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By WUDINEH ZENEBE - SPECIAL TO FORTUNE
High-level delegates of the Addis Abeba City Administration, led by Mayor Kuma Demeksa and high-level delegates of the Oromia Regional State, led by President Aba Dula Gemeda, had a field visit Thursday, January 1, 2010, with the intention of addressing long-standing border conflicts between the two regions.
The mayor and the president visited Anfo Meda, which is between Kolfe Keranyo District of the Addis Abeba Administration and Burayu town of the Oromia Special Zone.
“Between Burayu and Addis Abeba, for example, there are many people who live on Oromia land with Addis Abeba identification cards,” said an official of the special zone.
During the caretaker administration of Mayor Brehane Deressa, the Burayu Administration had stopped 101 residential housing construction associations who were given land by the city from undertaking construction claiming that the plots given to them were part of Oromia where the Addis Abeba Administration had no jurisdiction.
“There have been no serious problems since Kuma came to power, but there have been development requests” an official of the Oromia Administration said.
Recently the Oromia Water Works Construction was developing the plan for the special zone and found that the plans of the two regions were overlapping at places, said Awol Abdi, head of the Land Administration and Environmental Protection Office. Such problems occur at Burayu and Sebeta. Awol downplayed the importance of the border problem, saying that it was something that could be solved. But he expressed concern about the effects of sewage from Addis Abeba in parts of the special zone.
The mayor and the president had discussed these issues during the visit, according to Awol, giving instructions to their experts to work out a solution. Awol says that there is a plan to create a project office that would deal with development issues pertaining to the two regions.
The towns of the special zone, all of which are found on the outskirts of Addis Abeba, have been enjoying higher investment levels as investors go looking near the capital .
By WUDINEH ZENEBE
SPECIAL TO FORTUNE
http://addisfortune.com/
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Elsewedy to Get 20,000ht for Egyptian Industrial Zone
Elsewedy Cables Ethiopia Plc, a cable manufacturing plant in Dukem, is to be granted the 20,000ht of land it asked for to establish an industrial zone in the Afar Regional State for Egyptian companies.
The company submitted its request to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) in October 2009, about the same time as the inauguration of its cable manufacturing plant, which it had established with a capital of 50 million dollars.
Elsewedy's request for land in Afar was a welcome request for the ministry which has been trying to promote industrial zones far from Addis Abeba and surrounding towns of the Oromia Regional State such as in Kombolcha, in the Amhara Regional State and Dire Dawa, Amakele Yimam, corporate communications head at MoTI, told Fortune.
Elsewedy Cables Ethiopia Plc needed the land to prepare for investments from up to 120 interested Egyptian companies in pharmaceuticals, cables, transformers, electrical panel boards, explosion proofs and poles as well as agro processing, Ibrahim Qamar (Eng.), general manager of the company, told Fortune.
Such investments will substitute imports and save foreign currency for the country, Amakele says.
Elsewedy expects to spend 300 million dollars in the first phase of development for the industrial zone, according to Ibrahim, who says the financing will be provided by Egyptian companies.
Elsewedy is the first African company to show an interest to start an industrial zone in Ethiopia. So far China, India and Turkey have such zones in Dukem, Kombolcha and Laga Xafo, respectively.
By MERGA YONAS
FORTUNE STAFF WRITER
http://addisfortune.com/
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Indian companies buy land abroad for agricultural products
2 Jan 2010, IST, MV Ramsurya, ET Bureau
MUMBAI: Indian companies are buying land overseas, mainly in Africa, to grow agricultural products that can be exported to large markets, including
India.
Companies and investment houses prefer the African route to agriculture as direct investment in this sector in India is fraught with bureaucratic hurdles. Also, land is relatively cheaper in Africa and fertile. Contiguous nature of land — a company can get large tracts contiguous land — are the other main drivers.
According to statistics provided by governments of various countries in east Africa, more than 80 Indian companies have invested about £1.5 billion (about Rs 11,300 crore ) in buying huge plantations in countries in eastern Africa, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal and Mozambique that will be used to grow foodgrain for the domestic market.
The list of companies that have purchased land in Africa is quite long and includes companies in businesses ranging from agriculture and horticulture to engineering and metals. They include the Kolkata-based Kankaria group (manufacturing and textiles), Kommuri Agrotech (floriculture and horticulture), Surya Electrical (electrical products), Karuturi Agro Processing, AVR Engineering (construction), Nelvo International (minerals), Allied Chemicals, BP Jewellery, KSR Earthmovers.
The land purchase has been done in places like Oromia, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, Port Sudan, Khartoum and Suwakin in Sudan, and in Nairobi in Kenya.
Rising food prices is one of the main reasons for the rush. Food price inflation rose 19.95% for the week ended December 2 from the previous year, with prices of food products and vegetables reaching record levels due to a combination of hoarding and slow production after the country saw its worst monsoon since 1972.
“The cheap cost of land is the main driver for such a trend,” says Dileep Choksi, a leading tax and accounting consultant, who has been part of several business initiaves in Africa. “While the firm food prices in India and elsewhere are also a reason, the availability of arable land (in Africa) is a major advantage,” he added.
Africa has 807 million hectare of cultivable land, of which just 197 million hectare is currently being cultivated. This demand for food and agricultural commodities is likely to remain strong, according to a recent statement by global investor Jim Rogers.
