Global jihad's new front in Africa

As Islamists take over Somalia, its Western-backed neighbor Ethiopia prepares for war.
By Scott Baldauf | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

A new front in the global struggle for Islamist rule is emerging in Africa. And there are worrisome signs that battles between Somalia's rising Union of Islamic Courts (IUC) and the country's foundering Western-backed government might soon engulf the entire Horn of Africa in a regional war.

Last week, the UN Security Council voted to send peacekeeping forces to Somalia, a move the Islamists say would be met with holy war. But neighboring Ethiopia isn't waiting for the UN. As the Islamists continue to take town after town away from Somalia's transitional government, and to march closer to its border, Ethiopia is gearing up for all-out war. Meanwhile, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Sudan are eyeing the conflict and taking sides.

"The fact that the UN resolution was backed by the US suggests that it puts Somalia into the global war on terror, and that has the potential to mobilize a lot of countries and groups that have been divorced from Somalia thus far," says Matt Bryden a consultant with the Brussels-based International Crisis Group.

Ethiopia has been sending troops across the border for months and its parliament last week approved a resolution of self-defense against Somalia in the event of war.

"We have said, OK, the Islamic Courts are a fact in Somalia, so let's sit down and negotiate," says a senior Ethiopian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But the UIC is not interested in solving this matter peacefully. Whenever we negotiate with them, before the ink is dry, they are taking more territory."

"We are not in a hurry to engage in fighting in Somalia, but if we are forced, we will defend ourselves," he says.

This weekend, Somalia saw the fiercest fighting yet between forces of the UIC and the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government.

A senior military official of the transitional government confirmed the fighting, without giving numbers for casualties, but UIC vice chairman Sheikh Sharif immediately claimed that his nation was under attack by foreign forces, and reaffirmed the UIC's call for a jihad, or religious struggle, to remove them. "We have inflicted harm on Ethiopian troops. Let us fight against the Ethiopians."

Fertile ground for proxy wars
As a country with no central government for more than 15 years, Somalia has become a dangerous playground for other people's wars. Neighboring countries, such as Eritrea and Ethiopia, use Somalia as a proxy war to fight each other, placing their own troops in Somalia supporting opposing sides of the internal civil war. Ethiopian separatist groups such as the Ogaden National Liberation Front and the Oromo Liberation Front use Somalia as a base to fight for independence from Ethiopia. Most worrisome to the Western world, however, is that the lack of central control has allowed extremist groups to bring their pro-Al Qaeda agenda into Africa.

But the increasingly open movements of Ethiopian troops in Somalia are fast becoming an emotional unifying force for the Islamists, who are calling on Somalis to defend their national sovereignty.

Debate over sending peacekeepers
"I think in its present form, a foreign peacekeeping mission is more likely to exacerbate the problem," says Mr. Bryden. Small groups of foreign forces will have difficulty holding their own against Somali fighters, who specialize in hit-and-run attacks with their truck-mounted machine guns, he says.

But more troublesome is that foreign troops will play into the hands of the Islamists.

In any case, many Ethiopian officials and experts say that they have no choice but to fight. The looming war in Somalia is part of the unfinished business of Ethiopia's two-year border war with Eritrea, which ended in exhaustion rather than a negotiated peace treaty. Ethiopian officials allege that the rise of Somalia's Islamists was made possible by Eritrean logistical support, and a UN Monitoring Group report has charged that Eritrea, Egypt, Djibouti, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya, and Sudan have all contributed funds, arms, and technical support to help Somalia's Islamists take control.

Medhane Tadesse, an Ethiopian historian, says that Ethiopia has been forced into a corner by its neighbors, and will have to come out fighting.

"The idea of Eritrea is to get back at Ethiopia. The Arab bloc are doing this as part of a global Islamic issue," says Mr. Tadesse, director of the Center for Policy Research and Dialogue in Addis Ababa.

Tadesse says Ethiopia must fight, and the sooner the better. "The Islamists consider themselves revolutionaries, and somebody should stop them. Unless you do that, the Islamists may go short of targets before they go short of bullets," he says.

Abdikarim Farah, ambassador of the Somali transitional government, welcomed last week's UN resolution to arm his government and provide peacekeepers. "Whether this is a proxy war or not, it will happen, and if the Islamists succeed, it is going to be a regional conflict," he says.

But in a country that was once predominantly Christian, but is now 50 percent Muslim, all eyes are turning toward what Ethiopian Muslims would do if war was declared on another Muslim country.

