Somalia: Ethiopia, the 800 pound Trojan horse!

 Garowe Online, Somalia

    16/05/08

   Somalia and Ethiopia have been each other’s worst nightmare for the past five hundred and plus years. They fought over everything from land disputes, religion, geopolitical hegemony, and more. It is undisputable fact that despite it’s the numerical advantage and colonial connections, Ethiopia has never succeeded to penetrate Somalia’s border and successfully reach the Indian ocean until the year of 2007

 

   

 

Ethiopia is one of the poorest nations in the world if not “the poorest”.   Its population is severely fragmented and often prosecuted by their dictator regime. Without any foreign help, Males Zenawi’s oppressive regime can not keep the country together, let alone meddling with Somalia. The UN, EU, AFRICAN UNION, IGAD are all sided with Ethiopia in various capacities; They pass resolutions, hold conferences, while financing all the atrocities committed throughout Somalia and Ogaden. I am calling for all Somalis NOT to fall for the artificial reconciliation conferences held by these organizations. The UN is sided with Somalia’s Enemy, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah is very skilled diplomat, he understands exactly what is wrong with the Somali situation, but he has to work within the framework of the UN, and that means he has to look out for the presumed US interest in the region, which is also intertwined with that of Ethiopia. That is why you don’t see him mentioning the US air strikes, or condemning the Ethiopian invasion, or saying anything against all the violations of the International law taking place in Somalia.

 In early December of 2006, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton in his last days at the UN, pushed for a draft of a resolution 1725 to lift the Somali arms embargo, which paved the way for an Ethiopian invasion in Somalia.

 Bolton pushed the resolution through the Security Council by adding specifications that there will be IGAD Deployment plan, which will not include those States that border Somalia (i.e. Ethiopia, Kenya) ironically Ethiopian troops were already present at the time of the proposal and only strengthen its presence after the resolution was passed.

On April 10, 2007: A US State Department spokesman acknowledged that it knew Ethiopia received a shipment of military equipment from North Korea. The shipment arrived in January. The shipment included spare parts for Ethiopian tanks. All of these are happening despite The North Korea is under sanctions that prevent it from selling certain weapons and is under the US radar for arm proliferations. Again, the UN was silent about it.

 Innocent Somalis can not wait any longer; they are sick and tired of the genocide committed by the foreign occupiers. The last thing they need is a flash back of last year’s dishonest and illegitimate  “national reconciliation accord” , which has been sponsored jointly by the United States, EU and the Saudis, but its result remained irrelevant, considering that none of the opposition groups or resistance factions were invited. The results highlighted that the casualties of Mogadishu grew dramatically. On Nov 15, 07,   The EU had passed a resolution where European deputies called for an independent probe into war crimes and rights violations in the Somali capital, where the government was battling rebels, . The resolution also called for “the cessation of all foreign military intervention in Somalia,” referring to thousands of Ethiopian forces. Almost a year has passed since, and things only changed from worse to worst.

 On early October, 2007, the US House of Representatives passed HR 2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007. The bill, called on the Ethiopian government to foster accountability, respect the rule of law, and release all political prisoners.

 HR 2003 was supposed put an end to these kinds of abuses and irresponsible acts by the Ethiopian government but was it likewise ignored by Ethiopian dictator given the fact that he is in bed with the US officials in the region.

 “The government can no longer hide behind the ‘ally in the war on terrorism’ cloak,” US congressman Payne who sponsored the bill asserted in the October 2^nd hearing. “It cannot champion the rights of others while disrespecting those same rights of its own people. What type of government chokes off humanitarian aid to its citizens as a retaliatory tactic?” Payne commented after the passage of the bill. Several months after the bill was passed, the Ethiopian troops are massacring civilians and torturing detainees by the thousands; why shouldn’t they? They are immune to International criticism. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, or any other body can criticize all they want, and nothing will change  —Everyone else who is receiving US military subsidies does exactly the same, (i.e. Israel) Under the guise of fighting terrorism everything is possible.

 The Somali people need to understand the historic rivalry between us and Ethiopia; we can be peaceful neighbors as long as they are willing to leave us alone. We can blame each other but nothing will change until we change ourselves, and do whatever it takes to expel all foreign troops outside of our borders, and only after we liberate our land, defend our country against all enemies foreign and domestic, we can hold genuine reconciliation conferences and heal our wounds. Somalis have always fought with each other and reconciled under a tree. Let’s pray for our devastated people and all the oppressed innocents’ civilians across the world. Sooner or later, peace and justice will prevail

Ismail Warsame, BA  

 

International Affairs/Political Science

University of Maine

Eritreans join top-class field for women’s 10k in Glasgow

17/05/08

Glasgow will welcome the strongest field ever for the Resolution Asset Management women-only 10k tomorrow.

The 16th edition of the race marks the first appearance of a trio of Eritreans who ran the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh seven weeks ago, and have since sought political asylum.

