Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Somalia to create Iraq-style "Green Zone" (Alertnet)
By Andrew Cawthorne and Sahal Abdulle
NAIROBI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The Somali government is trying to create a Baghdad-style safe "Green Zone" in Mogadishu to protect senior officials and foreign visitors from insurgent attacks, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said on Tuesday.
In an interview with Reuters, the Somali premier also accused U.S.-based Human Rights Watch of "abusing" his government and siding with radical Islamists in a report alleging war crimes against Mogadishu's population.
Insurgents have been fighting Gedi's government, and its Ethiopian military allies, since Islamists were toppled from Mogadishu at the end of 2006 after a brief, six-month rule.
To counter the threat of attacks, a security zone was being set up in the bullet-scarred coastal capital, Gedi said.
"At the moment, the government security agencies are trying to create a Green Zone where international community workers, and those vulnerable, can stay for their security purposes," he said, without giving more details.
"I hope that we will achieve positive results very soon." ..more..
NAIROBI, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The Somali government is trying to create a Baghdad-style safe "Green Zone" in Mogadishu to protect senior officials and foreign visitors from insurgent attacks, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi said on Tuesday.
In an interview with Reuters, the Somali premier also accused U.S.-based Human Rights Watch of "abusing" his government and siding with radical Islamists in a report alleging war crimes against Mogadishu's population.
Insurgents have been fighting Gedi's government, and its Ethiopian military allies, since Islamists were toppled from Mogadishu at the end of 2006 after a brief, six-month rule.
To counter the threat of attacks, a security zone was being set up in the bullet-scarred coastal capital, Gedi said.
"At the moment, the government security agencies are trying to create a Green Zone where international community workers, and those vulnerable, can stay for their security purposes," he said, without giving more details.
"I hope that we will achieve positive results very soon." ..more..
Alienation: A result of the impact of Western education on Ethiopian intellectuals,(Ethipian Review)
Things reversed themselves when Weyane took over from the Derg. Weyane itself was Communist and nominally “anti-imperialist” up to the eleventh hour. In that sense it was not any different than the other Ethiopian radicals, as both groups were the result of the student movement. Since communism was crumbling at its source (USSR and East Block), Weyane betrayed its communistic convictions to impress Western donors and wore the mask of a democrat the day it entered Addis Abeba from the bush in which it was waging guerrilla warfare. The West flooded over Ethiopia through the floodgate with its religion and “imperialist culture” including pornography and strip-dance clubs. Sadly, everything Western in general, and American in particular, is being worshiped to this day. Many Hotels and even “Tela Bets”in the remotest part of Ethiopia bear American names and states instead of local Ethiopian names. This is a reflection of cultural subjugation, low self-esteem and identity crisis. Furthermore, the fact that Ethiopians endured sever drought and famine as well as tragic civil-wars has affected negatively the former self-pride and self-reliability of Ethiopians. This has debilitated Ethiopians so much so that they are compelled to deny themselves and to lie about their nationality and identity. Unless something is done about this on the national level, Ethiopia will sink in a bottomless abyss. To overcome this grim and shameful situation, a lot of work should be done on the educational and cultural fronts...By Fikre Tolossa..
Monday, August 13, 2007
War crimes 'rampant' in Somalia (BBC)
All sides have committed war crimes in Somalia's conflict this year, according to lobby group Human Rights Watch.
It says the worst abuses have been by Ethiopian soldiers, who are supporting the government against insurgents.
Ethiopians have often indiscriminately attacked civilian areas and looted hospitals, its report says.
While insurgents have fired mortars into residential areas and executed civilians, since Islamists were driven from power in Mogadishu last December.
Both Ethiopia and the Somali government have denied the claims, reports Reuters news agency.
In the latest violence, at least 15 people have been killed in two separate incidents in the Somali capital.
More than 1,000 people were killed this year in the heaviest fighting since 1991, as Ethiopian and government troops tried to drive the insurgents out of Mogadishu...BBC..
