The Struggle For Freedom, Justice and Equality
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Kampala warns Khartoum over military invasion of oil-rich state
Uganda will not interfere in the current standoff between Khartoum and the South over oil-rich Abyei state, which northern troops overrun a fortnight ago.
But it warns that Khartoum’s action is futile as it runs counter to global opinion and provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
While acknowledging the significance of Southern Sudan to Uganda’s security and economic interests, Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga ruled out immediate military intervention, even as northern militias were progressing further south after a lightning attack that dislodged the SPLA administration from Abyei.
While acknowledging the significance of Southern Sudan to Uganda’s security and economic interests, Defence Minister Crispus Kiyonga ruled out immediate military intervention, even as northern militias were progressing further south after a lightning attack that dislodged the SPLA administration from Abyei.
“We’ll continue to play our role as part of the team that guaranteed the CPA. Any spoiler will be dealt with politically and diplomatically, and if this fails he will be dealt with by any other means. Khartoum should play by the rules of the CPA and practise the principles of good neighbourliness,” Mr Kiyonga said.
He added that the South spoke with one voice when they voted for independence in the January referendum and their decision enjoyed universal support.
Mr Kiyonga’s comments were in consonance with those of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, Land Forces Commander, Lt Gen Katumba Wamala, who said any involvement by Kampala will initially be diplomatic.
“We hope sober minds will prevail, but UPDF can’t get involved in that conflict. At a diplomatic level, we will push to calm the two conflicting sides because, as people who were engaged in the CPA, we have to ensure that it does not collapse.”
The National Congress Party (NCP) of the Khartoum government and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) of the South are the two CPA partners of the 2005 peace negotiations in Kenya. The South is on the verge of attaining independence this July, so collapse of the CPA would complicate matters for regional intergovernmental bodies, the African Union and the international community.
First, with 15,000 people already displaced by hostilities in Abyei since May 20, any escalation of violence would result in mass exodus of refugees.
Secondly, conflict in the Sudan offers fertile ground for terrorists to roam and execute attacks on the region — considering that before the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Sudan was a haven for al Qaeda terrorists.
Thirdly, escalation of conflict in Sudan would affect insecure countries like Somalia, which could export terrorism to the region. Moreover, Uganda, which has about 4,500 soldiers in the African Union Peacekeeping Mission in Somalia, no longer maintains troops in Sudan as it did during the years it was fighting the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army.
With pursuit of the LRA in the Central African Republic, and now the developments in Abyei, Uganda might find its security organs overstretched. But Wamala says this is out of the question. “We have enough resources for Somalia. We’ll not sacrifice Somalia for anything; if we have to do an internal reorganisation so be it.”
Gen Kiyonga says that while there is evidence that LRA leader Joseph Kony has tried to link up with international terrorists, he is currently too weak and insignificant and is just hoping for survival. He also thinks Kony is such a liability that even Khartoum would not pick him again.
He adds: “Kony is not just a problem for Uganda and other countries in central Africa — even the US want to see that he does not rebuild his strength.”
Khartoum seized Abyei 10 days ago in what was seen as the North’s attempt to manipulate the results of a referendum in the semi autonomous state in July this year to decide whether it would remain part of the North or go with the South. The referendum follows the one in January on secession of the South from the Arab north.
In a matter of days, Abyei was besieged by Khartoum government troops and set ablaze last week.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Ethiopia rebels say they take town, free UN staff
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By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Rebels in Ethiopia's Somali Region said on Thursday they had seized a town from government troops and freed two U.N. workers who had been missing since an ambush on a U.N. convoy two weeks ago.
The ethnic Somali province, more commonly known as the Ogaden, is home to a low-level insurgency led by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which has been fighting for independence since 1984.
The U.N. World Food Programme had said one of its drivers was killed and another injured when gunmen ambushed the convoy on May 13, and two other WFP workers were missing.
Government authorities and the ONLF have accused each other of carrying out the attack. The ONLF said it had been an attempt to silence WFP employees who had witnessed government operations that killed civilians.