Sheikh Sayeed Hassan, an ethnic Somali who runs a khat beit, where men come to chew khat, a leaf chewed for its stimulating effects, says that Ethiopia's Muslim community is hoping that war can be averted.

"People inside Somalia, they are saying that we have been fighting among ourselves for 60 years, but now, when the Islamic Courts are uniting the country, why do the foreign governments want to intervene?" says Sheikh Sayeed. "I think if foreign troops come, the Somali people will react."

He sighs. "Every day we expect war, but so far, there is no serious fighting. So we hope the government [of Ethiopia] will change its mind."

Islamists issue quit notice

Story by REUTERS Publication Date: 12/13/2006

MOGADISHU, Tuesday Somalia’s Islamist movement told arch-foe Ethiopia Tuesday to withdraw its troops from the Horn of Africa nation within a week or face war. The Islamists, who dominate most of the south, say Ethiopia has at least 30,000 troops in the country protecting an interim government that is at odds with their movement and controls only the provincial town of Baidoa. Somalis gather around a radio to listen to the news of the growing conflict with Ethiopia outside a tea-shop in Dusa Mareb, Galgaduud province, 50 km (30 miles) east of the Ethiopian border yesterday. Photo/REUTERS . "Starting today, if the Ethiopians don’t leave our land within seven days, we will attack them and force them to leave our country," Islamist defence chief Sheikh Yusuf Mohamed Siad "Inda’ade" told reporters in Mogadishu. Addis Ababa scoffed at the threat, while the United Nations urged the Islamists not to launch a war that many have been fearing for months and which could spread across the region. "I hope they will not be the beginners of this. They should avoid statements that inflame an already critical situation," UN envoy to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, said. The Islamists took Mogadishu and a swathe of south Somalia in June, threatening the fragile authority of the interim government of President Abdullahi Yusuf, which is backed by Ethiopia, the West and the United Nations. Diplomats and witnesses say thousands of Ethiopian troops have crossed the border to protect Yusuf’s government in and around Baidoa. But Addis Ababa only acknowledges sending several hundred armed military advisers. "The Islamic Courts are claiming the existence of Ethiopian troops inside of Somalia to attract international attention. Their claim is perceived, it’s not based on fact," Ethiopian Information Ministry spokesman Zemehun Tekele told Reuters. At a news conference, Inda’ade, who is considered a hardliner within the movement and has been given to inflammatory comments in the past, said there were between 30,000 and 35,000 Ethiopian troops in Somalia. That was a much higher figure than most witnesses or independent analysts estimate. Of those, between 6,000 and 8,000 were in Baidoa, he said. Another 1,500 more were at the border of Ethiopia and Kenya with 25 trucks seeking to reach Somalia via another route, he added.

Gabaasaa fi ijjannoo Seminaara FIDO Abraasha 2.2006 biyya Sweden

Seminaara kanarratti Oromoonni biyyota 5 keessa jiraatan Sweeden,
 Norway, Holland, Ireland fi German irraa kan argaman yoo tahu,
qondaalonni dhaabolee miseensota THBO, Adda Tokkummaa Bilisummaa
Ummata Oromoo, Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo fi kan Adda Walabummaa
Oromiyaa argamanii jiru. Seminaarri kun akkuma aadaa oromootti e
ybaan jalqabamee, dhimmoota asii gaditti tarreeffaman irratti
bal'innaan Eega marihateen booda, ibsa ijjannoo baasuudhaan
gammachuu gudduu fi milkii gaariin eybaan xumuramee jira.

1. Oromummaa fi tilmaama (vision) warraaqsa walabummaa Oromiyaa
(Prof Guutuu Hirphaa) Barnootaa fi mariin mata duree kana jalatti
dhihaate dhimmootta jajjaboo, kan akka "Oromummaa", "Tilmaama
Warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaa" fi "Tumsa Warraaqsa Walabummaa
Oromiyaa"tiif barbaachisu irratti hubannoo hirmaatootaa cimsee
jira.

Oromummaan, Afaanuma  Oromoo dubbachu qofaan osoo hin tahin,
Aadaa, Duudhaa, Afaan fi Seenaa biyya  Abbaa keenyaa (Oromiyaa)
beekuudhaan walabummaa  Oromiyaatiif falmachuun ibsamtti.