Somalia and Ethiopia Are Accused of War Crimes (Nytimes)
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: August 13, 2007
RUMBEK, Sudan, Aug. 13 — Human Rights Watch on Monday accused the transitional government in Somalia and the Ethiopian troops that helped bring it to power of committing war crimes in Somalia, saying Ethiopian troops had shelled hospitals, Somali officials had blocked aid convoys and both forces had shown wanton indifference toward civilians
In a scathing 113-page report on the bloodshed in Somalia, Human Rights Watch also blamed Somali insurgents for summary executions and mutilating bodies.....New-york Times..
Published: August 13, 2007
RUMBEK, Sudan, Aug. 13 — Human Rights Watch on Monday accused the transitional government in Somalia and the Ethiopian troops that helped bring it to power of committing war crimes in Somalia, saying Ethiopian troops had shelled hospitals, Somali officials had blocked aid convoys and both forces had shown wanton indifference toward civilians
In a scathing 113-page report on the bloodshed in Somalia, Human Rights Watch also blamed Somali insurgents for summary executions and mutilating bodies.....New-york Times..
Somalia: War Crimes in Mogadishu (HRW)
Ethiopian forces backing the Somali transitional government violated the laws of war by widely and indiscriminately bombarding highly populated areas of Mogadishu with rockets, mortars and artillery. Its troops on several occasions specifically targeted hospitals and looted them of desperately needed medical equipment. Human Rights Watch also documented cases of Ethiopian forces deliberately shooting and summarily executing civilians.
Somali transitional government forces played a secondary role to the Ethiopian military, but failed to provide effective warnings to civilians in combat zones, looted property, impeded relief efforts for displaced people, and mistreated dozens of people detained in mass arrests.
“The insurgency placed civilians at grave risk by deploying among them,” said Roth. “But that is no justification for Ethiopia’s calculated shelling and rocketing of whole neighborhoods..Human Rights Watch
Somali transitional government forces played a secondary role to the Ethiopian military, but failed to provide effective warnings to civilians in combat zones, looted property, impeded relief efforts for displaced people, and mistreated dozens of people detained in mass arrests.
“The insurgency placed civilians at grave risk by deploying among them,” said Roth. “But that is no justification for Ethiopia’s calculated shelling and rocketing of whole neighborhoods..Human Rights Watch
Somalia: War Crimes in Mogadishu(HRW)
Ethiopian forces backing the Somali transitional government violated the laws of war by widely and indiscriminately bombarding highly populated areas of Mogadishu with rockets, mortars and artillery. Its troops on several occasions specifically targeted hospitals and looted them of desperately needed medical equipment. Human Rights Watch also documented cases of Ethiopian forces deliberately shooting and summarily executing civilians. Somali transitional government forces played a secondary role to the Ethiopian military, but failed to provide effective warnings to civilians in combat zones, looted property, impeded relief efforts for displaced people, and mistreated dozens of people detained in mass arrests. “The insurgency placed civilians at grave risk by deploying among them,” said Roth. “But that is no justification for Ethiopia’s calculated shelling and rocketing of whole neighborhoods.” ...Human Rights Watch -
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Tensions between Eritrea, Ethiopia on the rise (Twincities)
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA BORDER - Badme doesn't look like the most dangerous town in Africa.
Marooned at the end of 20 miles of dirt road, the tiny frontier outpost consists of a knot of rock huts, some jaywalking goats and one communal pingpong table. Not the sort of place, one would imagine, that once inspired 70,000 men to die in battle. Or still destabilizes a chunk of territory inhabited by 90 million people. Or gives U.S. policymakers in Africa the jitters.
Yet remote little Badme, the flash point of a brutal territorial conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the late 1990s, is responsible for all of these woes. And, today, experts worry that the contested town, which is claimed by both countries but controlled by Ethiopia, may be poised to spark even worse trouble ahead - namely, Africa's next major war.
While the U.S. military is focusing much of its attention in Africa on anti-terror efforts in places like Somalia, old hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea appear to be heating up on an arid plateau a few hundred miles to the north, with potentially devastating consequences for the people of Africa's Horn. Archenemies Ethiopia and Eritrea insist that renewed fighting along their desolate 620-mile-long common border is not imminent.
But diplomats, security experts and U.N. officials warn that recent saber-rattling by the two nations' leaders, beefed-up troop deployments along their heavily fortified border and even the timing of the U.S. presidential ..more..