"The Ogaden National Liberation Army of (the) ONLF has captured the town of Galalshe in Jigjiga Region near Babili," the group said in a statement that did not disclose any dates.
The rebels said they had inflicted casualties on government troops while also capturing armaments and ammunition.
"The (ONLF) army found hundreds of civilian prisoners detained in the Galalshe jail who had been tortured and badly treated. Among the prisoners found were the two WFP workers abducted by the Ethiopian Army," it added.
Authorities were not immediately available for comment, but they often dismiss the rebels' claims as baseless propaganda.
WFP spokeswoman Judith Schuler said the agency could not confirm the release, but that it had partially resumed operations in the region, which were suspended after the incident.
The area is facing a drought-induced food crisis. The United Nations last month appealed for $75 million in food and other aid for 2 million people in Ethiopia's southern regions.
Journalists and aid groups cannot move unhindered in the area, making the allegations very difficult to verify.
Ethiopian forces waged an offensive against the rebels in late 2007 after the ONLF attacked a Chinese-run oil facility, killing 74 people. Analysts say the rebels were weakened but are still able to launch hit-and-run attacks.
Ethiopia says the Ogaden basin may contain 4 trillion cubic feet of gas and major oil deposits.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: - KBC News
President Mwai Kibaki who is in Ethiopia for the 2nd Africa-India Forum Summit, Tuesday met and held discussions with the country's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The meeting was a follow-up to talks the two leaders held in Kampala, Uganda last week on harmonious co-existence of communities living along the common border.
Tuesday's talks set out the agenda that will be discussed at a Joint Ministerial meeting between representatives of the two countries. This includes the issue of beacons along the common border and the sustainable use of shared resources like the Lake Turkana.
The two leaders also discussed regional issues including peace and security in the Sudan and Somalia. They called for patience and tolerance in Sudan that has entered a critical stage in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that set out the roadmap for stability in the country.
During the discussions, President Kibaki and the Ethiopian Premier also expressed the need for fast-tracking infrastructural projects connecting the two countries.
President Kibaki briefed the Premier on progress Kenya is making on the Isiolo Moyale Road whose construction to bitumen standards is currently underway. The road will connect the two countries at the Moyale border post.
Earlier, President Kibaki joined 14 other African heads of government and state for the 2nd Africa-India Forum Summit to review implementation of the partnership projects agreed upon during the first Summit in India three years ago.
The Summit which brought together the African leaders invited by the African union to represent the continent and Indian Premier Dr. Manmohan Singh will also consider modalities of strengthening cooperation between the two partners on the three pillars of capacity building and skill transfer, trade and infrastructure development spelt out under the framework of partnership.
The Premier, in his address, pledged loans totaling five billion US dollars for the next three years under new lines of credit to help achieve development goals in Africa.
India will offer an additional 700 million US dollars to establish new institutions and training programmes in consultation with the African union, the Premier said.
Accompanying the President on his visit are Internal Security Minister who is acting Foreign Affairs Minister Prof. George Saitoti and Trade Minister Chirau Ali Makwere and legislators George Nyamweya and Eric Omondi Anyanga.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Kenya to recognize Somaliland | SomalilandPress.com
NAIROBI — The Kenyan Government on Friday expressed its readiness to extend diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Somaliland in the near future. Kenyan Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Richard Onyonka said during an event held in Nairobi to commemorate Somaliland’s 20th anniversary of Independence that his country will support Somaliland as an independent state. The Minister made it clear that his government will encourage the African Union and Igad to finally accept Somaliland as a sovereign state, which has been described recently as one of few democracies in an otherwise the turbulent region.
Somaliland expatriates who attended the event with Mr Onyonka welcomed the Minister’s remarks and said Somaliland is a deserving country and should have its voice on the international stage.“We have managed to remain stable in a very volatile region and this should push the global community to recognize our sovereignty from the bigger Somalia,” Mohamed Saleh told Tehran based PressTv.