Since farmers are not getting loans to expand, once the current cyclical decline in commodities ends, the world would see less supply of commodities.
The interest in agro-commodities reflects the demand seen for mass consumer products. According to JM Trivedi, country head with private equity major Actis — which has a majority equity interest in Nilgiri Dairy Farm — while agriculture is a growth area, investments in related aspects such as dairy would depend on whether the plan is to turn it into a mass consumer product with a brand.
While corporate farming in India is still restricted by slow government approvals, dairy farming is catching on, with KKR, another large global PE major, eyeing investments in the sector. KKR India head Sanjay Nayyar recently told ET that his firm was interested in investing in the Indian dairy sector.
KKR recently invested $150 million in a dairy farm in China and could soon follow it up with a similar investment in India, he added. Baroda-based Vigo Biotech was recently acquired by Anil Products of the Arvind Lalbhai group, in a Rs 75-crore deal, that aims at integrating the dairy operations and increasing the cow count from the current 1,000 to over 5,000 and to diversify into value-added dairy products.
The deal, advised by Transwarranty Finance, is to expand into localised market segments by leveraging on distribution strengths of the starch businesses of Anil Products.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5403216.cms?prtpage=1
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Emami Biotech to invest $80 mn in Ethiopia
3 Aug 2009, IANS
KOLKATA: Emami Biotech, belonging to the Rs.2,000-crore Emami group, will invest Rs.400 crore (around $80 million) in a jatropha plantation project
in Oromia in Ethiopia over the next six years, a top company official said here on Monday.
"We have already acquired around 30,000 acres and work has begun for jatropha cultivation. For the first phase that we have already started, the investment is around Rs.120 crore," said Emami director Aditya V. Agarwal at a press conference.
Apart from jatropha, the company will also grow sunflower, castor, pulses and herbs like menthol in the East African country.
"We have chosen Ethiopia for investment because of availability of cheap labour, contiguous land and congenial business environment," Agarwal said.
Emami Biotech will pump in 30 per cent of the project cost, with the rest to be mobilised from banks and financial institutions.
"We are already in talks with Exim Bank, Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India and Corporation Bank. They will either fund the project independently or as a consortium," he added.
Emami has been allocated a total of 100,000 acres by the Oromia Investment Commission, the nodal agency in Oromia for allotting and distributing land for industrial and agricultural purposes.
The land is being offered on a 45-year renewable lease basis, Agarwal said.
The company believes once operations start in full swing, it would be able to churn out 100,000 tonnes of crude bio-fuel per annum. "The bio-fuel will be exported to India for producing bio-diesel at our own plant at Haldia," he said.
Emami Biotech currently operates an integrated plant at Haldia in West Bengal with a capacity to produce 1,800 tonnes of edible oil per day and 300 tonnes of bio-diesel from palm oil.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4852527.cms?prtpage=1
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OSA Appeal on the Reported Killings of Oromo Immigrants in Bossaso, Puntland
December 9, 2009
To: Mr. António Guterres,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500
CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt
Re: Massacre of Oromo Refugees in Bossaso, Puntland (Somalia)
Dear Commissioner Guterres,
I am writing this letter on behalf of the Oromo Studies Association (OSA), a scholarly, multi-disciplinary, nonprofit organization, established to promote studies on and relevant to the Oromo people. The Executive Committee of OSA is deeply concerned about the repeated and orchestrated killings of innocent Oromo immigrants in Bossaso, Puntland, a breakaway region of Somalia, in which a total of at least 67 Oromos lost their lives and hundreds others severely wounded and left without any medical attention.
The killings occurred on two separate occasions. The recent killing was on Tuesday, December 01, 2009, reportedly committed when assailants in a small car threw a hand grenade at a cinema in the city center where people mostly from the Oromo community were watching films. While the reported number of casualties vary, OSA has received credible information that at least two of the three people reported dead are Oromo immigrants and some 18 Oromos have been severely wounded. Many of the wounded are reportedly left without medical treatment and currently appealing to Oromo communities abroad through different media outlets.
An earlier killing, which occurred some two years ago, on 02/05/2008, was rather a massacre. The incident took place when two grenades were thrown at innocent Oromo refugees who were watching video in Afan Oromo language at two hotels owned by two Oromo refugees in the same city of Bossaso. According to reports gathered from several unrelated sources, such as the Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA), an independent human rights group, Radio Voice of America Afan Oromo service, radio Voice of Oromo Liberation (VOL), and several websites, 65 Oromos were brutally murdered and more than 100 others were injured in this incident. Among international news outlets, Reuters reported that at least 20 were killed and over 100 were injured. Some other sources have also reported that about 250 homes have been burned to the ground leaving several other Oromo refugees without shelter. Many of those injured are reported to have been left without any medical attention. HRLHA has also published the names of 59 Oromos who are among the injured on its website.
Dear Mr. Commissioner,
Many Oromos are forced to flee to neighboring countries because they are unable to live in peace in their own homeland. The current government of Ethiopia, led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, has a well-documented record of gross human right violations. Particularly, many Oromos are subjected to widespread imprisonment, torture, and arbitrary killing due to alleged support of Oromo political groups opposed to the government, mainly the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Many local and international humanitarian and governmental organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the US States Department, have consistently reported on their respective yearly reports, the extensive human right violations perpetrated on the Oromos by the current regime in Ethiopia.
