issue is Dr. Justin Yufi Lin, the first chief economist and senior vice president for the World Bank (WB) from a developing nation, China.
Dr. Justin, who assumed the vice presidency as a chief economist at the WB this month, has expressed his concern at a press conference held here on Tuesday over the high inflation rate and the widening current account deficit the country has been experiencing over the last few years.
"Currently, the high inflation rate is certainly an issue of much concern," Dr. Justin told the press conference. "How to bring down the inflation to an acceptable level is the key issue because, with high inflation, you are going to leave people vulnerable even if they sweat hard."
He said that he was informed of the government's temporary intervention and efforts being made to help the people affected with the high inflation to cope with the problem. However, the chief economist said that the government needed to bring down the inflation rate to an acceptable level eventually. This has, however, unfortunately failed to materialize with especially food prices rising by the day, as the local market witnesses.
The current account deficit, which is incorporated in the declining balance of payment, is the other issue of concern Dr. Justin shares with other economists.
"The sharp increase in petroleum, chemical fertilizers and grain (commodity) prices had partly contributed to bringing about high pressure on your balance of payment," Dr. Justin says. But at the same time, import bills had been four times as high as export earnings during the last few years.
"This is a large current account deficit, and how to finance that deficit becomes a key issue," he added.
"Certainly there are external shocks as I have already mentioned. And the international donor communities try to come up with ways and means to address these external shocks and support Ethiopia to deal adequately with the sharp prices increases," Dr. Justin says. "However, the government fundamentally has to find means to reduce import and increase export.
The government can, hopefully, introduce policy measures that can deal with this issue effectively, without affecting the growth momentum the country has passed through over the last few years."
Aside from his concerns over the inflation and the current account deficit, among others, Dr. Justin expressed hope concerning the growth trend of Ethiopia's economy.
"Although on a very small scale, some sectors, including horticulture, leather and shoe production, are going in the right direction in utilizing the competitive advantage the country enjoys, which includes minimal labour wages, ideal weather and land, among other resources," he said. "Utilizing these resources, these products are able to penetrate the European market."
"Although there are troubles and obstacles that need to be overcome and tackled, which I think is possible to be done with the right policy measures, Ethiopia is a land of hope," Dr. Justine said.
"Over the last four years, Ethiopia had achieved a remarkable growth rate of some 11 percent continuously," the chief economist said. "But there are still some people suffering from poverty which, I think, has got to do with the industrialization level in Ethiopia, which has failed to create enough employment in the countryside and the urban areas as well."
__________________ http://www.fews.net/docs/publications/whia_20080619.pdf Weather Hazards
Friday, June 20, 2008
Harnessing the Blue Nile Basin Resources: Ethiopia/Sudan/Egypt Agree or Disagree?
http://www.waltainf o.com/index. php?option= com_content&task=view&id=685&Itemid=52 Joint ministerial meeting of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan successfully concluded
Friday, 20 June 2008
Addis Ababa, June 20 (WIC) - The joint meeting of ministers of Water Resources of Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan held in London to discuss projects that would be executed on Nile River was successfully concluded, according to Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR).
Minister of Water Resources Asfaw Dingamo told WIC that the projects studied by the British and French companies EDF and Scott Wilson could benefit the three nations if implemented.
The companies have forwarded detailed studies of projects to be undertaken in the Nile Basin,he said, adding that the three countries have reached consensus on the hydropower opportunities available in the basin.
The studies would help expand large-scale irrigation development works in Ethiopia, Asfaw stated, further noting that they have also proved that hydropower projects to be developed in the Nile Basin could only be materialized in Ethiopia.
The studies are of paramount importance to avert the evaporation problem witnessed in the Sudan and Egypt as well as the erosion in Ethiopia, the minister added.
The studies also revealed that projects carried out around the Nile basin could be of immense economic benefits if carried on the highlands of Ethiopia.Sudan has supported the idea, he said.
Egypt protested against Ethiopia’s plan to develop one million hectare by harnessing Nile River claiming that a huge volume of water would be consumed, Asfaw said, adding that the government of Ethiopia has pointed out that the issue should not be about volume of water but about the potentials at hand and the possible joint ventures which could be carried out.
Even if the government of Egypt again posed various preconditions saying that the irrigation projects to be executed in Ethiopia would reduce the volume of Asawn Dam, the companies explained how they came to the conclusion they reached, he elaborated.
Although Egypt opposed the unilateral development activities of Ethiopia in the Nile Basin,Sudan has expressed its support,Asfaw revealed.
Friday, 20 June 2008
Addis Ababa, June 20 (WIC) - The joint meeting of ministers of Water Resources of Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan held in London to discuss projects that would be executed on Nile River was successfully concluded, according to Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR).
Minister of Water Resources Asfaw Dingamo told WIC that the projects studied by the British and French companies EDF and Scott Wilson could benefit the three nations if implemented.
The companies have forwarded detailed studies of projects to be undertaken in the Nile Basin,he said, adding that the three countries have reached consensus on the hydropower opportunities available in the basin.
The studies would help expand large-scale irrigation development works in Ethiopia, Asfaw stated, further noting that they have also proved that hydropower projects to be developed in the Nile Basin could only be materialized in Ethiopia.
The studies are of paramount importance to avert the evaporation problem witnessed in the Sudan and Egypt as well as the erosion in Ethiopia, the minister added.
The studies also revealed that projects carried out around the Nile basin could be of immense economic benefits if carried on the highlands of Ethiopia.Sudan has supported the idea, he said.
Egypt protested against Ethiopia’s plan to develop one million hectare by harnessing Nile River claiming that a huge volume of water would be consumed, Asfaw said, adding that the government of Ethiopia has pointed out that the issue should not be about volume of water but about the potentials at hand and the possible joint ventures which could be carried out.
Even if the government of Egypt again posed various preconditions saying that the irrigation projects to be executed in Ethiopia would reduce the volume of Asawn Dam, the companies explained how they came to the conclusion they reached, he elaborated.
Although Egypt opposed the unilateral development activities of Ethiopia in the Nile Basin,Sudan has expressed its support,Asfaw revealed.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Is the Alqaeda Network in the Horn Keeping the Horn as a landlocked region?
Dear Patriotic Ethiopians and Global Citizens:
I respect your perspective and concern. I found another interesting story forwarded to me and I felt compelled to share it with you.
As we try to comprehend the challenges of Alqaeda masquerading as the Plight of Muslims in the Horn, here is the real challenge of geography, boundary, ports and global climate change.
I look for your perspective on this critical issue that is exposing to unrelenting famine and security challenges.
As usual, it is better to be informed and make appropriate analysis and readiness to respond to our impending dangers as a community and a people (80 Million self-landlocked people) where our own Djibutians and Eritreans and Somalis have declared to make ours, now (their) portes in accessible to our needy people.
Are the Horn Alqaeda Networks making the ports in accessible or charging us too high prices in our security, resources and personal wealth to access the prots?
I am not even sure about this and would like to learn from you: Haile Sellassie I and AAUniversity Alumni
This is a genuine request to be edcuated and any one can respond.
Can we or should we tolerate this? Do we have options and alternatives?
Let us see what we can do to change these hopeless situiations. Our generations intentionally or due to delinquency or incompetence handed over Jibouti in 1977 and the Red Sea Coast in 1991, what more are we handing over due to our short sighted ness and incompetence? I want to learn more!
The next generation will judge us harshly than we did to our predecessors! the time has come to be counted and do some thing that change s the current paradigm of hopelessness?
All the same, here are the facts:
Landlocked Countries: Higher Transport Costs, Delays, Less Trade
Available in: Español, العربية, Français
Website: Trade and CompetitivenessRelated Links
Report: Cost of Being Landlocked Website: Logistics Performance Index Website: Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade
Bottlenecks in neighboring countries’ ports, not road quality, main reason for trade problems.
Delays at border crossings also add to shipment time.
Bank’s goal is to simplify logistics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 16, 2008— High prices have hit many countries around the world, but landlocked developing countries bear an extra burden.
Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Burundi, and other countries without a port pay more and wait longer for imported oil, food, and other goods.
And they have an equally hard time exporting, with the result that they trade less and grow more slowly than their coastal neighbors.
Being landlocked is a major reason why 16 of the world’s 31 landlocked developing countries are among the poorest in the world, say three World Bank economists working on trade logistics issues.
Overcoming Geographical Disadvantages
The World Bank, United Nations, landlocked and donor countries are working together to try to reduce barriers to trade, growth, and development faced by the least developed landlocked countries. Experts met early this month in New York to assess progress in the 10-year Almaty program, launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2003.
The program calls on countries to make transit and border regulations more transparent, streamline administrative procedures, and further simplify border control and procedures. It also underscores the importance of regional and sub-regional collaborative efforts in developing efficient transit transport systems.
The World Bank is helping by financing projects and technical assistance to make trade and transporting goods easier. It’s also contributing research, such as the Cost of Being Landlocked study and the Logistics Performance Index.
The Bank also supports global and regional initiatives, such as the Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade. The Bank’s work shows that landlocked economies are affected by the high cost of freight services as well as the high degree of unpredictability in transportation time.
The main sources of costs are not only physical constraints but also widespread corruption and severe flaws in the implementation of transit systems, which prevent the emergence of reliable logistics services.
Gael Raballand and Jean-Francois Marteau of the Africa transport division, and Jean-Francois Arvis of the trade division of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management network (PREM), are trying to find ways to fix some of the trade problems that contribute to keeping landlocked least-developed countries (LLDCs) stuck in a low-growth pattern.
Their 2007 study, “The Cost of Being Landlocked: Logistics Costs and Supply Chain Reliability,” says that the condition of roads isn’t the main reason for inefficient and costly transport. Infrastructure improvements alone won’t solve the problem, they say.
“Many people said for many years that better infrastructure would solve the issue of the cost of being landlocked,” says Raballand. “But now we know we have to work more and more in coastal countries because the most important problem lies in ports and how to get goods out of them.”
Other problems include border delays, cartels in the trucking industry, multiple clearance processes, and bribe-taking, all of which keep transport costs artificially high,.
Goods Take ‘Twice as Long’ to Exit Ports
It can take “twice as long” for imports to exit ports than to actually travel from port to destination. In all, it can take four to six weeks for goods for goods to reach some landlocked countries from coastal countries, says Marteau..
Goods destined for landlocked countries sit longer in ports than domestically bound goods, and they also are subject to “multiple lengthy clearance systems on most corridors.”
“From what we have seen, the uncertainty in ports is extremely high, and it affects the whole rest of the trip,” says Marteau.
Goods bound for Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi spend an average of five days more (25 versus 20 days) in Tanzania’s Dar Es Salaam port than domestically bound goods. The same is true for goods shipped through Mombasa, Kenya, says the study.
Inefficient port processes in Douala, Cameroon, contribute to the delays and high cost of transporting goods to N’Djaména in Chad, 2,000 km from the sea.
The five-week journey over rail and road requires seven documents and suffers from poor and fragmented trucking services, widespread “rent-seeking resulting in many checkpoints,” security problems, and weak customs administration in Chad, according to a 2006 diagnostic trade integration study.
In Africa and Central Asia, goods bound for landlocked countries face at least three “clearance” processes, while coastal countries face only one. The first one is the Port.
The second happens at borders. It usually takes more than 24 hours to cross the Kenya-Uganda border. In Southern Africa, border delays between South Africa and Zimbabwe reached six days in 2003. In Central Asia, trucks can face a delay of three days at the Uzbek border.
A final delay occurs when goods are finally cleared in the capital city in the landlocked country.
“Ultimately, transit goods will have gone through three to four clearance processes, while coastal countries face only one,” says the Landlocked Countries study.
Shipping Costs and Food Prices
Shipping costs are also a key component of food prices, and are “generally far higher” for many low-income countries than for industrialized OECD countries, according to a World Bank paper on rising food prices released during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings earlier this month.
Trucking operators in oil-importing countries, such as landlocked Zambia, for instance, were already paying as much as 50 percent more for fuel than in other countries of the region even before the recent oil price jumps.
Unpredictability a Problem
Delays increase costs and the uncertainty of delivery—and that’s as big a problem as a lengthy transport process, the study says.
The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, based on feedback from shippers around the world, indicates that in terms of trade, reliability is as important as how quickly a good reaches its destination.
The Landlocked Country study finds that uncertainty forces companies to turn to more reliable expensive transport, such as planes, or invest in large inventories—as much as a year’s supply.
Bank Focuses on Cutting Time and Uncertainty
Other factors drive up costs, such as cartels in the trucking industry in both landlocked and coastal countries and also bribe-taking.
“Facilitation payments” are a “serious problem” on some corridors. Roadblocks in West Africa add 10 percent to overheads and may occur every 30 km, or even more frequently.
Corruption may also be severe at border crossings, says the study. A Kyrgyz truck entering Uzbekistan has to pay up to US$700 to cross the border, a quarter of which are unofficial costs.
Streamlining the import-export process could lower costs to consumers and enhance a nation’s ability to trade, grow, and encourage investment, says Raballand. But such change faces hurdles.
“The problem with the system is you have huge vested interests. Many people extract rents in the current system—and you’re talking millions of dollars.”
Reducing customs duties could probably simplify the logistics system but isn’t easy because customs duties make up a large portion of government revenues in landlocked countries, says Raballand. The other option is to cut time and uncertainty as much as possible.
“Cutting costs implies looking at the way services are done,” says Marteau. “We know that there are ways to reduce costs, but we don’t know if the savings will be passed on to the consumer. That’s why we tried to focus more on the time issue, because that’s something that benefits everybody. Normally, this reduction in time should result in reduction in cost factors and transport costs eventually. But there are many ifs.
Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPHGlobal Strategic Enterprises, Inc. 4 Peace & ProsperityWin-win synergestic Partnership 4P&P-focusing on 5Es: Education+Energy+Ecology+Economy+Enterpriseswww.Globalbelai4u.blogspot.com; Globalbelai@yahoo.com C: 703.933.8737; F: 703.531.0545
--- On Tue, 6/17/08, A. Debebe wrote:
From: A. Debebe
Subject: Re: [Addis-Ababa-University-Alumni-Association] FW: Islam in the Horn
To: Addis-Ababa-University-Alumni-Association@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 7:37 AM
Any relation this article has with the Sudan getting the land that does not belong to it, such as, getting the heart and soul of the Muslims not to participate in any unity against the land offer to the Sudan.
Sometimes the western journals ( and journalists) are myopic when an article comes from any person with a money that refutes history, even if the core idea in the article is intended to kill their mother. The act of this journal in this case is like the tale of the donkey we learnt when we were 5 years of age.
--- On Tue, 6/17/08, Damtew Teferra wrote:
From: Damtew Teferra
Subject: Re: [Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on] FW: Islam in the Horn
To: Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on@yahoogroups. com
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 7:11 AM
Selam all,
"Wushet sidegagem ewnet yihonal endilu"...we need to take this matter seriously and actually write directly to the site owners. Historians among us would do a better job. This reminds me of the discussion we had on the journal article on Ethiopian IQ that used Beth-Israel (Falashas) based in Israel.
I remember writing this article to the editors of the journal which prompted them to publish counter piece on subsequent issues http://www.addisvoi ce.com/news/ flawed.htm).
I actually read the editorial policy of the site which states: "Editorial Policy: Report Abuse or Policy Violations
We have a strict editorial policy and affirmatively seek articles that promote diversity and tolerance. We are not a forum for articles that promote hatred, racial or ethnic strife, homophobia, or intolerance of any kind. We have over 100,000 articles and over 3,000 contributors to our site.
If you believe an article on one of our sites violates our Editorial Board Contributor Policy, send us specific information about how and why the article violates our policy to this email address. Identify the author, article link, article number (available in the URL), and paragraph. Please provide specific information about how and why the article violates our policy.
However, if you simply disagree with the author about the points being made in the article, or if you wish to compliment or comment to the author directly about content of the article, then you are welcome to write the author directly by using the "author's email" link available in the biography box adjacent to the article."
The author claims that he is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on the site where the article appears and such kind of pitiable reporting would not make either institutions proud if not embarrassing.
Damtew
| On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:25:12 -0700 (PDT)
| solomon dejene wrote:
| Selam all,
| Thank you Helen for your critical questions. Primarily I found it distressing that the American Chrocnicle allows such articles to be published on its site without checking whether the points raised in the content are historically verifiable.
Most of the points the author mentioned are that of the 2oth century which can be easily checked on one of the Encyclopedias. Of course, Ethiopia is one out of the many poor countries that live on hand outs from among other the United States of America. Publishing such an article may not have any influence whatsoever on the institute or company that owns the site. So, why worry.
| Ok back to the point, even if I do not have so much doubt on the percentage of Moslims in Ethiopia, I do not share most of the ideas of Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi. It is also a common phenomenon in Wello, Gurage and Arsi, people switch from one religion to another. Even in one family you will have people who belong to different religions. But the danger of such presentations is the distorted historical facts.
In his presentation he mentioned the war/invasion of Ahmed Gragn, the 1964 and the 1967 Ethio-Somali conflicts along with the 2006 + intervension of Ethiopia in Somalia. A number of the statements he made tendentious and historically not true. The sad thing is that such I will not react in detail on such points but just put forth the points that are untrue even for the lay observer:
| "In 1977, Somalis retaliates and occupied 60% of Ethiopian land and even gone
| close to Addis Ababa in 18 kilometers."
| "In similar manner Oromo is facing insult and pressure from Ethiopian government,
| where they don´t get proper share in the government and even their children are not
| allowed to attend the universities in Addis Ababa."
| "Melese Sanawi selected Christian man from Oromo to be Ethiopian President.
| He overlooked the Muslim majority of Oromo, because, simply, he does not want
| Muslim. This shows that Ethiopian government is not killing all Oromo but only the
| Muslims because of their believe in the Greater Islam."
| "90% of Oromo practice Islam as fundamental religion..."
| "Ahmed Guray freed many parts of Ethiopia from the emperors who restricted the
| freedom of the people... captured more than 50% of Ethiopian highlands, which
| accelerated the number of Ethiopians embracing Islam." please read this against the
| statement he made earlier that says, "Ahmed Guray, who was an Arab, led full-scale
| war against Abyssinia" (If he is an Arab what does he do in Ethiopia? Why should he invade in the first place the High Lands of Ethiopia if they were Christians?
|
| The article seems to be written more out of ressentment than critical reflection. Even if the author might think that the historical facts he wrote would be true, his presentation are both partial and partisan. The only purpose of such an article is in my view to divide people along mostly religious line. His appeal to the Oromo quest is also in my view very superficial. He does not also have the overall picture of the political situation of current Ethiopia.
| All in all, it is far from academic away from any journalistic ethics. I would rather not forward such articles. It only sends wrong signals to people.
| Selam lehulachin
|
|
|
|
| helen ayele wrote:
| Selam,
|
| I have many doubts on this article Let's start from the beginning it says the musilim number is 40% . Amusing how come it reaches to this big number? what was his reference to say this?. where comes this imagination from? by which formula is the musilim number increases? and why not the number of Christian's decline while the number of population of Ethiopia increases .
i know also the number of mosques is greater than the number of churches in addis ababa.any ways i have seen many many false things in this article..i wonder if one Ethiopians reads this article and say this writer has wrote one true thing.
|
| Yours
|
| H.
|
|
| ----- Original Message ----
| From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus
| To: Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on@yahoogroups. com
| Cc: nwMariam@yahoo. com; globalbelai@ yahoo.com; adm@Aigaforum. com; Ben EthiopiaFirst
| Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 3:45:23 AM
| Subject: Re: [Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on] FW: Islam in the Horn
|
|
| Please find below a very interesting article posted in the American Chronicle and would seek your comments on its veracity and its implication.
|
| with regards
|
| Dr B
|
| http://www.american chronicle. com/articles/ 65083
|
| Islam in the Horn of Africa
|
| Abdulazez Al-Motairi
|
|
| June 15, 2008
|
| Presently, Islam is the most widely practiced religion
| in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia,
| Djibouti, and Eretria. Some of today's Muslims in the
| region had their ancestors converted from Christianity
| and others had theirs migrated from the Arab
| peninsula. Ethnically, these Muslims belong to
| different tribes, such as Somalis, Oromo, Afar, and
| others and they mainly speak Cushitic Language.
|
| Today, Somalia and Djibouti are predominantly Muslim
| and Ethiopia has about 40 percent and Eretria 50
| Percent Muslim Population. In Eretria most Muslims
| belong to Jabarti tribe and many of them are
| descendants of Arab tribes.
Some major Somali tribes | have Arab roots like Isaaq, of Iraqi roots, and
| Daarood, of Yemeni roots. The region had historical
| trade and economic relations with Arabs in the gulf
| including Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman in addition
| UAE.
|
| History of Islam in the region
|
| Islam and Somalis
|
| Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia
|
| Islam-o-phobia of Ethiopia
|
| Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors
|
|  History of Islam in the region
|
| Islamic history reveals the first Muslim immigration
| by Sahaba (apostles) of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to
| Ethiopia to save their religion from "Idol worshipers"
| in Makka of Arab decedents on 615 AD. Sahaba were
| forced to leave their homes in Makka due to pressure
| and killing by the Arabs of Makka.
|
| The King of Abyssinian (Habash) Nagashi welcomed the
| Sahaba to his kingdom and permitted them to teach and
| preach their religion in Habash.
Even, Nagashi turned | down the request of Arab delegate from Makka who
| demanded extradition of the Sahaba. Some Ethiopians
| embraced Islam at the hands of the Sahaba who stayed
| in Habash many years until Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
| asked them to come back to their homeland. The
| spreading of Islam stopped for a while after Sahaba
| returned to Makka.
|
| Islamic History says first Islamic Funeral prayer in
| absentee was performed by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) from
| Madina on body of Nagashi (The King of Abyssinia)
| after his death in Harare City, Ethiopia.
|
| Islam entered Ethiopia as primary believe in the 16th
| Century by Arab traders and preachers, which led 65%
| of Ethiopians to embrace Islam. This created fear in
| the Ethiopian Church who later considered the Muslims
| as the principal threat to their existence.
|
| In 16th and beginning of 17th Century, Islamic State
| of ADAL was announced by Somalis and Arabs led by
| Warrior Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi known (Ahmed Guray).
| Ahmed Guray, who was an Arab, led full-scale war
| against Abyssinia and defeated them. Ahmed Guray army
| captured more than 50% of Ethiopian highlands, which
| accelerated the number of Ethiopians embracing Islam.
| Ahmed Guray received support from Othman Emperor
| (known Turkey) and King Saeed Barqash of Sultanate of
| Oman.
|
| The bad feeling of Ethiopian Church towards Muslims
| increased very sharply, and after they failed to stop
| Ahmed Guray and his army; they appealed to Portugal
| for support. Ahmed Guray continued a chain of
| victories against Abyssinian army for about two
| decades. History says that Ahmed Guray dead during
| fighting with Portugal forces who arrived to support
| Ethiopia. The widow of Ahmed Guray, called Bati Del
| Wambara overtook the leadership of ADAL and continued
| the fighting.
|
| ADAL's headquarter was located in Zayla, the coast
| town connecting between Djibouti and Somaliland. ADAL
| collapsed awhile after the death of Ahmed Guray. This
| gave the Ethiopians the chance to recapture back the
| land they lost to ADAL without resistance.
|
| Also, Arabs preached Islam in neighboring Kenya and
| Tanzania. The King of Oman Saeed founded strong bases
| in the coast areas including Mombasa, Kenya and
| Zanzibar of Tanzania. Somalis are part of 30% of
| Kenyan Muslims mainly in the Northern Regions and
| Coast Areas. In Tanzania the Muslims form 50%.
|
|  Islam and Somalis:
|
| Somali, the name is derived from the Somali word (Soo
| Maal), which means milking the livestock. Somali is
| basically a Cushitic language spoken in many countries
| including Somalia, Ethiopian, Djibouti and Kenya as
| primary and official languages. Somali speaking
| population is about 10 million.
|
| Somalia is the only country in the world that is 100%
| Muslim. Somalia Muslims are all Sunnis who practice
| the Shaafi faith. The people living in Somalia speak
| Somali and Arabic in addition to Rahanwayn language in
| the south of Somalia.
|
| There are about four major tribes in Somalia including
| Hawiye, Isaaq, Daarood and Rahanwayn. Isaac, Daarood
| and Hawiye have Arabian roots, where Darood are the
| children of Darood Ismail Jabarti, who was from
| southern Yemen, Isaac are the children of Sheikh Isaaq
| bin Ahmed who was from Mosul, Iraq. Hawiyo is
| combination of different groups but mainly from Yemen.
|
|
| Islam entered Somalia and Ethiopian within first ten
| centuries of the Georgian calendar by Arab traders and
| Preachers. Somalis, after the collapse of ADAL,
| attended Arabian universities mainly Egyptian Al-Azhar
| University. The relation between the Arabs and Somalis
| had grown stronger particularly with Yemen and
| Sultanate of Oman.
|
| After western colonizers divided Somalia into five
| main parties leaving Djibouti with France, Somaliland
| with British, South Somalia with Italy, and Reserve
| Area with Ethiopia in addition to NFD with Kenya. The
| occupation of these areas happen different times,
| Britain sold Reserve Area and NFD to Ethiopia and
| Kenya in 20th Century.
|
| Some of Al-Azhar University Graduates arrived back
| home including Sayed Abdullah Hassan, nick named The
| Mad Mullah. He was not wise man and started armed
| struggle against British. He tried to overtake some
| parties of Somaliland mainly Hawd Area. British
| disbanded his army by air bombing. The Mad Mullah dead
| during the air bombing by British.
|
| Sayed Abdullah Hassan (the Mad Mulla) was Sufist and
| convinced many Somalis to practice the Sufi faith.
| Sufi faith permits Spiritual attainment in Islam,
| where Muslim is allowed to pray to Allah via another
| religious person. But Salafi Group, also called
| Wahabist in Somalia, rejects the idea of attainment.
| Salafi or Wahabist faith entered Somalia about four
| decades ago.
|
|  Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia:
|
| Until 1960´s majority of Somalis practiced Sufi faith
| of Islam that had wide respect among Somali tribes.
| Somalis consider Sufi faith as less violent compare to
| Salafi faith.
|
| The Qur'an was taught using Somali language as the
| people were unfamiliar with Arabic. Somalis use to
| write Qur'an on wooden sheet like instrument using ink
| made of traditional Somali coal. Such practices
| remains active until now but with less percentage.
|
|
| In mid 1970s the Salafi faith of Islam was introduced
| in Somalia by Somali students graduated from Saudi
| Arabian Islamic universities. The students started
| teaching the Nobel Qur'an and gradually gained very
| wide popularity across Somalia.
|
| In less than ten years, the Salafi faith replaced Sufi
| faith; the leaders of the mosques turn into Salafi,
| and Sufi faith started disappearing slowly until
| today. The Salafi faith had strong relation with their
| counterparts in else where in the world mainly Saudi
| Arabia.
|
| After 1977, Salafi revolution in Somalia spread into
| the neighboring countries like Ethiopia and formed an
| armed group called Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, with their
| main aim is to liberate Somali dominated areas in
| Ethiopia from Ethiopian occupation.
|
| Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and Al-Shabab were product
| of Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, as major senior leaders in
| both ICU and Al-Shabab are co-founders of Al-Itahad
| Al-Islamiya.
|
| Today, Salafi faith is widely practiced inside
| Somalia, and with very high speed. The youth and
| middle age follow Salafi faith except the elderly who
| still practice the Sufi faith. Majority of the mosques
| in Somalia is led by Salafi preachers.
