IGAD has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Addis Ababa University and the UN affiliated University of Peace, Africa office. The Addis Ababa University has opened an Institute of Peace and Security Studies whose implementing partner is the University of Peace Africa office. The institute is operational since the end of 2006 and is now training students in a Masters program of peace studies.
Tuesday, 01 July 2008
The objective of the MoU is to work together in capacity building in the IGAD region for Peace and sustainable development through promoting peace studies and related researches in the region. The collaboration program will specifically concern the admission of students from IGAD region for the Masters Degree program in peace and security studies offered by the Institute of Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of the Addis Ababa University.
Based on the memorandum IPSS will waive the tuition fees for the program and IGAD provide subsistence allowance through the generous support of the GTZ. The scholarship program covers for two students from each member state. Based on the criteria of selection set by the institute the students will be nominated by their respective governments from among their civil servants involved in peace and related activities of the member state. IGAD and University of Peace together will support similar initiatives in member state academic institutions in the future.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Professor Mesfin Weldemariam Replies to Getachew Reda's Critique
በቅርቡ በአንድ ጋዜጣ ላይ ስለ ችጋር በተናገርኹት ላይ አንድ ስሙን የማላስታውሰው ሰው፣ ዛሬ ያለውን የገጠሩን ህዝብ የጥጋብ ኹኔታ ባለማወቄ አዝኖልኝ መልስ ሰጥቶ ነበር። ሰሞኑን በውጭ ቴሌቪዥኖች ከትግራይ እስከ ቦረና የተከሠተውን ችጋር በሚያሣቅቅ ኹኔታ ሲያሳዩን ነበር። ይህን በምጽፍበት ጊዜ ትግራይ ውስጥ ህዝቡ በቤተ ክርስቲያን ተሰብስቦ እግዚኦ እያለ ነው። አለማወቅ የሚባለው በኢትዮጵያ ቴሌቪዥን የሚባለውን ከሆነ ጸሐፊው ትክክል ነበር። ነገር ግን ችጋርን እና ሞትን መደበቅ በጣም አስቸጋሪ ነውና እያየነው ነው፤ ላስተዋለ ችጋር ያባረራቸውን በአዲስ አበባ መንገዶችም ላይ ያያቸዋል። ይህንን ለማንሣት የተገደድሁት «እየሮጡ የሚታጠቁት ፖለቲከኞችና የትም የማያደርሰው መንገዳቸው» በሚል በአቶ ጌታቸው ረዳ የተጻፈውን ሳነብ በጣም የሚቀራረብ ሀሳብና አስተሳሰብ ስላገኘሁበት ነው።
Getachew Reda Critiques the Political Opposition in Ethiopia
Click on the title to read a scan of the entire article that appeared in Addis Neger, the Amharic weekly.
FP's The Failed States Index 2008
| July/August 2008 |
 |
Whether it is an unexpected food crisis or a devastating hurricane, the world’s weakest states are the most exposed when crisis strikes. In the fourth annual Failed States Index, FOREIGN POLICY and The Fund for Peace rank the countries where state collapse may be just one disaster away. When troops opened fire in the streets of Mogadishu in early May, it was a tragically familiar scene in war-torn Somalia. Except on this day, soldiers weren’t fighting Islamist militias or warlords. They were combating a mob of tens of thousands rioting over soaring food prices. On top of the country’s already colossal challenges, a food crisis seems an especially cruel turn for a place like Somalia. But it is a test that dozens of weak states are being forced to confront this year, with escalating prices threatening to undo years of poverty-alleviation and development efforts. The unrest in Mogadishu echoes food riots that have erupted on nearly every continent in the past year. Tens of thousands of Mexicans protested when the price of corn flour jumped 400 percent in early 2007. Thousands of Russian pensioners took to the streets in November to call for a return to price controls on milk and bread. In Egypt, the army was ordered to bake more loaves at military-run bakeries after riots broke out across the country. Kabul, Port-au-Prince, and Jakarta experienced angry protests over spikes in the price of staples. But if few foretold the hunger and hardship that have followed the uptick in prices, the events of 2007 revealed that unexpected shocks can play a decisive role in the stability of an increasing number of vulnerable states. Primary among last year’s shocks was the implosion of the U.S. subprime market, which burst housing bubbles worldwide, slowed trade, and sent currencies into tailspins. A contested election in Kenya in December swiftly shredded any semblance of ethnic peace in a country that many had considered an African success story. And though Benazir Bhutto feared her own assassination upon returning to Pakistan, her murder reverberated in a country already contending with the challenges of ambitious mullahs, suicide bombers, and an all-powerful military. These shocks are the sparks of state failure, events that further corrode the integrity of weak states and push those on the edge closer to combustion. As the food crisis has shown, these political and economic setbacks are not unique to the world’s most vulnerable countries. But weak states are weak precisely because they lack the resiliency to cope with unwelcome—and unpleasant—surprises. When a global economic downturn pinches the main export base, an election goes awry, or a natural disaster wipes out villages, the cracks of vulnerability open wider. Because it is crucial to closely monitor weak states—their progress, their deterioration, and their ability to withstand challenges—the Fund for Peace, an independent research organization, and FOREIGN POLICY present the fourth annual Failed States Index. Using 12 social, economic, political, and military indicators, we ranked 177 states in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal deterioration. To do so, we examined more than 30,000 publicly available sources, collected from May to December 2007, to form the basis of the index’s scores. The 60 most vulnerable states are listed in the rankings, and the full results are available at ForeignPolicy.com and fundforpeace.org. |
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Update Report No. 8: Ethiopia-Eritrea
Security Council Report
Expected Council Action
The Council is considering a resolution that would end the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia-Eritrea (UNMEE) but there are divisions on whether to establish a military observer group, on the Ethiopian side of the border as a replacement or to ask the Secretary-General for specific recommendations to set up a new mission at a later date.