Though male compatriots swept the first three places in the Troon 10k, the three from the Horn of Africa are unlikely to repeat that.

They have been given elite entries by athletics development officer Brian Donaldson, who, despite the loss of Hilda Kibet (world’s fastest 10k runner this year) still has assembled a remarkable field on a shoestring budget. Kibet, cousin of seven-times winner Lornah Kiplagat, and a former runner-up, has malaria.

Kibet’s Kenyan compatriot, defending champion Vivian Cheruiyot, won world 5000m track silver in Osaka last year, yet may have to go faster than her winning 32:08 last year. She is joined in a field expected to number 13,000, by three more Kenyans: Lucy Kabuu, who won 10k gold and 5000m silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Magdalen Mukunzi (31:45 for 10k on the track) and Pauline Wangui (a 10k road best of 32:09).

Genet Getaneh (Ethiopia) has run 31:34, while fellow country-woman Tiruwork Mekonen boasts a half marathon in 73:34. This was at Egmont, where eight kilometres are on sand. This, and the fact that she trains in a squad which includes world champions Gete Wami and Kenenisa Bekele, makes her a formidable opponent.

The elite domestic Scottish presence is thin, and Susan Partridge, a top-10 regular, may still feel the London Marathon in her legs. Entries will be accepted until 6pm tonight at Hall 1 of the SECC.

Eritrea considers 5 more foreign mining licences

Andrew Cawthorne and Jack Kimball

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16 May 2008

Eritrea will decide thisyear on five more applications for mining exploration licences from companiesin South Africa, Canada and China, the energy and mines minister said onFriday.

“The interest is verygood, from many quarters,” Tesfai Ghebreselassie told Reuters of thegold-rich Horn of African nation’s fledgling minerals’ industry.

“Decisions will betaken soon, during this year.”

He did not name the fivenew companies. But if their licences are approved, they will join six othercompanies from Canada, China and Australia already exploring for gold andindustrial metals in Eritrea.

Tesfai also reassuredinvestors there would be no repeat of a temporary freeze on mining work in 2004that hurt some firms’ stock prices.

“That was a one-off,exceptional situation,” he said, explaining the halt was to allow Eritrea develop regulations to buy an extra10 percent government stake in all projects.

Current mining laws give Eritrea the right to a 10 percent freestake, and a further 30 percent purchased at market prices, in mining ventures.

“It was damaging to anextent,” Tesfai said of the 2004 freeze, which was lifted in early 2005.”But it’s a problem behind us, and nothing of that sort will happenagain.”

In charge of the ministrysince its start in 1993, Tesfai previously studied physical sciences in Poland and was a member of thepro-independence rebel movement that brought the government to power in 1991after a 30-year war.

That conflict, followed bya 1998-2000 border war with Ethiopia, has kept big mining companies waryover Eritrea.

The country’s most advancedproject, run by Canada’s Nevsun Resources Ltd, shouldstart producing by the end of 2009, the minister said. Nevsun expects its Bishaproject to produce around 1 million ounces of gold, 750 million pounds ofcopper, and 1.1 billion pounds of zinc over a 10-year life.

Tesfai said Eritrea had made a $20 million advancepayment for a 40 percent stake in Bisha, and was working out what participationit would have in other projects.

“We want the firstcontract with Nevsun to be a model. Both parties have to be comfortable,”he said.

“LAW-ABIDING”

Production at the Zaraproject, run by Australia’s Sub-Sahara Resources, and the Asmara belt, headed by Canada’s Sunridge, should start soon afterBisha, he added.

Zara is mainly a golddeposit, while the Asmara area has metals like zinc andcopper, as well as some gold.

“There are veryexciting discoveries made so far,” Tesfai said.

Apart from somesmall-scale, artisan gold-mining — which the minister estimated at about halfa tonne a year — and minor extraction by Italians during the colonial era, Eritrea’s mineral potential is virtuallyunexploited.

Tesfai did not give overallreserve estimates, but said the sector, if managed carefully, could play a bigrole in alleviating poverty and helping development in the nation of 4.5million people that is one of the world’s poorest.

“We have to wisely usewhat we have,” he said, adding that as well as direct revenues, Eritrea would benefit from employmentpossibilities on projects and in the service sector as the industry developed.

Investors should not worryabout political risk in Eritrea given the legal resolution — or”virtual demarcation” — of its border dispute with Ethiopia, and the government’s commitment toequitable partnership with foreign firms, he said.

“Eritrea is a law-abiding country. There isnothing bad or illegal we have done,” he said. “The important thingis making the rules of the game fair and transparent, which is just what we aredoing.”

Tesfai also noted Eritrea’s offshore hydrocarbon potentialunder its Red Seawaters. “There is justification to anticipate potential,” he said,even though past drilling had come up dry. “This is one of the leastexploited regions.”