|
|  Islam-o-phobia in Ethiopia:
|
| After collapse of ADAL, Kingdom of Abyssinia put
| pressure to Muslim and forced many of them to return
| to Christianity. The kingdom did not allow the Muslims
| to practice their religion in public, where prayers
| were performed in-house only. Muslims were not allowed
| officially to travel to Makka to perform Hajj until
| 1974, after military coup led by Migusto Haile Mariam.
| Mariam ordered freedom of religion and allowed Muslims
| to perform Hajj. Muslims in Eritrea were under similar
| condition.
|
| Today, more than half of Ethiopians are devout
| Muslims, mainly in the outlying regions, and in the
| Eastern Lowlands.
|
| Traditionally, the status of Islam has been far from
| equal with that of Christianity. However, the emperor
| Haile Selassie gave audiences to Muslim leaders and
| made overtures in response to their concerns, and
| under the Derg even more was done to give at least
| symbolic parity to the two faiths. Nevertheless, the
| perception of Ethiopia as "an island of Christianity
| in a sea of Islam" has continued to prevail among both
| highland Ethiopians and foreigners.
|
| In 1964, Ethiopian Christian leaders attacked Somalia
| in a plan to end the Islamic presence in the region.
| At that time, Somalia was only four years old without
| proper military and government institutions. But
| overall this, Somalis defend their country very
| bravely and forced Ethiopia to retrieve. This was the
| first religious war between Ethiopia and Somalia.
|
| In 1977, Somalis retaliates and occupied 60% of
| Ethiopian land and even gone close to Addis Ababa in
| 18 kilometers. The objective of Somalis was to return
| the Reserve Area illegally sold by British to
| Ethiopia. Ethiopia was unable to stop the Somalis. And
| as usually, Ethiopia pleaded to international support,
| and received military support of Russia and Cuba.
| Russia-Cuba Alliance forced the Somali military to go
| back into Somalia border.
|
| In 2006, Ethiopian invaded Somalia on the bases of
| similar background. Ethiopia always considers the
| Somali Islamist as #1 enemy. Ethiopia saw the Islamic
| Courts Union (ICU), as the new threat to their
| national unity; Ethiopian Prime Minister Melese Zanawi
| follows the old procedure of the church, who considers
| the Muslims as major enemy of Ethiopia. Zanawi is man
| of principle but the unfortunate is those supporting
| Zanawi and Church Plan in Somalia like Transitional
| Government of Somalia (TGS) leader Abdullah Yusuf.
|
| In similar manner Oromo is facing insult and pressure
| from Ethiopian government, where they don´t get proper
| share in the government and even their children are
| not allowed to attend the universities in Addis Ababa.
|
|
| Melese Sanawi selected Christian man from Oromo to be
| Ethiopian President. He overlooked the Muslim majority
| of Oromo, because, simply, he does not want Muslim.
| This shows that Ethiopian government is not killing
| all Oromo but only the Muslims because of their
| believe in the Greater Islam.
|
| Oromo is the largest community in Ethiopia in middle
| of lowlands, 90% of Oromo practice Islam as
| fundamental religion, Islam was introduced to Oromo in
| 16th century with neighboring Somali Community. Oromo
| has anti-Ethiopian armed movements and recently
| accused receiving military support and training from
| Eritrea. Current President of Ethiopia is from
| Christian Minority of Oromo, where Muslims has little
| access to government due to their armed struggle.
|
|  Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors:
|
| The battle between the Muslim leaders and Ethiopian
| emperors is active until today, because the Ethiopian
| invasion in Somalia has strong roots into the
| centuries old conflict between the Muslims and
| Ethiopian Christian emperor.
|
| Ahmed Guray freed many parts of Ethiopia from the
| emperors who restricted the freedom of the people; the
| parties that ADAL army captured include Shewa, Gonder,
| Wollo and parts of Tigray. Some historians say the
| struggle between the Christian Emperors in Ethiopia
| and Somalis started from 1528 until today.
|
| Emporer Lebna Dengel, who was ruling Abyssinia during
| the war with ADAL, plead for support from Portugal
| after his army failed to stop ADAL army.
|
| In the same manner, United States of America (USA) is
| helping Meleze Sanawi to stop the Islamist growing in
| the region. Ethiopia knows, if Muslim government comes
| to power in Somalia then it will come to ethiopia to
| free the thousands of the Muslim ethiopians trapped
| under Melese regime.
|
| The government don´t allow construction of new mosques
| in the capital, Addis Ababa. In other hand, the
| European Christian missionaries builds new church
| every one month. Church bells are famous in Addis
| Ababa more than the Mosques.
|
| The present mosques in Addis Ababa are centuries old;
| it is remainings of Othman Emporers. The Muslims don´t
| take part in the central government, and if any Muslim
| gets chance in the central government, he/she should
| be lapdog for Ethiopian Christian Emporer Meleze
| Sanawi. Muslims in Addis Ababa feel overtaken and
| always seek help from the Muslim world, but the
| failure of Somalia has led them into endless problems.
|
|
| By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
|
| Email: az.almutairi@ yahoo.com
|
| ************ ***
|
| Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi, MA in Journalism and Mass
| Communication, Columnist, Freelance Journalist and
| Weekly article writer about Middle East and African
| politics and human rights. He is member of
| International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
I respect your perspective and concern. I found another interesting story forwarded to me and I felt compelled to share it with you.
As we try to comprehend the challenges of Alqaeda masquerading as the Plight of Muslims in the Horn, here is the real challenge of geography, boundary, ports and global climate change.
I look for your perspective on this critical issue that is exposing to unrelenting famine and security challenges.
As usual, it is better to be informed and make appropriate analysis and readiness to respond to our impending dangers as a community and a people (80 Million self-landlocked people) where our own Djibutians and Eritreans and Somalis have declared to make ours, now (their) portes in accessible to our needy people.
Are the Horn Alqaeda Networks making the ports in accessible or charging us too high prices in our security, resources and personal wealth to access the prots?
I am not even sure about this and would like to learn from you: Haile Sellassie I and AAUniversity Alumni
This is a genuine request to be edcuated and any one can respond.
Can we or should we tolerate this? Do we have options and alternatives?
Let us see what we can do to change these hopeless situiations. Our generations intentionally or due to delinquency or incompetence handed over Jibouti in 1977 and the Red Sea Coast in 1991, what more are we handing over due to our short sighted ness and incompetence? I want to learn more!
The next generation will judge us harshly than we did to our predecessors! the time has come to be counted and do some thing that change s the current paradigm of hopelessness?
All the same, here are the facts:
Landlocked Countries: Higher Transport Costs, Delays, Less Trade
Available in: Español, العربية, Français
Website: Trade and CompetitivenessRelated Links
Report: Cost of Being Landlocked Website: Logistics Performance Index Website: Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade
Bottlenecks in neighboring countries’ ports, not road quality, main reason for trade problems.
Delays at border crossings also add to shipment time.
Bank’s goal is to simplify logistics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 16, 2008— High prices have hit many countries around the world, but landlocked developing countries bear an extra burden.
Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Burundi, and other countries without a port pay more and wait longer for imported oil, food, and other goods.
And they have an equally hard time exporting, with the result that they trade less and grow more slowly than their coastal neighbors.
Being landlocked is a major reason why 16 of the world’s 31 landlocked developing countries are among the poorest in the world, say three World Bank economists working on trade logistics issues.
Overcoming Geographical Disadvantages
The World Bank, United Nations, landlocked and donor countries are working together to try to reduce barriers to trade, growth, and development faced by the least developed landlocked countries. Experts met early this month in New York to assess progress in the 10-year Almaty program, launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2003.
The program calls on countries to make transit and border regulations more transparent, streamline administrative procedures, and further simplify border control and procedures. It also underscores the importance of regional and sub-regional collaborative efforts in developing efficient transit transport systems.
The World Bank is helping by financing projects and technical assistance to make trade and transporting goods easier. It’s also contributing research, such as the Cost of Being Landlocked study and the Logistics Performance Index.
The Bank also supports global and regional initiatives, such as the Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade. The Bank’s work shows that landlocked economies are affected by the high cost of freight services as well as the high degree of unpredictability in transportation time.
The main sources of costs are not only physical constraints but also widespread corruption and severe flaws in the implementation of transit systems, which prevent the emergence of reliable logistics services.
Gael Raballand and Jean-Francois Marteau of the Africa transport division, and Jean-Francois Arvis of the trade division of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management network (PREM), are trying to find ways to fix some of the trade problems that contribute to keeping landlocked least-developed countries (LLDCs) stuck in a low-growth pattern.
Their 2007 study, “The Cost of Being Landlocked: Logistics Costs and Supply Chain Reliability,” says that the condition of roads isn’t the main reason for inefficient and costly transport. Infrastructure improvements alone won’t solve the problem, they say.
“Many people said for many years that better infrastructure would solve the issue of the cost of being landlocked,” says Raballand. “But now we know we have to work more and more in coastal countries because the most important problem lies in ports and how to get goods out of them.”
Other problems include border delays, cartels in the trucking industry, multiple clearance processes, and bribe-taking, all of which keep transport costs artificially high,.
Goods Take ‘Twice as Long’ to Exit Ports
It can take “twice as long” for imports to exit ports than to actually travel from port to destination. In all, it can take four to six weeks for goods for goods to reach some landlocked countries from coastal countries, says Marteau..
Goods destined for landlocked countries sit longer in ports than domestically bound goods, and they also are subject to “multiple lengthy clearance systems on most corridors.”
“From what we have seen, the uncertainty in ports is extremely high, and it affects the whole rest of the trip,” says Marteau.
Goods bound for Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi spend an average of five days more (25 versus 20 days) in Tanzania’s Dar Es Salaam port than domestically bound goods. The same is true for goods shipped through Mombasa, Kenya, says the study.
Inefficient port processes in Douala, Cameroon, contribute to the delays and high cost of transporting goods to N’Djaména in Chad, 2,000 km from the sea.
The five-week journey over rail and road requires seven documents and suffers from poor and fragmented trucking services, widespread “rent-seeking resulting in many checkpoints,” security problems, and weak customs administration in Chad, according to a 2006 diagnostic trade integration study.
In Africa and Central Asia, goods bound for landlocked countries face at least three “clearance” processes, while coastal countries face only one. The first one is the Port.
The second happens at borders. It usually takes more than 24 hours to cross the Kenya-Uganda border. In Southern Africa, border delays between South Africa and Zimbabwe reached six days in 2003. In Central Asia, trucks can face a delay of three days at the Uzbek border.
A final delay occurs when goods are finally cleared in the capital city in the landlocked country.
“Ultimately, transit goods will have gone through three to four clearance processes, while coastal countries face only one,” says the Landlocked Countries study.
Shipping Costs and Food Prices
Shipping costs are also a key component of food prices, and are “generally far higher” for many low-income countries than for industrialized OECD countries, according to a World Bank paper on rising food prices released during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings earlier this month.
Trucking operators in oil-importing countries, such as landlocked Zambia, for instance, were already paying as much as 50 percent more for fuel than in other countries of the region even before the recent oil price jumps.
Unpredictability a Problem
Delays increase costs and the uncertainty of delivery—and that’s as big a problem as a lengthy transport process, the study says.
The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, based on feedback from shippers around the world, indicates that in terms of trade, reliability is as important as how quickly a good reaches its destination.
The Landlocked Country study finds that uncertainty forces companies to turn to more reliable expensive transport, such as planes, or invest in large inventories—as much as a year’s supply.
Bank Focuses on Cutting Time and Uncertainty
Other factors drive up costs, such as cartels in the trucking industry in both landlocked and coastal countries and also bribe-taking.
“Facilitation payments” are a “serious problem” on some corridors. Roadblocks in West Africa add 10 percent to overheads and may occur every 30 km, or even more frequently.
Corruption may also be severe at border crossings, says the study. A Kyrgyz truck entering Uzbekistan has to pay up to US$700 to cross the border, a quarter of which are unofficial costs.
Streamlining the import-export process could lower costs to consumers and enhance a nation’s ability to trade, grow, and encourage investment, says Raballand. But such change faces hurdles.
“The problem with the system is you have huge vested interests. Many people extract rents in the current system—and you’re talking millions of dollars.”
Reducing customs duties could probably simplify the logistics system but isn’t easy because customs duties make up a large portion of government revenues in landlocked countries, says Raballand. The other option is to cut time and uncertainty as much as possible.
“Cutting costs implies looking at the way services are done,” says Marteau. “We know that there are ways to reduce costs, but we don’t know if the savings will be passed on to the consumer. That’s why we tried to focus more on the time issue, because that’s something that benefits everybody. Normally, this reduction in time should result in reduction in cost factors and transport costs eventually. But there are many ifs.
Belai Habte-Jesus, MD, MPHGlobal Strategic Enterprises, Inc. 4 Peace & ProsperityWin-win synergestic Partnership 4P&P-focusing on 5Es: Education+Energy+Ecology+Economy+Enterpriseswww.Globalbelai4u.blogspot.com; Globalbelai@yahoo.com C: 703.933.8737; F: 703.531.0545
--- On Tue, 6/17/08, A. Debebe
From: A. Debebe
Subject: Re: [Addis-Ababa-University-Alumni-Association] FW: Islam in the Horn
To: Addis-Ababa-University-Alumni-Association@yahoogroups.com
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 7:37 AM
Any relation this article has with the Sudan getting the land that does not belong to it, such as, getting the heart and soul of the Muslims not to participate in any unity against the land offer to the Sudan.
Sometimes the western journals ( and journalists) are myopic when an article comes from any person with a money that refutes history, even if the core idea in the article is intended to kill their mother. The act of this journal in this case is like the tale of the donkey we learnt when we were 5 years of age.