Sources in Nairobi said that last year the Kenyan government was
deeply divided over the issue with President Kibaki strongly opposed
to Somaliland recognition while his Prime Minister Raila Odinga was a
strong advocate for Somaliland. He is said to be one of the closest
friends of Somaliland’s former leader Mohamed Ibrahim Haji Egal. Mr
Odinga was joined by the Deputy Speaker of the Kenyan National
Assembly Farah Maalim, who is himself an ethnic Somali from the
North-eastern regions of Kenya. Mr Maalim visited Hargeisa several
times including during the inauguration of President Ahmed Silanyo in
July 2010 after June elections.
Kenyan Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Richard Onyonka
The Deputy Speaker also submitted a report detailing their findings and recommendations on Somaliland to the Kenyan Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende. Mr Marende approved their findings however according to Kenya’s former MP Peter Aringo the report is before Parliament awaiting debate and approval.
A few months ago more than a dozen Kenyan members of Parliament visited Hargeisa to study the political situation in Somaliland and to learn more about its indigenous home-grown conflict resolution strategies. It is believed the visit looked at a whole raft of issues including the maritime piracy development, Somalia’s weak Transitional Federal Government’s failure to resolve its own issues and the increased engagement of the international community with Somaliland may have pushed Kenya to seek ties with Hargeisa.
Kenyans who have called for their government to recognise Hargeisa
argue Somaliland would help stabilize the region and stop Somalia’s
expansionism dreams into Kenya and Ethiopia’s eastern regions with
Somali ethnic populations. They have also advised their government to
take other necessary measures to counter continued instability in Mogadishu including the formation of the so called buffer zone, Azania inside Somalia.
More than 5,000 Somalilanders gathered outside the British Parliament on Wednesday to request recognition (Photo: Wayne Moser)
Kenya is a key regional player and has paid important roles in the
formation of Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) which often operates from Nairobi rather than Mogadishu. Sources in Nairobi say the Kenyan Government is becoming increasingly worried about al Shabaab, maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia and TFG’s lack of resolve and ability to deal with internal disputes. If Kenya does announce its formal recognition of Somaliland other regional powers are expected to follow including Ethiopia, the base of the African Union.
Somaliland’s orderly and jubilant twentieth anniversary celebrations on 18th May 2011 have drawn favourable reactions from around the world. European and North American policy makers have begun to reassess their own individual stance in the light of continued regional conflict and the changes rippling out from the Maghreb, the Middle East and Sudan. Whilst there is a degree of reticence to come out publicly at present there has been a dramatic increase in diplomatic and commercial interest in Somaliland that seasoned commentators see as a prelude to full recognition. Sources close to the British Government indicate that should various key African nations declare their willingness to fully recognise Somaliland it would be well disposed to follow suit.
Somaliland is equally attracting leading international companies with the likes of Coca Cola and Western Union already establishing franchises. International analysts say this sort of activities will promote investment interest and business confidence in the region. The Somaliland government also says a French bank in the neighbouring Djibouti will soon open an office in Hargeisa. Djibouti Air, the main international carrier for the tiny Red Sea nation, has already began twice weekly services from Dubai to the Somaliland port city of Berbera.
This week Djibouti also sent a large delegation led by the former Djibouti Defense Minister Ougoureh Kifle Ahmed to take part in the independence day celebrations. Mr Ahmed told AFP that there is a possibility that Djibouti will recognize Somaliland. “The door is open to all possibilities for the modification of former boundaries,” he told AFP.
Like Kenya, Somaliland is a former British protectorate that gained
independence June 1960. It later unified with the Trust Territory of
Somalia (the former Italian Somaliland) forming what became known as
the Somali Republic. However, the union collapsed in 1991 following two
decades of internationally-hidden civil war that left more than 50,000
Somalilanders killed. In May 1991, Somaliland declared the restoration
of its sovereignty however it has not yet managed to regain international recognition. Somaliland has already forged a range of commercial relationships and has been afforded observer status by the Commonwealth.
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