Even school children are not spared from gross human right abuses. Just to mention few, according to Human Rights Watch, in January, 2007 more than thirty students were rounded up and arrested, and at least one died as a result of police beatings in Dembi Dollo, Western Oromia, about 700 kilometers west of the capital, Finfinnee (Addis Ababa). The others are severely injured and hospitalized. During the same time, local police and militia members in Ghimbi town shot two high school students dead, one as he and others were walking peacefully along, the other as he covered the body of the first with his own to protect him from further harm. In February, 2007, Ethiopian security officials are reported to have secretly killed 19 men prisoners and a 14-year–old girl prisoner in Miesso, northeastern Oromia, and thrown their body into a jungle known as Gaara Suufii. Several days later, the news of their killing leaked out and the local people were able to search for the bodies, the remaining bones of which had been eaten by wild animals, and buried them. The list of atrocities and killings goes on and on.
Massive arrests have been a day to day experience in Oromia, especially since the current regime came to power in 1991. Tens of thousands of Oromos are reported to have been regularly rounded up and sent to jail. Many of them face torture, and many others are executed, according to several credible reports. A reliable testimony to such atrocities committed on the Oromos is from Mr. Seye Abraha, the founder, former political bureau member of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and a former Defense Minister of the regime now ruling Ethiopia, who got out of Qaliti prison (one of known huge detention and torture centers in Ethiopia) after six years, spoke out to Ethiopians in Diaspora on January 5, 2008 in Virginia (USA) by saying “The Prison Speaks Oromiffa” (Oromo language). Mr. Seye added that “about 99% of the prisoners in Qaliti are Oromos”.
A large number of Oromos are forced to leave their home and take refugee in Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Sudan, Eritrea and Yemen due to fear of such massive arrest, harassment, torture, disappearance and arbitrary executions. Unfortunately, they have not been safe even after they flee to neighboring countries. The current Bossaso killing and the 2008 Bossaso massacre are just few of such examples. Just to mention a few reported cases, in 2003, a well respected Boorana Oromo, Mr. Halakhee Diidoo, was reported to have been killed by Ethiopian security forces in the town of Moyale, Kenya. In 2004, Mr. Areeroo Galgaloo was reported to have been gunned down in the same town. On September 4, 2007, the Ethiopian government security forces are reported to have crossed to a neighboring Kenyan town of Moyale and murdered Mr. Gaaromsaa Abdisaa, a resident of Moyale town, Kenya, for alleged ties with the OLF. On the same day, the body of an Oromo woman believed to have been murdered by the same “killing squad” was found in the same town. What is more disturbing is that these Oromos are reported to have been murdered in broad day light, right in front of the Kenyan government office, and the killers are reported to have been returned to the Ethiopian side of the border, full of military track, without any question from the Kenyan authorities. On November 06, 2007, 10 Oromo refugees were reported to have been executed in their apartment in Nairobi Kenya. There are reports that the suspected killers are likely the Ethiopian security agents; many Oromos believe that there is no other entity that would kill these Oromos other than the Ethiopian hidden intelligence forces and known by many as “killing squads”.
Dear Mr. Commissioner,
We fear that the reported massacres in Bossaso, Puntland, are very likely an extension of the systematical killings of Oromo refugees committed by the current regime in Ethiopia and its allies in neighboring countries over the years. The current authorities in Puntland, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Sudan have always been allied with the Ethiopian authorities in targeting Oromo refugees resulting in arrest, torture, disappearance, killing, and most commonly forcefully deporting and handing the refugees back to the Ethiopian authorities. Frustrated by their situation in Puntland and Somalia, many Oromos catch a boat across the Gulf of Aden and risk the treacherous crossing every year, and hundreds die when overloaded boats capsize or sink.
The Oromo Studies Association, OSA, therefore, appeals to the UNHCR, all UN member nations, humanitarian, governmental and non-governmental organizations to put necessary pressure on the Puntland and Somalian authorities to protect the life of refugees in their respective territories. We demand that the perpetrators of the Bossaso massacres be hunted down and brought to justice. We call upon all governmental and non-governmental organizations to put pressure on the Ethiopian authorities to stop harassing, torturing, and killing Oromos and respect their basic human rights at home and in neighboring countries.
Sincerely,
Haile Hirpa, Ph.D.
President, Oromo Studies Association
P.O. Box 32391
Fridley, MN 55432
USA
CC:
1. His Excellency Mr. Ban K-Moon
Secretary-General, United Nations
Office of the Secretary General
885 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
2. Madam Secretary, Hilary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520
3. Honourable Prime Minister
Mr Gordon Brown
10 Downing Street
London England
4. Amnesty International USA
Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 807-8400
Fax: (212) 627-1451
5. Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10118-3299
USA
Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700
Oromo Studies Association (OSA),
================================
Eritrean Official Denies Border Demarcation with Ethiopia
January 5, 2010 ·
An Eritrean government official has described reports that an international body will soon demarcate the border between his country and Ethiopia as rumors
international body will soon demarcate the border between his country and Ethiopia as rumors.