--- On Tue, 6/17/08, Damtew Teferra
From: Damtew Teferra
Subject: Re: [Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on] FW: Islam in the Horn
To: Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on@yahoogroups. com
Date: Tuesday, June 17, 2008, 7:11 AM
Selam all,
"Wushet sidegagem ewnet yihonal endilu"...we need to take this matter seriously and actually write directly to the site owners. Historians among us would do a better job. This reminds me of the discussion we had on the journal article on Ethiopian IQ that used Beth-Israel (Falashas) based in Israel.
I remember writing this article to the editors of the journal which prompted them to publish counter piece on subsequent issues http://www.addisvoi ce.com/news/ flawed.htm).
I actually read the editorial policy of the site which states: "Editorial Policy: Report Abuse or Policy Violations
We have a strict editorial policy and affirmatively seek articles that promote diversity and tolerance. We are not a forum for articles that promote hatred, racial or ethnic strife, homophobia, or intolerance of any kind. We have over 100,000 articles and over 3,000 contributors to our site.
If you believe an article on one of our sites violates our Editorial Board Contributor Policy, send us specific information about how and why the article violates our policy to this email address. Identify the author, article link, article number (available in the URL), and paragraph. Please provide specific information about how and why the article violates our policy.
However, if you simply disagree with the author about the points being made in the article, or if you wish to compliment or comment to the author directly about content of the article, then you are welcome to write the author directly by using the "author's email" link available in the biography box adjacent to the article."
The author claims that he is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on the site where the article appears and such kind of pitiable reporting would not make either institutions proud if not embarrassing.
Damtew
| On Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:25:12 -0700 (PDT)
| solomon dejene
| Selam all,
| Thank you Helen for your critical questions. Primarily I found it distressing that the American Chrocnicle allows such articles to be published on its site without checking whether the points raised in the content are historically verifiable.
Most of the points the author mentioned are that of the 2oth century which can be easily checked on one of the Encyclopedias. Of course, Ethiopia is one out of the many poor countries that live on hand outs from among other the United States of America. Publishing such an article may not have any influence whatsoever on the institute or company that owns the site. So, why worry.
| Ok back to the point, even if I do not have so much doubt on the percentage of Moslims in Ethiopia, I do not share most of the ideas of Mr. Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi. It is also a common phenomenon in Wello, Gurage and Arsi, people switch from one religion to another. Even in one family you will have people who belong to different religions. But the danger of such presentations is the distorted historical facts.
In his presentation he mentioned the war/invasion of Ahmed Gragn, the 1964 and the 1967 Ethio-Somali conflicts along with the 2006 + intervension of Ethiopia in Somalia. A number of the statements he made tendentious and historically not true. The sad thing is that such I will not react in detail on such points but just put forth the points that are untrue even for the lay observer:
| "In 1977, Somalis retaliates and occupied 60% of Ethiopian land and even gone
| close to Addis Ababa in 18 kilometers."
| "In similar manner Oromo is facing insult and pressure from Ethiopian government,
| where they don´t get proper share in the government and even their children are not
| allowed to attend the universities in Addis Ababa."
| "Melese Sanawi selected Christian man from Oromo to be Ethiopian President.
| He overlooked the Muslim majority of Oromo, because, simply, he does not want
| Muslim. This shows that Ethiopian government is not killing all Oromo but only the
| Muslims because of their believe in the Greater Islam."
| "90% of Oromo practice Islam as fundamental religion..."
| "Ahmed Guray freed many parts of Ethiopia from the emperors who restricted the
| freedom of the people... captured more than 50% of Ethiopian highlands, which
| accelerated the number of Ethiopians embracing Islam." please read this against the
| statement he made earlier that says, "Ahmed Guray, who was an Arab, led full-scale
| war against Abyssinia" (If he is an Arab what does he do in Ethiopia? Why should he invade in the first place the High Lands of Ethiopia if they were Christians?
|
| The article seems to be written more out of ressentment than critical reflection. Even if the author might think that the historical facts he wrote would be true, his presentation are both partial and partisan. The only purpose of such an article is in my view to divide people along mostly religious line. His appeal to the Oromo quest is also in my view very superficial. He does not also have the overall picture of the political situation of current Ethiopia.
| All in all, it is far from academic away from any journalistic ethics. I would rather not forward such articles. It only sends wrong signals to people.
| Selam lehulachin
|
|
|
|
| helen ayele
| Selam,
|
| I have many doubts on this article Let's start from the beginning it says the musilim number is 40% . Amusing how come it reaches to this big number? what was his reference to say this?. where comes this imagination from? by which formula is the musilim number increases? and why not the number of Christian's decline while the number of population of Ethiopia increases .
i know also the number of mosques is greater than the number of churches in addis ababa.any ways i have seen many many false things in this article..i wonder if one Ethiopians reads this article and say this writer has wrote one true thing.
|
| Yours
|
| H.
|
|
| ----- Original Message ----
| From: Belai FM Habte-Jesus
| To: Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on@yahoogroups. com
| Cc: nwMariam@yahoo. com; globalbelai@ yahoo.com; adm@Aigaforum. com; Ben EthiopiaFirst
| Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 3:45:23 AM
| Subject: Re: [Addis-Ababa- University- Alumni-Associati on] FW: Islam in the Horn
|
|
| Please find below a very interesting article posted in the American Chronicle and would seek your comments on its veracity and its implication.
|
| with regards
|
| Dr B
|
| http://www.american chronicle. com/articles/ 65083
|
| Islam in the Horn of Africa
|
| Abdulazez Al-Motairi
|
|
| June 15, 2008
|
| Presently, Islam is the most widely practiced religion
| in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia,
| Djibouti, and Eretria. Some of today's Muslims in the
| region had their ancestors converted from Christianity
| and others had theirs migrated from the Arab
| peninsula. Ethnically, these Muslims belong to
| different tribes, such as Somalis, Oromo, Afar, and
| others and they mainly speak Cushitic Language.
|
| Today, Somalia and Djibouti are predominantly Muslim
| and Ethiopia has about 40 percent and Eretria 50
| Percent Muslim Population. In Eretria most Muslims
| belong to Jabarti tribe and many of them are
| descendants of Arab tribes.
Some major Somali tribes | have Arab roots like Isaaq, of Iraqi roots, and
| Daarood, of Yemeni roots. The region had historical
| trade and economic relations with Arabs in the gulf
| including Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman in addition
| UAE.
|
| History of Islam in the region
|
| Islam and Somalis
|
| Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia
|
| Islam-o-phobia of Ethiopia
|
| Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors
|
|  History of Islam in the region
|
| Islamic history reveals the first Muslim immigration
| by Sahaba (apostles) of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to
| Ethiopia to save their religion from "Idol worshipers"
| in Makka of Arab decedents on 615 AD. Sahaba were
| forced to leave their homes in Makka due to pressure
| and killing by the Arabs of Makka.
|
| The King of Abyssinian (Habash) Nagashi welcomed the
| Sahaba to his kingdom and permitted them to teach and
| preach their religion in Habash.
Even, Nagashi turned | down the request of Arab delegate from Makka who
| demanded extradition of the Sahaba. Some Ethiopians
| embraced Islam at the hands of the Sahaba who stayed
| in Habash many years until Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
| asked them to come back to their homeland. The
| spreading of Islam stopped for a while after Sahaba
| returned to Makka.
|
| Islamic History says first Islamic Funeral prayer in
| absentee was performed by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) from
| Madina on body of Nagashi (The King of Abyssinia)
| after his death in Harare City, Ethiopia.
|
| Islam entered Ethiopia as primary believe in the 16th
| Century by Arab traders and preachers, which led 65%
| of Ethiopians to embrace Islam. This created fear in
| the Ethiopian Church who later considered the Muslims
| as the principal threat to their existence.
|
| In 16th and beginning of 17th Century, Islamic State
| of ADAL was announced by Somalis and Arabs led by
| Warrior Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi known (Ahmed Guray).
| Ahmed Guray, who was an Arab, led full-scale war
| against Abyssinia and defeated them. Ahmed Guray army
| captured more than 50% of Ethiopian highlands, which
| accelerated the number of Ethiopians embracing Islam.
| Ahmed Guray received support from Othman Emperor
| (known Turkey) and King Saeed Barqash of Sultanate of
| Oman.
|
| The bad feeling of Ethiopian Church towards Muslims
| increased very sharply, and after they failed to stop
| Ahmed Guray and his army; they appealed to Portugal
| for support. Ahmed Guray continued a chain of
| victories against Abyssinian army for about two
| decades. History says that Ahmed Guray dead during
| fighting with Portugal forces who arrived to support
| Ethiopia. The widow of Ahmed Guray, called Bati Del
| Wambara overtook the leadership of ADAL and continued
| the fighting.
|
| ADAL's headquarter was located in Zayla, the coast
| town connecting between Djibouti and Somaliland. ADAL
| collapsed awhile after the death of Ahmed Guray. This
| gave the Ethiopians the chance to recapture back the
| land they lost to ADAL without resistance.
|
| Also, Arabs preached Islam in neighboring Kenya and
| Tanzania. The King of Oman Saeed founded strong bases
| in the coast areas including Mombasa, Kenya and
| Zanzibar of Tanzania. Somalis are part of 30% of
| Kenyan Muslims mainly in the Northern Regions and
| Coast Areas. In Tanzania the Muslims form 50%.
|
|  Islam and Somalis:
|
| Somali, the name is derived from the Somali word (Soo
| Maal), which means milking the livestock. Somali is
| basically a Cushitic language spoken in many countries
| including Somalia, Ethiopian, Djibouti and Kenya as
| primary and official languages. Somali speaking
| population is about 10 million.
|
| Somalia is the only country in the world that is 100%
| Muslim. Somalia Muslims are all Sunnis who practice
| the Shaafi faith. The people living in Somalia speak
| Somali and Arabic in addition to Rahanwayn language in
| the south of Somalia.
|
| There are about four major tribes in Somalia including
| Hawiye, Isaaq, Daarood and Rahanwayn. Isaac, Daarood
| and Hawiye have Arabian roots, where Darood are the
| children of Darood Ismail Jabarti, who was from
| southern Yemen, Isaac are the children of Sheikh Isaaq
| bin Ahmed who was from Mosul, Iraq. Hawiyo is
| combination of different groups but mainly from Yemen.
|
|
| Islam entered Somalia and Ethiopian within first ten
| centuries of the Georgian calendar by Arab traders and
| Preachers. Somalis, after the collapse of ADAL,
| attended Arabian universities mainly Egyptian Al-Azhar
| University. The relation between the Arabs and Somalis
| had grown stronger particularly with Yemen and
| Sultanate of Oman.
|
| After western colonizers divided Somalia into five
| main parties leaving Djibouti with France, Somaliland
| with British, South Somalia with Italy, and Reserve
| Area with Ethiopia in addition to NFD with Kenya. The
| occupation of these areas happen different times,
| Britain sold Reserve Area and NFD to Ethiopia and
| Kenya in 20th Century.
|
| Some of Al-Azhar University Graduates arrived back
| home including Sayed Abdullah Hassan, nick named The
| Mad Mullah. He was not wise man and started armed
| struggle against British. He tried to overtake some
| parties of Somaliland mainly Hawd Area. British
| disbanded his army by air bombing. The Mad Mullah dead
| during the air bombing by British.
|
| Sayed Abdullah Hassan (the Mad Mulla) was Sufist and
| convinced many Somalis to practice the Sufi faith.
| Sufi faith permits Spiritual attainment in Islam,
| where Muslim is allowed to pray to Allah via another
| religious person. But Salafi Group, also called
| Wahabist in Somalia, rejects the idea of attainment.
| Salafi or Wahabist faith entered Somalia about four
| decades ago.
|
|  Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia:
|
| Until 1960´s majority of Somalis practiced Sufi faith
| of Islam that had wide respect among Somali tribes.
| Somalis consider Sufi faith as less violent compare to
| Salafi faith.
|
| The Qur'an was taught using Somali language as the
| people were unfamiliar with Arabic. Somalis use to
| write Qur'an on wooden sheet like instrument using ink
| made of traditional Somali coal. Such practices
| remains active until now but with less percentage.
|
|
| In mid 1970s the Salafi faith of Islam was introduced
| in Somalia by Somali students graduated from Saudi
| Arabian Islamic universities. The students started
| teaching the Nobel Qur'an and gradually gained very
| wide popularity across Somalia.
|
| In less than ten years, the Salafi faith replaced Sufi
| faith; the leaders of the mosques turn into Salafi,
| and Sufi faith started disappearing slowly until
| today. The Salafi faith had strong relation with their
| counterparts in else where in the world mainly Saudi
| Arabia.
|
| After 1977, Salafi revolution in Somalia spread into
| the neighboring countries like Ethiopia and formed an
| armed group called Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, with their
| main aim is to liberate Somali dominated areas in
| Ethiopia from Ethiopian occupation.
|
| Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and Al-Shabab were product
| of Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, as major senior leaders in
| both ICU and Al-Shabab are co-founders of Al-Itahad
| Al-Islamiya.
|
| Today, Salafi faith is widely practiced inside
| Somalia, and with very high speed. The youth and
| middle age follow Salafi faith except the elderly who
| still practice the Sufi faith. Majority of the mosques
| in Somalia is led by Salafi preachers.
|
|  Islam-o-phobia in Ethiopia:
|
| After collapse of ADAL, Kingdom of Abyssinia put
| pressure to Muslim and forced many of them to return
| to Christianity. The kingdom did not allow the Muslims
| to practice their religion in public, where prayers
| were performed in-house only. Muslims were not allowed
| officially to travel to Makka to perform Hajj until
| 1974, after military coup led by Migusto Haile Mariam.
| Mariam ordered freedom of religion and allowed Muslims
| to perform Hajj. Muslims in Eritrea were under similar
| condition.
|
| Today, more than half of Ethiopians are devout
| Muslims, mainly in the outlying regions, and in the
| Eastern Lowlands.