Marooned at the end of 20 miles of dirt road, the tiny frontier outpost consists of a knot of rock huts, some jaywalking goats and one communal pingpong table. Not the sort of place, one would imagine, that once inspired 70,000 men to die in battle. Or still destabilizes a chunk of territory inhabited by 90 million people. Or gives U.S. policymakers in Africa the jitters.
Yet remote little Badme, the flash point of a brutal territorial conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea in the late 1990s, is responsible for all of these woes. And, today, experts worry that the contested town, which is claimed by both countries but controlled by Ethiopia, may be poised to spark even worse trouble ahead - namely, Africa's next major war.
While the U.S. military is focusing much of its attention in Africa on anti-terror efforts in places like Somalia, old hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea appear to be heating up on an arid plateau a few hundred miles to the north, with potentially devastating consequences for the people of Africa's Horn. Archenemies Ethiopia and Eritrea insist that renewed fighting along their desolate 620-mile-long common border is not imminent.
But diplomats, security experts and U.N. officials warn that recent saber-rattling by the two nations' leaders, beefed-up troop deployments along their heavily fortified border and even the timing of the U.S. presidential ..more..
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Black Hawk Down, and on Display, (Times)
The "helicopter woman," a popular figure in Somalia, is still awaiting compensation from the US government for damage caused by the black hawk helicopter that fell on her house, killing two of her children, during the 1993 battle of Mogadishu.Mayank Bubna
"Close the door," shouts the lady sitting in front of me. One of her grandchildren quickly obliges and the metal-sheeted door is shut with a squeak. It is mid-day in Somalia's capital Mogadishu but there is little activity on the usually bustling streets of the neighboring market. Ethiopian soldiers are busy rooting out alleged al-Qaeda terrorists and members of the Islamic Courts Union, which held sway over the city and most of the country until the end of 2006. At the smallest hint of trouble, the soldiers are quick to respond with bursts of gunfire in all directions. The last thing my interviewee wants is lead pouring in through her front door...more..
Friday, August 10, 2007
AP Interview: Leakey calls Lucy skeleton tour 'prostitution', (Heral Tribune)
Ethiopia's dispatching of the Lucy skeleton on a six-year-tour of the United States is akin to prostituting the fragile, 3.2 million year-old fossil, paleontologist Richard Leakey said Friday.
The Lucy skeleton — one of the world's most famous fossils — was quietly flown out of Ethiopia earlier this week for the U.S. tour. Leakey, one of the world's best-known fossil hunters, is not the first to criticize what some see as a gamble with an irreplaceable relic. The U.S. Smithsonian Institution also has objected to the tour, and the secretive manner in which the remains were sent abroad has raised eyebrows in Ethiopia, where the public has seen the real Lucy fossil only twice.
"It's a form of prostitution, it's gross exploitation of the ancestors of humanity and it should not be permitted," Leakey told The Associated Press in an interview at his Nairobi office.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment, but have said in the past that proceeds from the tour would be used to upgrade museums in one of the world's poorest countries. Dirk Van Tuerenhout, the curator of anthropology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where Lucy will be on display from Aug. 31 to April 20, said this week his museum will use "the utmost care."..read more..
The Lucy skeleton — one of the world's most famous fossils — was quietly flown out of Ethiopia earlier this week for the U.S. tour. Leakey, one of the world's best-known fossil hunters, is not the first to criticize what some see as a gamble with an irreplaceable relic. The U.S. Smithsonian Institution also has objected to the tour, and the secretive manner in which the remains were sent abroad has raised eyebrows in Ethiopia, where the public has seen the real Lucy fossil only twice.
"It's a form of prostitution, it's gross exploitation of the ancestors of humanity and it should not be permitted," Leakey told The Associated Press in an interview at his Nairobi office.
Ethiopian officials were not immediately available for comment, but have said in the past that proceeds from the tour would be used to upgrade museums in one of the world's poorest countries. Dirk Van Tuerenhout, the curator of anthropology at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, where Lucy will be on display from Aug. 31 to April 20, said this week his museum will use "the utmost care."..read more..
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