Information minister Ali Abdu said Ethiopia is “illegally” occupying Eritrean land – - a charge Ethiopia denies.
“It’s just a rumor and it’s hearsay because as far as we can see, the Ethiopians are occupying our land, and we didn’t see any kind of signals of respecting the rule of law… The Ethiopian army is occupying our territories,” he said.
Eritrea’s President
Over the weekend, Eritrea said its forces engaged in a clash after Ethiopian forces launched successive attacks through Zalanbessa, a disputed area on the border between the two countries.
Eritrea claimed that its troops killed 10 Ethiopian soldiers after they attacked its positions. But an Ethiopian official was quoted as saying Eritrea’s claim was a “total fabrication”.
Abdu said his government has evidence of the weekend attack.
“On the first of January, 2010, they tried to attack our forces, and our force killed about nine Ethiopian soldiers and captured two. And these two POW’s (Prisoners of War) are right now with us. Anybody who is interested can contact them and ask them about the details. But the Ethiopian regime is denying that there was no war and nothing happened, and this is no surprise for me,” Abdu said.
Two Eritrean rebel groups claimed killing and wounding 63 Eritrean troops in the Zalanbessa area, the same place Asmara claims its forces were attacked. But Abdu denied the rebels claim.
“I will say this is the best joke of the beginning of 2010. We don’t have any opposition. Maybe there is an illusion of opposition forces, but we don’t have such an opposition force,” Abdu said.
Source: VoA
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UN imposes sanctions on Eritrea
The UN Security Council has imposed sanctions on Eritrea, accusing the country of backing Islamist insurgents in Somalia.
The resolution places an arms embargo on Eritrea, and also imposes travel bans and asset freezes on businesses and individuals.
Members of the Eritrean leadership are expected to be affected.
Eritrean officials have repeatedly denied the allegations, calling them a "fabrication" of US intelligence.
The resolution was backed by 13 votes to 15. China abstained while Libya, the only Arab council member, voted against.
'Ludicrous'
The country suspended its membership of the African Union in protest at the call for sanctions in April.
A draft of the resolution obtained by Reuters news agency demands that Eritrea "cease arming, training and equipping armed groups and their members including al-Shabab".
As a result of the Security Council vote, Eritrea becomes the first new country to be subjected to UN sanctions since they were imposed on Iran in 2006.
In a letter to the council last week, Eritrea's ambassador to the UN, Araya Desta, called the sanctions "ludicrous punitive measures".
He warned that their imposition risked "engulfing the region in to another cycle of conflict as it may encourage Ethiopia to contemplate reckless military adventures".
The UN has frequently expressed concern about the flow of arms in to Somalia, where hardline Islamists of al-Shabab and Hizbul-Islam are battling with government forces for control of the capital Mogadishu.
Somalia has been subject to a UN arms embargo for many years, but weapons are still freely available in the Mogadishu weapons market.
BBC NEWS: 2009/12/23
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Afewarki and Eritrea in Crisis
Abdullah A. Ado –
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Introduction:
Since 1993, there have appeared various analyses, by Eritrean and non-Eritrean writers alike, of the causes and effects of Issayas Afewarki and his regime’s crisis; and the likely impact it will have on the overwhelming majority of the population within Eritrea proper in the near future. These include descriptive summaries of events of failed 'nation building experiments'. Vivid facts are cooking like latent volcano underneath the surface. Reasons are many. But let me ask only the following leading quarries: Do highlanders and lowlanders maintain any shared aspirations to speak of? Are the dreams of lowland Afar and kunama people and that of the highlanders mutual? Do highland–lowland divisions allow passage across obstacles? Do we know and love each other at all? Or do we remain at odds ever since? In the lowlanders view, Eritrea remains a divided nation yet in the making; struggling to come out of the clouds that overshadow its mere existence as a stable nation because of the border dispute along the Badme-Tsorena lines. Yes Eritrea is yet in our minds not solidified even as much as Djibouti is in the eyes of the outer world. Communities within Eritrea have a long way, longer and harder way to go, than the idealist Eritrean highlanders have always taken for granted; and wished that the nation building process is a done deal since Afewarki assumed power. But by so thinking they readily fell flat when it comes to explaining Eritrea’s own internal differences between highlanders and lowlanders; between the resentful Kunama and Afar societies on the one hand and the hard-handed Afewarki’s tyrant regime on the other. A case in point worth mentioning is the recent UNSC resolution. It is a good example of a well researched resolution that not only provides a detailed exposition of major mishaps that lead the contemporary crisis within the Afewarki regime, but also an objective analysis of the events which led naturally to a coherent and cogent set of UNSC’s objective resolution.
At the other end of the spectrum are always pseudo-intellectual rants mainly of Highland Eritrea origin who permanently publish on various Eritrean websites, warning the imminent danger that may result in the collapse of Issayas Afewarki and his regime’s polity. Obviously as its nationhood crafting is not based on solid grounds the aftermath will obviously lead into long-anticipated anarchy and chaos. There will emanate continuous sources of problems and irritation to not only the 9-major ethnic groups within Eritrea proper; but also to the neighbouring states in the region. One thing clear for those of us confined within Eritrea proper is the naked fact that the style of age old authoritarian governance within the Afewarki regime is not only young and fragile, but also outdated and demagogic. Thus it has to be replaced instantly. Unless we are ready to carefully nurture the situation with tools that help eradicate the maladies it will remain a source of fight for our respective community rights. It is this common premise that bears closer examination since it is patently very true. So before I commence my brief discourse, it is useful to define some basic terms in the interests of clarity and also in order to set the parameters of the discussion below within the context of socio-political theory.