|
| Traditionally, the status of Islam has been far from
| equal with that of Christianity. However, the emperor
| Haile Selassie gave audiences to Muslim leaders and
| made overtures in response to their concerns, and
| under the Derg even more was done to give at least
| symbolic parity to the two faiths. Nevertheless, the
| perception of Ethiopia as "an island of Christianity
| in a sea of Islam" has continued to prevail among both
| highland Ethiopians and foreigners.
|
| In 1964, Ethiopian Christian leaders attacked Somalia
| in a plan to end the Islamic presence in the region.
| At that time, Somalia was only four years old without
| proper military and government institutions. But
| overall this, Somalis defend their country very
| bravely and forced Ethiopia to retrieve. This was the
| first religious war between Ethiopia and Somalia.
|
| In 1977, Somalis retaliates and occupied 60% of
| Ethiopian land and even gone close to Addis Ababa in
| 18 kilometers. The objective of Somalis was to return
| the Reserve Area illegally sold by British to
| Ethiopia. Ethiopia was unable to stop the Somalis. And
| as usually, Ethiopia pleaded to international support,
| and received military support of Russia and Cuba.
| Russia-Cuba Alliance forced the Somali military to go
| back into Somalia border.
|
| In 2006, Ethiopian invaded Somalia on the bases of
| similar background. Ethiopia always considers the
| Somali Islamist as #1 enemy. Ethiopia saw the Islamic
| Courts Union (ICU), as the new threat to their
| national unity; Ethiopian Prime Minister Melese Zanawi
| follows the old procedure of the church, who considers
| the Muslims as major enemy of Ethiopia. Zanawi is man
| of principle but the unfortunate is those supporting
| Zanawi and Church Plan in Somalia like Transitional
| Government of Somalia (TGS) leader Abdullah Yusuf.
|
| In similar manner Oromo is facing insult and pressure
| from Ethiopian government, where they don´t get proper
| share in the government and even their children are
| not allowed to attend the universities in Addis Ababa.
|
|
| Melese Sanawi selected Christian man from Oromo to be
| Ethiopian President. He overlooked the Muslim majority
| of Oromo, because, simply, he does not want Muslim.
| This shows that Ethiopian government is not killing
| all Oromo but only the Muslims because of their
| believe in the Greater Islam.
|
| Oromo is the largest community in Ethiopia in middle
| of lowlands, 90% of Oromo practice Islam as
| fundamental religion, Islam was introduced to Oromo in
| 16th century with neighboring Somali Community. Oromo
| has anti-Ethiopian armed movements and recently
| accused receiving military support and training from
| Eritrea. Current President of Ethiopia is from
| Christian Minority of Oromo, where Muslims has little
| access to government due to their armed struggle.
|
|  Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors:
|
| The battle between the Muslim leaders and Ethiopian
| emperors is active until today, because the Ethiopian
| invasion in Somalia has strong roots into the
| centuries old conflict between the Muslims and
| Ethiopian Christian emperor.
|
| Ahmed Guray freed many parts of Ethiopia from the
| emperors who restricted the freedom of the people; the
| parties that ADAL army captured include Shewa, Gonder,
| Wollo and parts of Tigray. Some historians say the
| struggle between the Christian Emperors in Ethiopia
| and Somalis started from 1528 until today.
|
| Emporer Lebna Dengel, who was ruling Abyssinia during
| the war with ADAL, plead for support from Portugal
| after his army failed to stop ADAL army.
|
| In the same manner, United States of America (USA) is
| helping Meleze Sanawi to stop the Islamist growing in
| the region. Ethiopia knows, if Muslim government comes
| to power in Somalia then it will come to ethiopia to
| free the thousands of the Muslim ethiopians trapped
| under Melese regime.
|
| The government don´t allow construction of new mosques
| in the capital, Addis Ababa. In other hand, the
| European Christian missionaries builds new church
| every one month. Church bells are famous in Addis
| Ababa more than the Mosques.
|
| The present mosques in Addis Ababa are centuries old;
| it is remainings of Othman Emporers. The Muslims don´t
| take part in the central government, and if any Muslim
| gets chance in the central government, he/she should
| be lapdog for Ethiopian Christian Emporer Meleze
| Sanawi. Muslims in Addis Ababa feel overtaken and
| always seek help from the Muslim world, but the
| failure of Somalia has led them into endless problems.
|
|
| By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
|
| Email: az.almutairi@ yahoo.com
|
| ************ ***
|
| Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi, MA in Journalism and Mass
| Communication, Columnist, Freelance Journalist and
| Weekly article writer about Middle East and African
| politics and human rights. He is member of
| International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Challenges of being land locked: Price, time and trade?
Landlocked Countries: Higher Transport Costs, Delays, Less Trade
Available in: Español, العربية, Français
Website: Trade and Competitiveness
Related Links
Report: Cost of Being Landlocked
Website: Logistics Performance Index
Website: Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade
Bottlenecks in neighboring countries’ ports, not road quality, main reason for trade problems.
Delays at border crossings also add to shipment time.
Bank’s goal is to simplify logistics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 16, 2008— High prices have hit many countries around the world, but landlocked developing countries bear an extra burden.
Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Burundi, and other countries without a port pay more and wait longer for imported oil, food, and other goods.
And they have an equally hard time exporting, with the result that they trade less and grow more slowly than their coastal neighbors.
Being landlocked is a major reason why 16 of the world’s 31 landlocked developing countries are among the poorest in the world, say three World Bank economists working on trade logistics issues.
Overcoming Geographical Disadvantages
The World Bank, United Nations, landlocked and donor countries are working together to try to reduce barriers to trade, growth, and development faced by the least developed landlocked countries. Experts met early this month in New York to assess progress in the 10-year Almaty program, launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2003.
The program calls on countries to make transit and border regulations more transparent, streamline administrative procedures, and further simplify border control and procedures. It also underscores the importance of regional and sub-regional collaborative efforts in developing efficient transit transport systems.
The World Bank is helping by financing projects and technical assistance to make trade and transporting goods easier. It’s also contributing research, such as the Cost of Being Landlocked study and the Logistics Performance Index. The Bank also supports global and regional initiatives, such as the Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade.
The Bank’s work shows that landlocked economies are affected by the high cost of freight services as well as the high degree of unpredictability in transportation time. The main sources of costs are not only physical constraints but also widespread corruption and severe flaws in the implementation of transit systems, which prevent the emergence of reliable logistics services.
Gael Raballand and Jean-Francois Marteau of the Africa transport division, and Jean-Francois Arvis of the trade division of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management network (PREM), are trying to find ways to fix some of the trade problems that contribute to keeping landlocked least-developed countries (LLDCs) stuck in a low-growth pattern.
Their 2007 study, “The Cost of Being Landlocked: Logistics Costs and Supply Chain Reliability,” says that the condition of roads isn’t the main reason for inefficient and costly transport. Infrastructure improvements alone won’t solve the problem, they say.
“Many people said for many years that better infrastructure would solve the issue of the cost of being landlocked,” says Raballand. “But now we know we have to work more and more in coastal countries because the most important problem lies in ports and how to get goods out of them.”
Other problems include border delays, cartels in the trucking industry, multiple clearance processes, and bribe-taking, all of which keep transport costs artificially high,.
Goods Take ‘Twice as Long’ to Exit Ports
It can take “twice as long” for imports to exit ports than to actually travel from port to destination. In all, it can take four to six weeks for goods for goods to reach some landlocked countries from coastal countries, says Marteau..
Goods destined for landlocked countries sit longer in ports than domestically bound goods, and they also are subject to “multiple lengthy clearance systems on most corridors.”
“From what we have seen, the uncertainty in ports is extremely high, and it affects the whole rest of the trip,” says Marteau.
Goods bound for Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi spend an average of five days more (25 versus 20 days) in Tanzania’s Dar Es Salaam port than domestically bound goods. The same is true for goods shipped through Mombasa, Kenya, says the study.
Inefficient port processes in Douala, Cameroon, contribute to the delays and high cost of transporting goods to N’Djaména in Chad, 2,000 km from the sea.
The five-week journey over rail and road requires seven documents and suffers from poor and fragmented trucking services, widespread “rent-seeking resulting in many checkpoints,” security problems, and weak customs administration in Chad, according to a 2006 diagnostic trade integration study.
In Africa and Central Asia, goods bound for landlocked countries face at least three “clearance” processes, while coastal countries face only one. The first one is the Port.
The second happens at borders. It usually takes more than 24 hours to cross the Kenya-Uganda border. In Southern Africa, border delays between South Africa and Zimbabwe reached six days in 2003. In Central Asia, trucks can face a delay of three days at the Uzbek border.
A final delay occurs when goods are finally cleared in the capital city in the landlocked country.
“Ultimately, transit goods will have gone through three to four clearance processes, while coastal countries face only one,” says the Landlocked Countries study.
Shipping Costs and Food Prices
Shipping costs are also a key component of food prices, and are “generally far higher” for many low-income countries than for industrialized OECD countries, according to a World Bank paper on rising food prices released during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings earlier this month.
Trucking operators in oil-importing countries, such as landlocked Zambia, for instance, were already paying as much as 50 percent more for fuel than in other countries of the region even before the recent oil price jumps.
Unpredictability a Problem
Delays increase costs and the uncertainty of delivery—and that’s as big a problem as a lengthy transport process, the study says.
The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, based on feedback from shippers around the world, indicates that in terms of trade, reliability is as important as how quickly a good reaches its destination.
The Landlocked Country study finds that uncertainty forces companies to turn to more reliable expensive transport, such as planes, or invest in large inventories—as much as a year’s supply.
Bank Focuses on Cutting Time and Uncertainty
Other factors drive up costs, such as cartels in the trucking industry in both landlocked and coastal countries and also bribe-taking.
“Facilitation payments” are a “serious problem” on some corridors. Roadblocks in West Africa add 10 percent to overheads and may occur every 30 km, or even more frequently.
Corruption may also be severe at border crossings, says the study. A Kyrgyz truck entering Uzbekistan has to pay up to US$700 to cross the border, a quarter of which are unofficial costs.
Streamlining the import-export process could lower costs to consumers and enhance a nation’s ability to trade, grow, and encourage investment, says Raballand. But such change faces hurdles.
“The problem with the system is you have huge vested interests. Many people extract rents in the current system—and you’re talking millions of dollars.”
Reducing customs duties could probably simplify the logistics system but isn’t easy because customs duties make up a large portion of government revenues in landlocked countries, says Raballand. The other option is to cut time and uncertainty as much as possible.
“Cutting costs implies looking at the way services are done,” says Marteau. “We know that there are ways to reduce costs, but we don’t know if the savings will be passed on to the consumer. That’s why we tried to focus more on the time issue, because that’s something that benefits everybody. Normally, this reduction in time should result in reduction in cost factors and transport costs eventually. But there are many ifs.
Available in: Español, العربية, Français
Website: Trade and Competitiveness
Related Links
Report: Cost of Being Landlocked
Website: Logistics Performance Index
Website: Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade
Bottlenecks in neighboring countries’ ports, not road quality, main reason for trade problems.
Delays at border crossings also add to shipment time.
Bank’s goal is to simplify logistics.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 16, 2008— High prices have hit many countries around the world, but landlocked developing countries bear an extra burden.
Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Burundi, and other countries without a port pay more and wait longer for imported oil, food, and other goods.
And they have an equally hard time exporting, with the result that they trade less and grow more slowly than their coastal neighbors.
Being landlocked is a major reason why 16 of the world’s 31 landlocked developing countries are among the poorest in the world, say three World Bank economists working on trade logistics issues.
Overcoming Geographical Disadvantages
The World Bank, United Nations, landlocked and donor countries are working together to try to reduce barriers to trade, growth, and development faced by the least developed landlocked countries. Experts met early this month in New York to assess progress in the 10-year Almaty program, launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2003.
The program calls on countries to make transit and border regulations more transparent, streamline administrative procedures, and further simplify border control and procedures. It also underscores the importance of regional and sub-regional collaborative efforts in developing efficient transit transport systems.
The World Bank is helping by financing projects and technical assistance to make trade and transporting goods easier. It’s also contributing research, such as the Cost of Being Landlocked study and the Logistics Performance Index. The Bank also supports global and regional initiatives, such as the Global Facilitation Partnership for Transportation and Trade.
The Bank’s work shows that landlocked economies are affected by the high cost of freight services as well as the high degree of unpredictability in transportation time. The main sources of costs are not only physical constraints but also widespread corruption and severe flaws in the implementation of transit systems, which prevent the emergence of reliable logistics services.
Gael Raballand and Jean-Francois Marteau of the Africa transport division, and Jean-Francois Arvis of the trade division of the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management network (PREM), are trying to find ways to fix some of the trade problems that contribute to keeping landlocked least-developed countries (LLDCs) stuck in a low-growth pattern.
Their 2007 study, “The Cost of Being Landlocked: Logistics Costs and Supply Chain Reliability,” says that the condition of roads isn’t the main reason for inefficient and costly transport. Infrastructure improvements alone won’t solve the problem, they say.
“Many people said for many years that better infrastructure would solve the issue of the cost of being landlocked,” says Raballand. “But now we know we have to work more and more in coastal countries because the most important problem lies in ports and how to get goods out of them.”
Other problems include border delays, cartels in the trucking industry, multiple clearance processes, and bribe-taking, all of which keep transport costs artificially high,.
Goods Take ‘Twice as Long’ to Exit Ports
It can take “twice as long” for imports to exit ports than to actually travel from port to destination. In all, it can take four to six weeks for goods for goods to reach some landlocked countries from coastal countries, says Marteau..
Goods destined for landlocked countries sit longer in ports than domestically bound goods, and they also are subject to “multiple lengthy clearance systems on most corridors.”
“From what we have seen, the uncertainty in ports is extremely high, and it affects the whole rest of the trip,” says Marteau.
Goods bound for Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi spend an average of five days more (25 versus 20 days) in Tanzania’s Dar Es Salaam port than domestically bound goods. The same is true for goods shipped through Mombasa, Kenya, says the study.