Key Developments and Background
The UNMEE mandate expires on 31 July but Council members are keen to act on the issue well in advance of the expiry date. A draft resolution, circulated by Belgium, would “terminate” UNMEE’s mandate with immediate effect but emphasise the continuation of the obligations of both parties under the 2000 Algiers agreement. The draft also proposes two options for the future:
deployment of a military UN Observer Mission for Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNOMEE), based in Ethiopia, until 31 December. Its mandate would be to report developments that could undermine the peace process promote confidence building measures and help mediate incidents along the border.
request ask the Secretary-General to draw up proposals for a future UN presence.
Eritrea, in a letter on 18 June from President Isaias Afwerki, said the only issue was Ethiopian withdrawal from its territories, adding that the UN cannot have legal authority to legitimise occupation.” Ethiopian Minister Meles Zenawi, in a 17 June letter, said Ethiopia was open to a UN presence, providing it did not imply or signify a “continuation whatsoever of UNMEE under a new arrangement.” He said he doubted anyone “would quarrel with the idea that this whole episode has not been exactly edifying for the Council.” It seems that Ethiopia prefers two separate resolutions.
UNMEE was established pursuant to the Algiers Ceasefire Agreement which ended the 1998-2000 Ethiopian-Eritrean border war in which tens of thousands were killed.
In November 2007, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (also established under the Algiers Agreement) dissolved itself, having delineated a “virtual” border in 2002. But it was unable to demarcate the frontier on the ground because Ethiopia rejected the binding ruling that the disputed town of Badme should go to Eritrea. Eritrea subsequently blamed the United Nations for not enforcing the Commission’s decisions.
In violation of the Algiers Agreement, Eritrea moved troops into the buffer zone, called the Temporary Security Zone. Ethiopia carried out exercises in areas adjacent to the 25 kilometre-wide zone. Asmara placed severe restrictions on the movement of UNMEE and in late 2007 cut fuel supplies for the peacekeepers. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in February relocated UNMEE troops out of Eritrea. Some remaining military personnel were relocated to Ethiopia.
In a report to the Council on 7 April, the Secretary-General presented several options. These included an observer mission in the border area, liaison offices in Asmara and Addis, or termination of the mandate. He warned, however, that the complete withdrawal of UNMEE could risk a resumption “of open hostilities”. On 30 April, the Council in a statement said Eritrea’s “obstructions” of UNMEE had undermined the basis for the UN mission, and urged both countries to refrain from threatening to use force against each other.
Key Issues
The underlying issue is the risk of resumed warfare between the two nations. The border dispute has progressively widened with conflict spilling over into Sudan, Somalia and very recently Djibouti—which serves as the main port for Ethiopian goods. (On 10 June, conflict erupted between Djibouti and Eritrea on the Red Sea shores. Djibouti reported at least 12 of its soldiers dead and 55 wounded. The Council issued a statement on 12 June condemning Eritrea’s military action and urging both parties to resolve the dispute peacefully.)
Immediate issues include whether to simply terminate UNMEE or whether to look at a range of measures to resolve the underlying problem.
Options
The Council could press Ethiopia to accept the boundary commission decision by imposing sanctions. But this is unlikely. The Council could simply establish a UN buffer group of observers. Alternatively it could go further and begin to address the physical border demarcation issues and promote a dialogue between the two countries.
Council Dynamics
Council members seem equally divided between those favouring a military observer presence and those seeking a more far reaching strategy to address the underlying problems. Some are concerned that a failure to address the underlying issues will be interpreted as taking Ethiopia’s side.
AU sends team to probe Eritrea-Djibouti clashes
Fri 27 Jun 2008
SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt, June 27 (Reuters) - The African Union has sent a team to investigate fighting this month between Djibouti and Eritrea close to strategic Red Sea shipping lanes, the top AU diplomat said on Friday.
Djibouti accuses neighbouring Eritrea of moving troops across the border, triggering several days of fighting that killed a dozen Djiboutian soldiers and wounded dozens. Eritrea denies making any incursions.
Addressing African Union foreign ministers meeting in Egypt, the chairman of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, said he was concerned by the hostilities.
“I have sent a fact-finding mission to Djibouti that is also mandated to go to Eritrea as well,” Ping said. “I hope both parties will do everything to find a happy solution to this situation.”
The U.N. Security Council has also called for a U.N. fact-finding mission to visit both countries.
France has one of its largest overseas military bases in Djibouti. The United States also has a military base there.
Last week, Djibouti said the situation on the border had calmed, but that French warships would arrive off its coast soon. Paris signed a mutual defence pact with Djibouti after the Red Sea state’s independence in 1977.
At UN, Djibouti Admits French Copter Flights, Blames Eritrea for Shoot-outs, Distributes Photos
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.
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