Definitions:
The first term that needs to be defined here is “democracy”, since this concept lies at the very heart of the issue under discussion. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines democracy as a: “ (a) government by the people; especially : rule of the majority; (b) government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” The important point to note here is the phrase “… usually involving periodically held free elections …” We know from experience that free elections are not, in and of themselves, a necessary pre-condition for a democratic system of government; although they usually comprise an important element of such a system.
The central feature of a democratic system is that, government power is vested in the people and they exercise this power either directly, or through freely chosen representatives, which act in their behalf. This central democratic governance concept was articulated and enunciated, perhaps most famously, by Abraham Lincoln of the USA in his Gettysburg Address as: “… government of the people, by the people, for the people…” In fact, this precise and pithy exposition of a democratic system of government has become the popular definition of democracy.
To this effect, this central point leads me to the critically important concept of “political consent”, (i.e. the consent of the people to submit to the authority of government). In a democratic system, the people consent to a governmental authority because that very authority derives from the people freely choosing their leaders through periodically held elections.
As an Afar fellow by origin, I consider my own pastoral and clan-based system as the basis of our societal make up in which direct participation by each adult male in major decisions of the clan, or sub-clan, (e.g. whether to go to war or to resolve disputes with other clans/sub-clans through dialogue and negotiation) take place. Indeed, in the socio-political structure of traditional Afar, Kunama and other pastoral society remains extremely egalitarian and democratic; each with its own inner structure of appointing wise leaders without any public election system in the Western sense of it; and without any sophisticated provision for any electoral process. Even then, we can still characterize the Afar, Kunama and other pastoral communities as democratic. We adhere to the point of customary law and order by our direct, participatory nature of the system of social and political governance in each of our pastoral society whereby important issues are openly debated in mass public meetings and the majority views prevail and become binding upon all clan/sub-clan members after all the viewpoints are thoroughly aired out and deliberately discussed. This indigenous, participatory democracy has neither formal institutions nor any formal office holders (for example the Tajura and Asaita Sultanates remain purely ceremonial with no formal powers); yet each not only works, but has thrived and commanded the allegiance of our people for centuries, if not for millennia. Indeed, in traditional, pastoral, Afar society, clan elders are not elected but chosen through an evolutionary, dynamic, almost osmotic, process whereby those clan members that are perceived by their kinsmen as wise, reflective, or visionary do decent and honourably emerge as spokesmen and socio-political leaders whose opinions and judgments are widely respected and followed. This may be viewed as a social equivalent of the Darwinian evolutionary principle of ‘survival of the fittest’; except that it may be characterized as ‘emergence of the wise and honourable’. Thus, the success of the Afar-Kunama and other pastoral people in establishing a functioning, democratic system within their respective communities by defying Afewarki’s regime in the wake of a prolonged, devastating civil war against a tribally based, highland military dictatorship that had ruled for nearly two decades is not surprising.
Afewarki and his regime’s crisis in the Context of pastoral democracy
Needless to say, liberty is meaningless when the right to utter one’s thoughts and opinion has ceased to exist. Of all rights, the right to utter is the fear of tyrants of the likes of Issayas Afewarki. It is the right to utter which they first of all strike down since they know well that it is power. The Eritrean nation building process has been built on the experience of personalities. It has no tangible political foundations that can bring fundamental changes in the structure of the ruling system. And these days, leave alone in the lowland areas, even in the highland tracts where Afewarki and his regime have the upper hand, the political impasse on how and when to hold elections has become not only a taboo, but also Afewarki’s regime has dug its dubious heels over irreconcilable political positions that grew ever more intractable. So the deteriorating political situation and the death incidences happening on those uttering their rights in the pastoral communities among the Kunama and the Afar population in particular, galvanized our people in most parts of lowland Eritrea into antagonistic action as the prospect of sustained, and possibly armed, conflict continues to loom over our horizons.
As usual, there remain protracted armed conflicts every now and then in smaller scales between Afewarki and his henchmen on the one side; and each of the lowland clans on the other side of the isle. These antagonistic symbioses continue to provide to lowlanders essential lessons the hard way. Each of the episodes and military incidents that occur painfully demonstrate to our ordinary lowlanders the social and human cost of facing Afewarki’s anarchic regime. The Afewarki regime’s crisis thus must be seen in the context of a highly partisan, chauvinistic, and lopsided political stance; where highlanders are better trusted and where our peoples’ basic human rights as lowlanders are mismanaged at all times. These events lead our people to far worse crisis situation each time when protracted actions continue to contribute to an all out socio-economic and political subjugation.
Critically observing the public affaires, what accounts and analysis written by highlanders ignore is the role played by our lowlanders in the resolution of Afewarki and his regime’s make up. Instead, these highland writers focus mainly upon the role played jointly by Afewarki and the highlander actors within the nation make-up process. They forget the fact that we too are supposed to remain equally stakeholders in the statehood arena; and have equal say on any action that affects our lives and livelihoods within Eritrea proper.