Inefficient port processes in Douala, Cameroon, contribute to the delays and high cost of transporting goods to N’Djaména in Chad, 2,000 km from the sea.
The five-week journey over rail and road requires seven documents and suffers from poor and fragmented trucking services, widespread “rent-seeking resulting in many checkpoints,” security problems, and weak customs administration in Chad, according to a 2006 diagnostic trade integration study.
In Africa and Central Asia, goods bound for landlocked countries face at least three “clearance” processes, while coastal countries face only one. The first one is the Port.
The second happens at borders. It usually takes more than 24 hours to cross the Kenya-Uganda border. In Southern Africa, border delays between South Africa and Zimbabwe reached six days in 2003. In Central Asia, trucks can face a delay of three days at the Uzbek border.
A final delay occurs when goods are finally cleared in the capital city in the landlocked country.
“Ultimately, transit goods will have gone through three to four clearance processes, while coastal countries face only one,” says the Landlocked Countries study.
Shipping Costs and Food Prices
Shipping costs are also a key component of food prices, and are “generally far higher” for many low-income countries than for industrialized OECD countries, according to a World Bank paper on rising food prices released during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings earlier this month.
Trucking operators in oil-importing countries, such as landlocked Zambia, for instance, were already paying as much as 50 percent more for fuel than in other countries of the region even before the recent oil price jumps.
Unpredictability a Problem
Delays increase costs and the uncertainty of delivery—and that’s as big a problem as a lengthy transport process, the study says.
The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index, based on feedback from shippers around the world, indicates that in terms of trade, reliability is as important as how quickly a good reaches its destination.
The Landlocked Country study finds that uncertainty forces companies to turn to more reliable expensive transport, such as planes, or invest in large inventories—as much as a year’s supply.
Bank Focuses on Cutting Time and Uncertainty
Other factors drive up costs, such as cartels in the trucking industry in both landlocked and coastal countries and also bribe-taking.
“Facilitation payments” are a “serious problem” on some corridors. Roadblocks in West Africa add 10 percent to overheads and may occur every 30 km, or even more frequently.
Corruption may also be severe at border crossings, says the study. A Kyrgyz truck entering Uzbekistan has to pay up to US$700 to cross the border, a quarter of which are unofficial costs.
Streamlining the import-export process could lower costs to consumers and enhance a nation’s ability to trade, grow, and encourage investment, says Raballand. But such change faces hurdles.
“The problem with the system is you have huge vested interests. Many people extract rents in the current system—and you’re talking millions of dollars.”
Reducing customs duties could probably simplify the logistics system but isn’t easy because customs duties make up a large portion of government revenues in landlocked countries, says Raballand. The other option is to cut time and uncertainty as much as possible.
“Cutting costs implies looking at the way services are done,” says Marteau. “We know that there are ways to reduce costs, but we don’t know if the savings will be passed on to the consumer. That’s why we tried to focus more on the time issue, because that’s something that benefits everybody. Normally, this reduction in time should result in reduction in cost factors and transport costs eventually. But there are many ifs.
Good Governance? Famine and Preventing Malnutrition?
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of FDRE www.mfa.gov.et Page 1
June 13, 2008
Four and a half million need emergency food aid
The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) has now issued a revised
figure of 4.6 million people needing emergency food assistance.
The Early Warning Working Group, chaired by the DPPA and made up of major donors, UN Agencies, USAID and other NGOs, launched a revised appeal on Thursday for this level of aid.
The previous estimates were that 3.4 million people were in need of assistance.
Six Month Requirements?
Latest figures are that total food requirements stand at 391,651 MT for the next six months (June to November), at a cost of 325 million dollars for both food and non-food requirements.
Food, Health and Water! Any connection?
The non-food sectors, including health and water will require 38 million
dollars. The total food requirement for estimated beneficiaries now stands at 510,000
MT, and of this 118,000 MT are available or have been pledged. The figures and
requirements will be updated as the impact of the coming belg and gu seasons are
assessed.
Oromiya: The Crisis Center!
The most seriously affected regions are in Oromiya, where serious food
security, health and livestock problems have been identified in nine woredas, the
SNNPR region, where a number of particular hotspots have been identified following a
DPPA mission, and the Somali Regional State.
Afar, Amhara and Tigrai need emergency food:
There is also need of emergency food assistance in Amhara, Tigray and Afar regional states following poor belg rains, though the effects of the late onset of belg rains has been minimized in many areas by the efforts of government and partners including FAO, CARE and Save the Children US.
Children with severe malnutrition!
Of particular concern has been the numbers of children suffering from severe
malnutrition. After UNICEF suggested up to six million children under 5 years of age
might need preventive health and nutrition intervention, there were exaggerated
suggestions in the international media that all of these were suffering from acute
malnutrition.
How do we estimate accurate figures?
While there is still some uncertainty about numbers of severely
malnourished children, the current estimates are around 75,000. Mr. John Holmes,
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, has noted that “a rapid scaling up of resources especially food and
nutritional supplies is needed to make increased life-saving aid a reality.
Rising Global costs for fuel and food
In addition as elsewhere, the rising global costs of fuel and basic staples are posing hardship for Ethiopia’s people, especially the poorest.” A number of governments have pledged extra assistance in response to the situation.
UK, US and Norway lead the pledge roster!
In addition to £5 million pounds announced earlier, the UK pledged another £10 million; USAID pledged 70 million dollars for emergency food assistance, and the Government of Norway donated 20 million birr for drought affected regions. UN Agencies have also been active in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of FDRE www.mfa.gov.et
assistance. Between January and May this year, the World Food Program distributed
65,000 MT of food aid to over 2 million people.
Logistics Crisis Committee? Transporation, Fuel and Preparedness!
The Government-led Logistic Crisis Committee is being reactivated to serve as a forum
to facilitate quick and timely delivery of humanitarian responses by all parties. The
Government has also made it clear it is giving priority to trucks transporting emergency relief commodities from Djibouti and will facilitate secondary transport arrangements.
Accurate estimation of the Crisis! (Health/Water/Information Minsters)
Dr. Tewodros Adhanom, Minister of Health is now heading the Government team to provide an accurate assessment of the situation in the drought affected regions. The ministries of Health, Water Resources, Information and the Federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency are represented, and they are beginning their work in the SNNP Region.
Awasa- The Crisis Management Center!
A UN team is also leaving for Awassa in the SNNPR. Following suggestions by
UNOCHA, and international NGOs, the Government is looking into holding weekly
government media briefings to provide updated and reliable information on the
humanitarian situation in various parts of the country.
June 13, 2008
Four and a half million need emergency food aid
The Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) has now issued a revised
figure of 4.6 million people needing emergency food assistance.
The Early Warning Working Group, chaired by the DPPA and made up of major donors, UN Agencies, USAID and other NGOs, launched a revised appeal on Thursday for this level of aid.
The previous estimates were that 3.4 million people were in need of assistance.
Six Month Requirements?
Latest figures are that total food requirements stand at 391,651 MT for the next six months (June to November), at a cost of 325 million dollars for both food and non-food requirements.
Food, Health and Water! Any connection?
The non-food sectors, including health and water will require 38 million
dollars. The total food requirement for estimated beneficiaries now stands at 510,000
MT, and of this 118,000 MT are available or have been pledged. The figures and
requirements will be updated as the impact of the coming belg and gu seasons are
assessed.
Oromiya: The Crisis Center!
The most seriously affected regions are in Oromiya, where serious food
security, health and livestock problems have been identified in nine woredas, the
SNNPR region, where a number of particular hotspots have been identified following a
DPPA mission, and the Somali Regional State.
Afar, Amhara and Tigrai need emergency food:
There is also need of emergency food assistance in Amhara, Tigray and Afar regional states following poor belg rains, though the effects of the late onset of belg rains has been minimized in many areas by the efforts of government and partners including FAO, CARE and Save the Children US.
Children with severe malnutrition!
Of particular concern has been the numbers of children suffering from severe
malnutrition. After UNICEF suggested up to six million children under 5 years of age
might need preventive health and nutrition intervention, there were exaggerated
suggestions in the international media that all of these were suffering from acute
malnutrition.
How do we estimate accurate figures?
While there is still some uncertainty about numbers of severely
malnourished children, the current estimates are around 75,000. Mr. John Holmes,
United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief
Coordinator, has noted that “a rapid scaling up of resources especially food and
nutritional supplies is needed to make increased life-saving aid a reality.
Rising Global costs for fuel and food
In addition as elsewhere, the rising global costs of fuel and basic staples are posing hardship for Ethiopia’s people, especially the poorest.” A number of governments have pledged extra assistance in response to the situation.
UK, US and Norway lead the pledge roster!
In addition to £5 million pounds announced earlier, the UK pledged another £10 million; USAID pledged 70 million dollars for emergency food assistance, and the Government of Norway donated 20 million birr for drought affected regions. UN Agencies have also been active in Ministry of Foreign Affairs of FDRE www.mfa.gov.et
assistance. Between January and May this year, the World Food Program distributed
65,000 MT of food aid to over 2 million people.
Logistics Crisis Committee? Transporation, Fuel and Preparedness!
The Government-led Logistic Crisis Committee is being reactivated to serve as a forum
to facilitate quick and timely delivery of humanitarian responses by all parties. The
Government has also made it clear it is giving priority to trucks transporting emergency relief commodities from Djibouti and will facilitate secondary transport arrangements.
Accurate estimation of the Crisis! (Health/Water/Information Minsters)
Dr. Tewodros Adhanom, Minister of Health is now heading the Government team to provide an accurate assessment of the situation in the drought affected regions. The ministries of Health, Water Resources, Information and the Federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency are represented, and they are beginning their work in the SNNP Region.
Awasa- The Crisis Management Center!
A UN team is also leaving for Awassa in the SNNPR. Following suggestions by
UNOCHA, and international NGOs, the Government is looking into holding weekly
government media briefings to provide updated and reliable information on the
humanitarian situation in various parts of the country.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Crisis in the Horn: The Somalia/Saudi Factor?
www.eastafricaforum.net http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5htHw0EMDEy-1LCiECI2QmFx8diLA
AFP June 15, 2008UN-Saudis say Somalia truce a 'breakthrough'
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah regards a Somalia truce deal reached last week as a "breakthough" and will invite rival factions to an official signing ceremony as soon as possible, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday.
Ban said after talks with the monarch in the Red Sea city of Jeddah that the June 9 accord aimed at restoring peace and stability in the war-shattered nation was a "very encouraging development."
He said he and King Abdullah viewed the deal reached in Djibouti between the transitional government in Mogadishu and moderate Islamists as "a breakthough."
More than a dozen attempts have failed to end the unrest in Somalia which has been mired in civil war since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Ethiopian-backed transitional government is currently battling a guerrilla war being waged in the Horn of Africa nation by Islamist militants who were ousted in 2006.
"Saudi Arabia has been playing a very important role on this issue," Ban said, adding that the regional powerhouse would "as soon as possible" host a formal signing ceremony.
The oil-rich kingdom, which is home to a large Somali exiled community, is a major benefactor for all Somali factions, providing material, financial and political support.
The Djibouti deal was initialled by Somalia's government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), an opposition umbrella group dominated by Islamists and based in Eritrea.
But ARS member Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, accused by the United States of links to Al-Qaeda, has rejected the deal, saying it fails to set a clear deadline for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.
Under the deal, Ethiopians troops, who deployed at the end of 2006 and knocked out Islamists from south and central Somalia, are to withdraw after the UN deploys peacekeepers within 120 days of the armistice taking effect.
The accord also calls for the establishment of a security committee to ensure implementation of the ceasefire as well as the creation of a panel to promote political cooperation, justice and reconciliation and the holding of an international donors' conference.
http://africa.reuters.com/country/ET/news/usnL1639559.html
Ethiopia plans to develop coal reserve
Mon 16 Jun 2008ADDIS ABABA, June 16 (Reuters) -
Ethiopia plans to develop its vast coal reserves in the west of the country for fertilizer and power generation, at an estimated cost of $730 million, its trade and industry minister said on Monday.
Girma Birru said his ministry had signed an agreement with state-owned China National Complete Plant Import & Export Corporation (COMPLANT) to develop the coal reserve.
No other details were given of the accord. The firm had earlier conducted a feasibility study of the project.
Ethiopia imports up to 400,000 tonnes of fertiliser annually but the escalating international price of urea, used in the manufacture of fertiliser, is becoming prohibitive for the government.
"The study indicated that the reserve has a potential to produce between 300,000 tonnes of urea, 20,000 tonnes of methanol and 90 megawatts of electric power," he told reporters.
An environmental assessment study is also being conducted in the thickly forested Yayu region, some 500 kms (312 miles) west of Addis Ababa, he said.
____________
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7456329.stm
BBC
June 16, 2008
Deadly flooding in Somali capital
Floods have left at least six people dead in and around the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Torrential rains over the weekend also affected thousands of displaced people living in camps outside the city.
The floods came after another week of violence in Somalia, in which dozens of civilians, two aid workers and a BBC reporter were killed.
The UN World Food Programme has warned that nearly half Somalia's population will require aid later this year.
Residents of one camp for displaced people near Mogadishu told the BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan that the floods had forced people from their shelters.
"There is nothing else I could do but to try and stop the flood into my shack with sand, we are still doing the same," one woman said.
Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.
It is estimated that the conflict has created more than one million refugees.
Violence continued last week despite a ceasefire signed by the government and opposition in neighbouring Djibouti.
The deal was signed by a top Islamist leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Prime Minister Nur Adde, but another Islamist leader has promised to continue fighting.
AFP June 15, 2008UN-Saudis say Somalia truce a 'breakthrough'
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah regards a Somalia truce deal reached last week as a "breakthough" and will invite rival factions to an official signing ceremony as soon as possible, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday.
Ban said after talks with the monarch in the Red Sea city of Jeddah that the June 9 accord aimed at restoring peace and stability in the war-shattered nation was a "very encouraging development."
He said he and King Abdullah viewed the deal reached in Djibouti between the transitional government in Mogadishu and moderate Islamists as "a breakthough."
More than a dozen attempts have failed to end the unrest in Somalia which has been mired in civil war since the 1991 ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre.
The Ethiopian-backed transitional government is currently battling a guerrilla war being waged in the Horn of Africa nation by Islamist militants who were ousted in 2006.
"Saudi Arabia has been playing a very important role on this issue," Ban said, adding that the regional powerhouse would "as soon as possible" host a formal signing ceremony.
The oil-rich kingdom, which is home to a large Somali exiled community, is a major benefactor for all Somali factions, providing material, financial and political support.
The Djibouti deal was initialled by Somalia's government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), an opposition umbrella group dominated by Islamists and based in Eritrea.
But ARS member Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, accused by the United States of links to Al-Qaeda, has rejected the deal, saying it fails to set a clear deadline for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.
Under the deal, Ethiopians troops, who deployed at the end of 2006 and knocked out Islamists from south and central Somalia, are to withdraw after the UN deploys peacekeepers within 120 days of the armistice taking effect.
The accord also calls for the establishment of a security committee to ensure implementation of the ceasefire as well as the creation of a panel to promote political cooperation, justice and reconciliation and the holding of an international donors' conference.
http://africa.reuters.com/country/ET/news/usnL1639559.html
Ethiopia plans to develop coal reserve
Mon 16 Jun 2008ADDIS ABABA, June 16 (Reuters) -
Ethiopia plans to develop its vast coal reserves in the west of the country for fertilizer and power generation, at an estimated cost of $730 million, its trade and industry minister said on Monday.
Girma Birru said his ministry had signed an agreement with state-owned China National Complete Plant Import & Export Corporation (COMPLANT) to develop the coal reserve.
No other details were given of the accord. The firm had earlier conducted a feasibility study of the project.
Ethiopia imports up to 400,000 tonnes of fertiliser annually but the escalating international price of urea, used in the manufacture of fertiliser, is becoming prohibitive for the government.
"The study indicated that the reserve has a potential to produce between 300,000 tonnes of urea, 20,000 tonnes of methanol and 90 megawatts of electric power," he told reporters.
An environmental assessment study is also being conducted in the thickly forested Yayu region, some 500 kms (312 miles) west of Addis Ababa, he said.
____________
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7456329.stm
BBC
June 16, 2008
Deadly flooding in Somali capital
Floods have left at least six people dead in and around the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
Torrential rains over the weekend also affected thousands of displaced people living in camps outside the city.
The floods came after another week of violence in Somalia, in which dozens of civilians, two aid workers and a BBC reporter were killed.
The UN World Food Programme has warned that nearly half Somalia's population will require aid later this year.
Residents of one camp for displaced people near Mogadishu told the BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan that the floods had forced people from their shelters.
"There is nothing else I could do but to try and stop the flood into my shack with sand, we are still doing the same," one woman said.
Somalia has experienced almost constant civil conflict since the collapse of Mohamed Siad Barre's regime in January 1991.
It is estimated that the conflict has created more than one million refugees.
Violence continued last week despite a ceasefire signed by the government and opposition in neighbouring Djibouti.
The deal was signed by a top Islamist leader, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, and Prime Minister Nur Adde, but another Islamist leader has promised to continue fighting.
Islam in the Horn: fact or Fiction?
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/65083
Islam in the Horn of Africa
Abdulazez Al-Motairi
June 15, 2008
Presently, Islam is the most widely practiced religion
in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia,
Djibouti, and Eretria.
Some of today's Muslims in the region had their ancestors converted from Christianity
and others had theirs migrated from the Arab
peninsula. Ethnically, these Muslims belong to
different tribes, such as Somalis, Oromo, Afar, and
others and they mainly speak Cushitic Language.
Today, Somalia and Djibouti are predominantly Muslim
and Ethiopia has about 40 percent and Eretria 50
Percent Muslim Population.
In Eretria most Muslims belong to Jabarti tribe and many of them are
descendants of Arab tribes. Some major Somali tribes
have Arab roots like Isaaq, of Iraqi roots, and
Daarood, of Yemeni roots. The region had historical
trade and economic relations with Arabs in the gulf
including Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman in addition
UAE.
History of Islam in the region
Islam and Somalis
Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia
Islam-o-phobia of Ethiopia
Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors
History of Islam in the region
Islamic history reveals the first Muslim immigration
by Sahaba (apostles) of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to
Ethiopia to save their religion from "Idol worshipers"
in Makka of Arab decedents on 615 AD. Sahaba were
forced to leave their homes in Makka due to pressure
and killing by the Arabs of Makka.
The King of Abyssinian (Habash) Nagashi welcomed the
Sahaba to his kingdom and permitted them to teach and
preach their religion in Habash. Even, Nagashi turned
down the request of Arab delegate from Makka who
demanded extradition of the Sahaba.
Some Ethiopians embraced Islam at the hands of the Sahaba who stayed
in Habash many years until Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
asked them to come back to their homeland. The
spreading of Islam stopped for a while after Sahaba
returned to Makka.
Islamic History says first Islamic Funeral prayer in
absentee was performed by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) from
Madina on body of Nagashi (The King of Abyssinia)
after his death in Harare City, Ethiopia.
Islam entered Ethiopia as primary believe in the 16th
Century by Arab traders and preachers, which led 65%
of Ethiopians to embrace Islam. This created fear in
the Ethiopian Church who later considered the Muslims
as the principal threat to their existence.
In 16th and beginning of 17th Century, Islamic State
of ADAL was announced by Somalis and Arabs led by
Warrior Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi known (Ahmed Guray).
Ahmed Guray, who was an Arab, led full-scale war
against Abyssinia and defeated them. Ahmed Guray army
captured more than 50% of Ethiopian highlands, which
accelerated the number of Ethiopians embracing Islam.
Ahmed Guray received support from Othman Emperor
(known Turkey) and King Saeed Barqash of Sultanate of
Oman.
The bad feeling of Ethiopian Church towards Muslims
increased very sharply, and after they failed to stop
Ahmed Guray and his army; they appealed to Portugal
for support.
Ahmed Guray continued a chain of victories against Abyssinian army for about two
decades. History says that Ahmed Guray dead during
fighting with Portugal forces who arrived to support
Ethiopia. The widow of Ahmed Guray, called Bati Del
Wambara overtook the leadership of ADAL and continued
the fighting.
ADAL's headquarter was located in Zayla, the coast
town connecting between Djibouti and Somaliland. ADAL
collapsed awhile after the death of Ahmed Guray.
This gave the Ethiopians the chance to recapture back the
land they lost to ADAL without resistance.
Also, Arabs preached Islam in neighboring Kenya and
Tanzania. The King of Oman Saeed founded strong bases
in the coast areas including Mombasa, Kenya and
Zanzibar of Tanzania. Somalis are part of 30% of
Kenyan Muslims mainly in the Northern Regions and
Coast Areas. In Tanzania the Muslims form 50%.
Islam and Somalis:
Somali, the name is derived from the Somali word (Soo
Maal), which means milking the livestock. Somali is
basically a Cushitic language spoken in many countries
including Somalia, Ethiopian, Djibouti and Kenya as
primary and official languages. Somali speaking
population is about 10 million.
Somalia is the only country in the world that is 100%
Muslim. Somalia Muslims are all Sunnis who practice
the Shaafi faith. The people living in Somalia speak
Somali and Arabic in addition to Rahanwayn language in
the south of Somalia.
There are about four major tribes in Somalia including
Hawiye, Isaaq, Daarood and Rahanwayn. Isaac, Daarood
and Hawiye have Arabian roots, where Darood are the
children of Darood Ismail Jabarti, who was from
southern Yemen, Isaac are the children of Sheikh Isaaq
bin Ahmed who was from Mosul, Iraq. Hawiyo is
combination of different groups but mainly from Yemen.
Islam entered Somalia and Ethiopian within first ten
centuries of the Georgian calendar by Arab traders and
Preachers. Somalis, after the collapse of ADAL,
attended Arabian universities mainly Egyptian Al-Azhar
University. The relation between the Arabs and Somalis
had grown stronger particularly with Yemen and
Sultanate of Oman.
After western colonizers divided Somalia into five
main parties leaving Djibouti with France, Somaliland
with British, South Somalia with Italy, and Reserve
Area with Ethiopia in addition to NFD with Kenya. The
occupation of these areas happen different times,
Britain sold Reserve Area and NFD to Ethiopia and
Kenya in 20th Century.
Some of Al-Azhar University Graduates arrived back
home including Sayed Abdullah Hassan, nick named The
Mad Mullah. He was not wise man and started armed
struggle against British. He tried to overtake some
parties of Somaliland mainly Hawd Area. British
disbanded his army by air bombing. The Mad Mullah dead
during the air bombing by British.
Sayed Abdullah Hassan (the Mad Mulla) was Sufist and
convinced many Somalis to practice the Sufi faith.
Sufi faith permits Spiritual attainment in Islam,
where Muslim is allowed to pray to Allah via another
religious person. But Salafi Group, also called
Wahabist in Somalia, rejects the idea of attainment.
Salafi or Wahabist faith entered Somalia about four
decades ago.
Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia:
Until 1960´s majority of Somalis practiced Sufi faith
of Islam that had wide respect among Somali tribes.
Somalis consider Sufi faith as less violent compare to
Salafi faith.
The Qur'an was taught using Somali language as the
people were unfamiliar with Arabic. Somalis use to
write Qur'an on wooden sheet like instrument using ink
made of traditional Somali coal. Such practices
remains active until now but with less percentage.
In mid 1970s the Salafi faith of Islam was introduced
in Somalia by Somali students graduated from Saudi
Arabian Islamic universities. The students started
teaching the Nobel Qur'an and gradually gained very
wide popularity across Somalia.
In less than ten years, the Salafi faith replaced Sufi
faith; the leaders of the mosques turn into Salafi,
and Sufi faith started disappearing slowly until
today. The Salafi faith had strong relation with their
counterparts in else where in the world mainly Saudi
Arabia.
After 1977, Salafi revolution in Somalia spread into
the neighboring countries like Ethiopia and formed an
armed group called Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, with their
main aim is to liberate Somali dominated areas in
Ethiopia from Ethiopian occupation.
Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and Al-Shabab were product
of Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, as major senior leaders in
both ICU and Al-Shabab are co-founders of Al-Itahad
Al-Islamiya.
Today, Salafi faith is widely practiced inside
Somalia, and with very high speed. The youth and
middle age follow Salafi faith except the elderly who
still practice the Sufi faith. Majority of the mosques
in Somalia is led by Salafi preachers.
Islam-o-phobia in Ethiopia:
After collapse of ADAL, Kingdom of Abyssinia put
pressure to Muslim and forced many of them to return
to Christianity. The kingdom did not allow the Muslims
to practice their religion in public, where prayers
were performed in-house only. Muslims were not allowed
officially to travel to Makka to perform Hajj until
1974, after military coup led by Migusto Haile Mariam.
Mariam ordered freedom of religion and allowed Muslims
to perform Hajj. Muslims in Eritrea were under similar
condition.
Today, more than half of Ethiopians are devout
Muslims, mainly in the outlying regions, and in the
Eastern Lowlands.
Traditionally, the status of Islam has been far from
equal with that of Christianity. However, the emperor
Haile Selassie gave audiences to Muslim leaders and
made overtures in response to their concerns, and
under the Derg even more was done to give at least
symbolic parity to the two faiths. Nevertheless, the
perception of Ethiopia as "an island of Christianity
in a sea of Islam" has continued to prevail among both
highland Ethiopians and foreigners.
In 1964, Ethiopian Christian leaders attacked Somalia
in a plan to end the Islamic presence in the region.
At that time, Somalia was only four years old without
proper military and government institutions. But
overall this, Somalis defend their country very
bravely and forced Ethiopia to retrieve. This was the
first religious war between Ethiopia and Somalia.
In 1977, Somalis retaliates and occupied 60% of
Ethiopian land and even gone close to Addis Ababa in
18 kilometers. The objective of Somalis was to return
the Reserve Area illegally sold by British to
Ethiopia. Ethiopia was unable to stop the Somalis. And
as usually, Ethiopia pleaded to international support,
and received military support of Russia and Cuba.
Russia-Cuba Alliance forced the Somali military to go
back into Somalia border.
In 2006, Ethiopian invaded Somalia on the bases of
similar background. Ethiopia always considers the
Somali Islamist as #1 enemy. Ethiopia saw the Islamic
Courts Union (ICU), as the new threat to their
national unity; Ethiopian Prime Minister Melese Zanawi
follows the old procedure of the church, who considers
the Muslims as major enemy of Ethiopia. Zanawi is man
of principle but the unfortunate is those supporting
Zanawi and Church Plan in Somalia like Transitional
Government of Somalia (TGS) leader Abdullah Yusuf.
In similar manner Oromo is facing insult and pressure
from Ethiopian government, where they don´t get proper
share in the government and even their children are
not allowed to attend the universities in Addis Ababa.
Melese Sanawi selected Christian man from Oromo to be
Ethiopian President. He overlooked the Muslim majority
of Oromo, because, simply, he does not want Muslim.
This shows that Ethiopian government is not killing
all Oromo but only the Muslims because of their
believe in the Greater Islam.
Oromo is the largest community in Ethiopia in middle
of lowlands, 90% of Oromo practice Islam as
fundamental religion, Islam was introduced to Oromo in
16th century with neighboring Somali Community. Oromo
has anti-Ethiopian armed movements and recently
accused receiving military support and training from
Eritrea. Current President of Ethiopia is from
Christian Minority of Oromo, where Muslims has little
access to government due to their armed struggle.
Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors:
The battle between the Muslim leaders and Ethiopian
emperors is active until today, because the Ethiopian
invasion in Somalia has strong roots into the
centuries old conflict between the Muslims and
Ethiopian Christian emperor.
Ahmed Guray freed many parts of Ethiopia from the
emperors who restricted the freedom of the people; the
parties that ADAL army captured include Shewa, Gonder,
Wollo and parts of Tigray. Some historians say the
struggle between the Christian Emperors in Ethiopia
and Somalis started from 1528 until today.
Emporer Lebna Dengel, who was ruling Abyssinia during
the war with ADAL, plead for support from Portugal
after his army failed to stop ADAL army.
In the same manner, United States of America (USA) is
helping Meleze Sanawi to stop the Islamist growing in
the region. Ethiopia knows, if Muslim government comes
to power in Somalia then it will come to ethiopia to
free the thousands of the Muslim ethiopians trapped
under Melese regime.
The government don´t allow construction of new mosques
in the capital, Addis Ababa. In other hand, the
European Christian missionaries builds new church
every one month. Church bells are famous in Addis
Ababa more than the Mosques.
The present mosques in Addis Ababa are centuries old;
it is remainings of Othman Emporers. The Muslims don´t
take part in the central government, and if any Muslim
gets chance in the central government, he/she should
be lapdog for Ethiopian Christian Emporer Meleze
Sanawi. Muslims in Addis Ababa feel overtaken and
always seek help from the Muslim world, but the
failure of Somalia has led them into endless problems.
By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
Email: az.almutairi@yahoo.com
***************
Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi, MA in Journalism and Mass
Communication, Columnist, Freelance Journalist and
Weekly article writer about Middle East and African
politics and human rights. He is member of
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Islam in the Horn of Africa
Abdulazez Al-Motairi
June 15, 2008
Presently, Islam is the most widely practiced religion
in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia, Ethiopia,
Djibouti, and Eretria.
Some of today's Muslims in the region had their ancestors converted from Christianity
and others had theirs migrated from the Arab
peninsula. Ethnically, these Muslims belong to
different tribes, such as Somalis, Oromo, Afar, and
others and they mainly speak Cushitic Language.
Today, Somalia and Djibouti are predominantly Muslim
and Ethiopia has about 40 percent and Eretria 50
Percent Muslim Population.
In Eretria most Muslims belong to Jabarti tribe and many of them are
descendants of Arab tribes. Some major Somali tribes
have Arab roots like Isaaq, of Iraqi roots, and
Daarood, of Yemeni roots. The region had historical
trade and economic relations with Arabs in the gulf
including Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman in addition
UAE.
History of Islam in the region
Islam and Somalis
Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia
Islam-o-phobia of Ethiopia
Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors
History of Islam in the region
Islamic history reveals the first Muslim immigration
by Sahaba (apostles) of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to
Ethiopia to save their religion from "Idol worshipers"
in Makka of Arab decedents on 615 AD. Sahaba were
forced to leave their homes in Makka due to pressure
and killing by the Arabs of Makka.
The King of Abyssinian (Habash) Nagashi welcomed the
Sahaba to his kingdom and permitted them to teach and
preach their religion in Habash. Even, Nagashi turned
down the request of Arab delegate from Makka who
demanded extradition of the Sahaba.
Some Ethiopians embraced Islam at the hands of the Sahaba who stayed
in Habash many years until Prophet Mohammed (PBUH)
asked them to come back to their homeland. The
spreading of Islam stopped for a while after Sahaba
returned to Makka.
Islamic History says first Islamic Funeral prayer in
absentee was performed by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) from
Madina on body of Nagashi (The King of Abyssinia)
after his death in Harare City, Ethiopia.
Islam entered Ethiopia as primary believe in the 16th
Century by Arab traders and preachers, which led 65%
of Ethiopians to embrace Islam. This created fear in
the Ethiopian Church who later considered the Muslims
as the principal threat to their existence.
In 16th and beginning of 17th Century, Islamic State
of ADAL was announced by Somalis and Arabs led by
Warrior Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Ghazi known (Ahmed Guray).
Ahmed Guray, who was an Arab, led full-scale war
against Abyssinia and defeated them. Ahmed Guray army
captured more than 50% of Ethiopian highlands, which
accelerated the number of Ethiopians embracing Islam.
Ahmed Guray received support from Othman Emperor
(known Turkey) and King Saeed Barqash of Sultanate of
Oman.
The bad feeling of Ethiopian Church towards Muslims
increased very sharply, and after they failed to stop
Ahmed Guray and his army; they appealed to Portugal
for support.
Ahmed Guray continued a chain of victories against Abyssinian army for about two
decades. History says that Ahmed Guray dead during
fighting with Portugal forces who arrived to support
Ethiopia. The widow of Ahmed Guray, called Bati Del
Wambara overtook the leadership of ADAL and continued
the fighting.
ADAL's headquarter was located in Zayla, the coast
town connecting between Djibouti and Somaliland. ADAL
collapsed awhile after the death of Ahmed Guray.
This gave the Ethiopians the chance to recapture back the
land they lost to ADAL without resistance.
Also, Arabs preached Islam in neighboring Kenya and
Tanzania. The King of Oman Saeed founded strong bases
in the coast areas including Mombasa, Kenya and
Zanzibar of Tanzania. Somalis are part of 30% of
Kenyan Muslims mainly in the Northern Regions and
Coast Areas. In Tanzania the Muslims form 50%.
Islam and Somalis:
Somali, the name is derived from the Somali word (Soo
Maal), which means milking the livestock. Somali is
basically a Cushitic language spoken in many countries
including Somalia, Ethiopian, Djibouti and Kenya as
primary and official languages. Somali speaking
population is about 10 million.
Somalia is the only country in the world that is 100%
Muslim. Somalia Muslims are all Sunnis who practice
the Shaafi faith. The people living in Somalia speak
Somali and Arabic in addition to Rahanwayn language in
the south of Somalia.
There are about four major tribes in Somalia including
Hawiye, Isaaq, Daarood and Rahanwayn. Isaac, Daarood
and Hawiye have Arabian roots, where Darood are the
children of Darood Ismail Jabarti, who was from
southern Yemen, Isaac are the children of Sheikh Isaaq
bin Ahmed who was from Mosul, Iraq. Hawiyo is
combination of different groups but mainly from Yemen.
Islam entered Somalia and Ethiopian within first ten
centuries of the Georgian calendar by Arab traders and
Preachers. Somalis, after the collapse of ADAL,
attended Arabian universities mainly Egyptian Al-Azhar
University. The relation between the Arabs and Somalis
had grown stronger particularly with Yemen and
Sultanate of Oman.
After western colonizers divided Somalia into five
main parties leaving Djibouti with France, Somaliland
with British, South Somalia with Italy, and Reserve
Area with Ethiopia in addition to NFD with Kenya. The
occupation of these areas happen different times,
Britain sold Reserve Area and NFD to Ethiopia and
Kenya in 20th Century.
Some of Al-Azhar University Graduates arrived back
home including Sayed Abdullah Hassan, nick named The
Mad Mullah. He was not wise man and started armed
struggle against British. He tried to overtake some
parties of Somaliland mainly Hawd Area. British
disbanded his army by air bombing. The Mad Mullah dead
during the air bombing by British.
Sayed Abdullah Hassan (the Mad Mulla) was Sufist and
convinced many Somalis to practice the Sufi faith.
Sufi faith permits Spiritual attainment in Islam,
where Muslim is allowed to pray to Allah via another
religious person. But Salafi Group, also called
Wahabist in Somalia, rejects the idea of attainment.
Salafi or Wahabist faith entered Somalia about four
decades ago.
Beginning of Salafi Group in Somalia:
Until 1960´s majority of Somalis practiced Sufi faith
of Islam that had wide respect among Somali tribes.
Somalis consider Sufi faith as less violent compare to
Salafi faith.
The Qur'an was taught using Somali language as the
people were unfamiliar with Arabic. Somalis use to
write Qur'an on wooden sheet like instrument using ink
made of traditional Somali coal. Such practices
remains active until now but with less percentage.
In mid 1970s the Salafi faith of Islam was introduced
in Somalia by Somali students graduated from Saudi
Arabian Islamic universities. The students started
teaching the Nobel Qur'an and gradually gained very
wide popularity across Somalia.
In less than ten years, the Salafi faith replaced Sufi
faith; the leaders of the mosques turn into Salafi,
and Sufi faith started disappearing slowly until
today. The Salafi faith had strong relation with their
counterparts in else where in the world mainly Saudi
Arabia.
After 1977, Salafi revolution in Somalia spread into
the neighboring countries like Ethiopia and formed an
armed group called Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, with their
main aim is to liberate Somali dominated areas in
Ethiopia from Ethiopian occupation.
Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and Al-Shabab were product
of Al-Itahad Al-Islamiya, as major senior leaders in
both ICU and Al-Shabab are co-founders of Al-Itahad
Al-Islamiya.
Today, Salafi faith is widely practiced inside
Somalia, and with very high speed. The youth and
middle age follow Salafi faith except the elderly who
still practice the Sufi faith. Majority of the mosques
in Somalia is led by Salafi preachers.
Islam-o-phobia in Ethiopia:
After collapse of ADAL, Kingdom of Abyssinia put
pressure to Muslim and forced many of them to return
to Christianity. The kingdom did not allow the Muslims
to practice their religion in public, where prayers
were performed in-house only. Muslims were not allowed
officially to travel to Makka to perform Hajj until
1974, after military coup led by Migusto Haile Mariam.
Mariam ordered freedom of religion and allowed Muslims
to perform Hajj. Muslims in Eritrea were under similar
condition.
Today, more than half of Ethiopians are devout
Muslims, mainly in the outlying regions, and in the
Eastern Lowlands.
Traditionally, the status of Islam has been far from
equal with that of Christianity. However, the emperor
Haile Selassie gave audiences to Muslim leaders and
made overtures in response to their concerns, and
under the Derg even more was done to give at least
symbolic parity to the two faiths. Nevertheless, the
perception of Ethiopia as "an island of Christianity
in a sea of Islam" has continued to prevail among both
highland Ethiopians and foreigners.
In 1964, Ethiopian Christian leaders attacked Somalia
in a plan to end the Islamic presence in the region.
At that time, Somalia was only four years old without
proper military and government institutions. But
overall this, Somalis defend their country very
bravely and forced Ethiopia to retrieve. This was the
first religious war between Ethiopia and Somalia.
In 1977, Somalis retaliates and occupied 60% of
Ethiopian land and even gone close to Addis Ababa in
18 kilometers. The objective of Somalis was to return
the Reserve Area illegally sold by British to
Ethiopia. Ethiopia was unable to stop the Somalis. And
as usually, Ethiopia pleaded to international support,
and received military support of Russia and Cuba.
Russia-Cuba Alliance forced the Somali military to go
back into Somalia border.
In 2006, Ethiopian invaded Somalia on the bases of
similar background. Ethiopia always considers the
Somali Islamist as #1 enemy. Ethiopia saw the Islamic
Courts Union (ICU), as the new threat to their
national unity; Ethiopian Prime Minister Melese Zanawi
follows the old procedure of the church, who considers
the Muslims as major enemy of Ethiopia. Zanawi is man
of principle but the unfortunate is those supporting
Zanawi and Church Plan in Somalia like Transitional
Government of Somalia (TGS) leader Abdullah Yusuf.
In similar manner Oromo is facing insult and pressure
from Ethiopian government, where they don´t get proper
share in the government and even their children are
not allowed to attend the universities in Addis Ababa.
Melese Sanawi selected Christian man from Oromo to be
Ethiopian President. He overlooked the Muslim majority
of Oromo, because, simply, he does not want Muslim.
This shows that Ethiopian government is not killing
all Oromo but only the Muslims because of their
believe in the Greater Islam.
Oromo is the largest community in Ethiopia in middle
of lowlands, 90% of Oromo practice Islam as
fundamental religion, Islam was introduced to Oromo in
16th century with neighboring Somali Community. Oromo
has anti-Ethiopian armed movements and recently
accused receiving military support and training from
Eritrea. Current President of Ethiopia is from
Christian Minority of Oromo, where Muslims has little
access to government due to their armed struggle.
Islam vs. Ethiopian Emperors:
The battle between the Muslim leaders and Ethiopian
emperors is active until today, because the Ethiopian
invasion in Somalia has strong roots into the
centuries old conflict between the Muslims and
Ethiopian Christian emperor.
Ahmed Guray freed many parts of Ethiopia from the
emperors who restricted the freedom of the people; the
parties that ADAL army captured include Shewa, Gonder,
Wollo and parts of Tigray. Some historians say the
struggle between the Christian Emperors in Ethiopia
and Somalis started from 1528 until today.
Emporer Lebna Dengel, who was ruling Abyssinia during
the war with ADAL, plead for support from Portugal
after his army failed to stop ADAL army.
In the same manner, United States of America (USA) is
helping Meleze Sanawi to stop the Islamist growing in
the region. Ethiopia knows, if Muslim government comes
to power in Somalia then it will come to ethiopia to
free the thousands of the Muslim ethiopians trapped
under Melese regime.
The government don´t allow construction of new mosques
in the capital, Addis Ababa. In other hand, the
European Christian missionaries builds new church
every one month. Church bells are famous in Addis
Ababa more than the Mosques.
The present mosques in Addis Ababa are centuries old;
it is remainings of Othman Emporers. The Muslims don´t
take part in the central government, and if any Muslim
gets chance in the central government, he/she should
be lapdog for Ethiopian Christian Emporer Meleze
Sanawi. Muslims in Addis Ababa feel overtaken and
always seek help from the Muslim world, but the
failure of Somalia has led them into endless problems.
By Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi
Email: az.almutairi@yahoo.com
***************
Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi, MA in Journalism and Mass
Communication, Columnist, Freelance Journalist and
Weekly article writer about Middle East and African
politics and human rights. He is member of
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
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