Afewarki and his regime in the eyes of Lowlanders
There remain palpable and widespread public unease and anger with Afewarki and his regime’s political stand, which allows the clan situation to deteriorate. But falling back on traditional avenues of political and social intermediation, ordinary lowlanders everywhere instigated clan elders, religious leaders and their petty-business community (i.e. civil society leaders) to prevail upon the Afewarki’s local political appointees to tone down their rhetoric and reach a compromise with our society.
Afewarki and his regime’s political actors have a vested interest in de-railing the lowland community’s traditional democratic system and plunging it into the same old anarchy and chaos that has bedevilled highland Eritrea. They are willing to foment internal conflict; armed if necessary; in order to realize their political goals; and remain holding their ascent to power for a long while indefinitely. The key actor here is, of course, Issayas Afewarki himself with his age old nihilistic mission of plunging the whole Horn Africa region back into the Middle Ages type of war mongering. The painstaking rejection of these so-called Afewarki regime’s cadres by our lowland people is literally evidenced by the success of our clan authorities in thwarting repeated attempts by Afewarki and his associates to mount attacks, which is due primarily to the vigilance of our communities’ security watchers in recognizing and reporting suspicious activities and persons to the clan authorities.
In addition to, and separate from Afewarki and his henchmen, there are political actors from highland Eritrea who assume that they have so much in common with lowland Eritrea when it comes to recognizing the not yet stabilized state of Eritrea. These highlanders are also equally ready to force lowlanders to abide by their dream of shaping statehood through clan warfare, in order to create sufficient havoc to overthrow the local authorities and chiefdom and instigate a seizure of power on behalf of the Afewarki regime under the pretext of re-establishing order. For instance, the conflagration of a routine dispute between by-passing highlanders and pastoral clan-men over water rights has at times caused murders of innocent civilians in furtherance of their ambitions for power.
Hence the carefully orchestrated subversion of popular complaints in local communities into armed confrontations with Afewarki’s henchmen simply keep on sowing seeds of armed conflict, distancing and secession from that of Afewarki crafted nationhood. The intervention of the Kunama and the Afar clan elders, not to mention the maturity of the overwhelming majority of the concerned clans within Eritrea proper, succeeded in preventing the hitherto propping up disputes turning into ugly, armed war between clans and Afewarki’s regime. Correspondingly, the widespread public outcry against the political manoeuvrings and sedition of both Afewarki’s regime and highland opposition groups against lowlanders’ right to secede always, continue to force both the lowlanders and highlanders to abandon their sterile impasse and raise their political temperature to the level of no return.
Conclusive Remarks
First of all, several key points outlined above need carefully weighing and taken to serious considerations. To us lowlanders, the political culture of participatory democracy is not new. It is indeed a central feature of our societal socio-political ethos, culture and tradition. This fact is perhaps not fully appreciated by highland Eritrean people; and especially by Afewarki and his regime. To them, democratic governance is a new construct among our lowland population and in our communities’ political history. This hypocritical contemptible look at lowlanders explains the over-arching focus upon embracing on the making of the “New Eritrea” while at the same time ignoring our key important features in our traditionally existing democratic systems. It is important to remember the following points. During the decade commencing from 1993 until the end of 2009, Afewarki’s regime has never been a representative one, where lowlanders in particular enjoyed the freely given consent of their society; not to mention their confidence. There has never been any representative democracy and elections in the whole of Eritrea proper as initially promised in 1993, let alone in lowland areas. There has never been any attempt to adapt the indigenous, Kunama-Afar clan-based, pastoral democracy to the modern institutions in Asmara. There has never been any independent judiciary and a legislature of House of Representatives in Asmara.
Secondly, the drafting of a constitution and its ratification was done by presently exiled highlander by the name Bereket Hapte Sellasie, who originally was born and brought up in Harar, Ethiopia; and had no clear knowledge or understanding of our lowlanders’ culture or civility. His draft constitution has no clan-based pastoral democracy adopted in it. Thus, the making of Eritrea proper remains half baked; qualitatively more undemocratic right now than it was during the 1952-1993 federation with Ethiopia. The fact is Afewarki’s regime always downgraded the clans’ traditional, pastoral political system to benefit from his own archaic, nihilistic, institutional and anarchic structures. Thus, the shift from the clan-based, pastoral democracy of the pre-1993 era to the present one whereby Afewarki and his hand picked henchmen continues to affect the lowlanders negatively. Overall, the dream for nation building is deteriorating the traditional democratic changes in terms of representation; the consent of the people to its clan authority; and finally the transparency and accessibility of lowlanders to the forthcoming ‘federal system’ embracing all 9-ethnic groups equally and impartially.
Thirdly, the determination of the ordinary lowlanders not to surrender the independence, stability and peace we have enjoyed for generations under our home-grown system of representative local government and a free clan-based society is going to remain the powerful foundation. It ensures our durability for ever as it has done for generations thus far. During this Afewarki’ regime’s crisis, our determination has been trumped. In fact, it is a fundamental cause for the machinations of both our political elders and the malevolent plots of would-be usurpers of clan-state institutions. Indeed, the timely support of our brethren inside Ethiopia and Djibouti remains the main viable and valuable stick with which to compel Afewarki and his regime either to look beyond their narrow chauvinistic self-interests and see the ‘big picture’; or step down and leave our lowland communities to freely choose our respective destiny how to live and let other live in peace. This very desire for our clan and national self-determination up to and including secession for our free society is deeply ingrained in our lowland pastoralist peoples’ mind. It also remains the basis of our revolt against Afewarki and his chauvinistic and partisan highlander dictatorship; and the subsequent, long war of our liberation since 1993. It is also a fundamental and enduring feature of the history and culture of pastoral societies within Eritrea proper, which has survived for centuries of, admittedly benign, Italian-British-French colonial rules. But now, the treachery of a union in the making of a nation has subverted by the calculations of chauvinist highlanders’ domination; an oppressive, tribal dictatorship that declared war on its own citizens; intensifying armed, clan conflicts; motivated by an overweening lust for power; sustained efforts by a regime force to subvert the very existence of our clan-based democracy as an independent local state; including acts of terror and violence, nationalization of assets, and trade embargos; and, most recently, the inability of Afewarki’s regime to look beyond its own naked war mongering banditry ambitions.
Fourthly, the recently concerted pressure exerted on Afewarki by the UNSC and the Ethiopian Government helps prepare the grounds for further struggle. Internal subversion attempts against lowlanders have thus far failed. This proves that Afewarki and his regime’s instigators as well as their highland supporters are forced to give-up on their aims by circumstantial evidence as indicated by UNSC resolution and by the worsening living conditions inside Eritrea proper.
Finally, far from being strong and cemented, Afewarki’s regime and its phoney-democracy are indeed fragile and destined to doom. His regime is founded on sandy grounds without embracing the cultural fabric of lowlander pastoral societies that are nourished by the determination of our ordinary pastoral clans to enjoy our freedom and pursue our lives and livelihoods in peace. In sum the hitherto existing Afewarki’s regime and his institutions, constitution and political systems require continual review and improvement; or else they are doomed to fail pretty soon. Afewarki’s regime must realize the need to remain inclusive of our clan-centric pastoral system to his platform-centric focus of chauvinistic and mainly highlander-based partial system. Then and only then can we claim the rights to utter words of thoughts and opinions freely and fraternally.
http://assimbablog.assimba.org/2010/01/05/afewarki-and-eritrea-in-crisis/print/
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Africa: Global Possibilities in 2010
Ezra Ijioma - 3 January 2010
analysis
In Africa, there is the increasing influence of continental and regional bodies in promoting political stability and peace building in the continent. "I think 2009 has seen some very significant and sustained positive trends towards the improvement of the bilateral relations between some states which used to have conflicting relationships. It has also seen a volatile stabilization process in Somalia. 2009 has also witnessed a relative improvement in the situation in the Sudan as far as the situation in Darfur is concerned. We recall also cases of crises and unconstitutional changes of government in Africa," said the Commissioner of African Union (AU)'s Peace and Security Council, Ramtane Lamamra in a recent comment on 2009.
Sudan, Somalia, Congo DR Guinea Conakry, Zimbabwe and Madagascar are countries whose internal rumblings will keep not just AU but their respective regional groups busy thru 2010. Sudan is at a threshold as it fine-tunes the holding of a referendum whether to be or not to be a unified nation. By the end of 2010, it will be only three months to that momentous event. As Khartoum battles to save Sudan from disintegration, AU will continue to mediate between the squabbling parties, bringing a touch of African solution to African problems.
Somalia has been tagged the worst country on earth as it won't get any better. Without a government and none in sight, AU has its hands full in Somalia. It has failed to find any solution to the increasing violence in Somalia. However, 2010 will see a concerted international military effort to combat piracy in Somali waters, which is actively supporting terrorism inside and outside Somalia. Already, the Chinese have muted the idea of a global anti-terrorism hub located within the Gulf of Yemen.
With the stress and strain of running a collapsed economy in a global depression taking its toll on the fragile health of Robert Mugabe, he would have no choice but to step down. A fragile political contraption, Zimbabwe remains a nation on the edge as Morgan Tsvangarai struggles to remain relevant in government. 2010 may find his hands strengthened as Mugabe's productivity dwindles with age.
With the threatened pullout of United Nations forces from Congo DR and the Joseph Kabila-led government planning to root out Rwandan militants from Congo, defenceless Congolese will still know no peace in 2010. Congo DR will remain a violence-wracked land as Kabila grapples with indecision over political or military solution to Congo's wars.
Eritrea will bear the burden of sanctions for its continued support to the Islamic militants in Somalia. Despite its many denials, it is yet to provide a single tangible evidence of non-complicity in Somalia's fratricidal war. Its dictatorial regime is repressing Eritreans and has driving thousands into exile. More pressures will be piled on Eritrea to change its ways and any resistance will only increase its international isolation.
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is occupied with the deteriorating political and security conditions in Guinea Conakry. Guinea risks dragging the recovering sub-region into war again. Of course, the January elections are off and no one has an idea what the next shape of political solution is. With its zero tolerance of military coups, no matter how popular, ECOWAS is tightening the noose on Guinea's junta as it demands a quick return to civilian rule. The junta won't last in 2010; either there is a return to civilian rule or Guinea descends into anarchy. The junta has lost enormous local and international support and must be eased out as soon as possible or the region suffers.
Outside Africa and gazing into the political crystal ball reveals growing flashpoints that are bent on consuming the world. Iran remains a tensed issue in international politics. Not just its determination to develop nuclear weapons but its worsening internal conflicts and contradictions that are threatening the peace and stability of Middle East in particular and the world in general. The fallouts of its controversial June 12 election are still shaking the political cum religious mullahs. Will Israel strike Iran's nuclear sites this year or will the ayatollahs tire out in 2010? When asked what will be the biggest story in 2010? British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio presenter Stephen Sackur said: "Political convulsions in Iran, with the possibility of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad being forced out of office and the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, forced to turn to former President Rafsanjani and other 'moderates' to save the revolution." Iraq remains a fragile country battling armed insurgents and as American forces withdraw, pressure mounts on Iraqis to defend and rebuild their nation.
Hard diplomatic and legal knocks are reserved for Israel over its policy in Palestine. But expect Israel mounting a very vigorous diplomatic campaign to explain its efforts at peace making in the Middle East. With Hamas and Hezbollah rearming and Israel ever willing to defend itself, there is increasing likelihood of another violent flare up in the Middle East. There will be growing terrorist support for the Houthi's insurgence in Yemen and Saudis growing involvement. The economic fundamentals do not support a quick recovery of Dubai's battered image and slumped economy in 2010.
In Europe, analysts predict worsening economic condition despite the world's economy coming out of recession and growing by one per cent. "After 2008's banking crisis and 2009's recession, in 2010 we'll likely see the next phase of global economic turmoil: a crisis in public finance. The troubles are most acute in Europe. Government deficits have ballooned to more than 12 per cent of GDP in Spain, Ireland, and the U.K., while government debt will hit over 100 per cent across the European Union by 2014. Greek markets crashed in December 2009 due to worries about the government's ability to finance its enormous deficit," predicts Newsweek magazine in its recent issue on global outlook in 2010. The economic crisis comes with political implications. Newsweek continues: "Political discourse in Europe took an ugly, even racist turn, in 2009, with the Swiss voting to ban minarets on mosques, the French investigating a burqa ban, and other well-publicized instances of prejudice. Expect a backlash in 2010, especially if the economic recovery proves a mirage. Pay particular attention to France." With national elections in March 2010, Nicolas Sarkozy of France should be wary of the ides of March. Labour Party in Britain is fast losing support to the conservative Tories and Gordon Brown may not survive voters' backlash on mismanaged economy and have not forgotten the cabinet expenses.
Europeans will demand far-reaching reforms in the banks, which they blame for their economic woes. Tougher banking regulations that bother on transparent transactions are sure bet this year.
President Obama must make the best out of very bad situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The failed Christmas airline terror attack has only heightened pressure to 'win war on terror'. The troop surge in Afghanistan must produce results as soon as possible. Nathan Gonzales, the political editor of the Rothenberg Political Report wrote in Economist magazine that with mounting public disaffection over war in Afghanistan, Democrats' disapproval of troop surge and Congressional elections in November 2010, Obama has no choice but to show he took the right decisions. "President Obama needs to show that he has a plan for Iraq and Afghanistan, that he is implementing it, and that it is working," he said. There will be increased support from U.S. to Pakistan to continue the war on Taliban militants terrorizing Pakistan. With the sudden overture made by North Korea for peaceful relations, U.S. has one less headache to worry about. 2010 will show how serious the communist nation is towards peaceful co-existence.
Fidel Castro has been sick for years, and 2010 seems to be his last year on earth predicts Newsweek. Grim as that may sound; it urges U.S. to prepare on normalizing relations with Cuba. "Within short order, and perhaps by year's end, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce a plan to normalize relations with Cuba by the year 2013," it concludes. With the U.S. presumably out of recession, and the rest of the world with it, concerns are now high debts and growing unemployment. "Governments will confront difficult decisions on how fast to start withdrawing the huge support they provided to keep the financial system going," writes Economist magazine in its 'World in 2010' edition. Greater attention and respect will be paid to emerging economies like China, India, Russia, Brazil and South Korea, who many say saved the world's economy. Businesses will focus more on long-term growth strategies than short-term which the Economist said, "will place an increasing emphasis on emerging markets, many of which will power ahead. India will mark an historic transition: manufacturing will at last outweigh farming. It and other emerging giants will also make their presence felt in the G20, now the pre-eminent club for global decision-making."
China remains the nation to beat in everything in 2010, it looks unstoppable in its global ascendancy. With the new toga as world's 2nd largest economy and foreign reserves in the excess of one trillion dollars, a colossal global influence, nuclear teeth and a market that is every manufacturer's dream, China remains the nation to befriend in 2010. China will be central to just about every global issue in the coming year, from the economy to climate change and nuclear diplomacy. Expect to see and hear from China throughout 2010. Its only Achilles heel remains political reforms inside China. Despite its many successes the Communist Party is still frightened of any political dissent and given the many nationalities it straddles, the fear is well-founded. Will Tibet, Uyghur or any other nationality unsettle China this year? It is possible, very possible since thousands of protests happen in China annually.
Right or wrong, these possibilities offer a flavour of the year ahead.
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/201001041241.html
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