 Tilmaamni Warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaa, biyya Abbaa keennyaa tan
gabroomfataan Habashaa Afaan qawweetiin nu saame walaboomsuudhaan,
ummata bilisa, mootummaa birmaduu fi dimokraatawaa Oromiyaa
deebifnee jaarachuudha. Tilmaama kana galmaan gayuuf, hooggana
qaroo fi shaffisaa kan ummata Oromiyaa sagalee tokkoon qabsoof
kakaasu, kan ummata onnachiisu, kan ummata ijaaru, kan  ifii
hidhatee ummata hidhachiisuudhaan Warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaa
finiinsu nu barbaachisa. Hoogganni kun kan tilmaama xaliilaan
(with clear vision) Walabummaa Oromiyaa dhugoomsuuf qabsaawee
ummata Oromiyaa sagalee  tokkoon hiriirsee qabsoysisu, kan diinoota
tilmaama Warraaqsa Walabummaa  Oromiyaa sirritti qulqulleessee
hubatu, kan diinota tilmaama Warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaatiif
takkaa hin tumsine, kan sabaa fi sab-lammoota "mirga hiree Ifii
ifiin murteeffannaa ummata Oromiyaa" amanuu fi kabajuudhaan sirna
gabroomfataa Habashaa hiddaan buqqisuuf qabsaawan wajjiin waliif
tumsu tahuu akka qabu marii fi barnoota kana irraa hubatamee jira.

2. Qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa fi Tumsa ( Dr. Tafarii Lammeechaa)
Barnoota Dr. Tafarii Lammeechaa mata duree kana jalatti dhiheysanii
fi Marii hirmaatoota irraa "Tumsa" jechuun maal jechuu akka tahe,
"eenyu eenuyuuf akka tumsu" fi "maaliif akka waliif tumsan"
hubannoon cimaan argamee jira.

Tumsa ijaaruu keysatti jechi "Diinni diina kiyyaa, fira kiyya" ja'u
Jecha ir'uu tahu akeekuudhaan "Diinni diina kiyyaa, yoo diina
kiyyaas hin  tahin qofa fira kiyya" tahuu akka qabu hubatamee jira.
Hubannoo kanarratti hundaawuudhaan tumsi jaarmayoota gita bittuu
gabroomfataa Habashaa waliin godhamu martuu tumsa ir'inna hubannoo
fi kan jecha dullooma irraa madde tahuu qulqulleessanii ibsanii
jiru.
Hirmaatonni seminaara kanarratti qooda fudhatan martuu adeemsa,
tooftaa Fi tarsiimoo Warraaqsa Walbummaa Oromiyaa gadi fageenyaan
xiinxalluudhaan, tumsi jaarmayoota gita bittuu gabroomfataa
Habashaa waliin godhamu  martuu tumsa diinota Warraaqsa
Walabummaa Oromiyaa tahuu yookaan ammoo tumsa mal'attoo abdii
kutachuu fi kan dandeytii ummanni Oromiyaa, Oromiyaa Walaboomsuuf
qabu hubachuu dadhabuu irraa madde tahuu walii galanii  jiru.   

Hubannoo kana irratti hundaawuudhaan, tumsi maqaa ABOtiin
diinoota Tilmaama Warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaa if keysatti
haammattee jaaramte, tumsa qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa
fuulduratti tarkaanfachiisuu osoo hin tahin, tumsa namoota
qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa irraa abdii kutatanii tahuu walii
galamee jira. Akkasumaan, gaaga'ama eega tumsi kun ijaaramee
as, mooraa qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa keysatti uumee fi
shoororkaa sabboonummaa ilmaan Oromiyaa irratti uume gadi
fageenyaan xiinxalluudhaan, tumsi kun tumsa ol-aantummaa
gita bittuu Amaaraa dagaagsuu irratti hundaawe, tumsa
hoongessitootaa tahuu irratti walii galamee jira. Kanaafuu,
ummanni Oromiyaa tumsa maqaa ABOtiin diinota tilmaama Warraaqsa
Walabummaa Oromiyaa  waliin godhame jedhameen akka hin dogoggorree
fi tumsi kun tumsa ABOn keysa  jiru osoo hin tahin, tumsa abdii
kutattootaa, tumsa namoota ol-aantummaa gita bittuu Amaaraa jalatti
kufanii galma gabroomfataa Habashaa ragaa qabatamaan dagaagsaa
jiran tahuu akka hubatu, dhaamanii jiru.

3. Seenaa Waldhaansoo fi Sagantaa FIDO (Jaal Mohamad Ahmad)
Barnootaa fi marii mata duree kana jalatti dhihaate irratti
gumaataa fi Seenaan FIDOn warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaa keessatti
 qabu kan umrii Dheeraa fi hedduu bal'aa tahuun ifatti muladhatee
 jira. Sooreysi FIDO fi  THBO gootota Oromiyaa kan qabsoo Walabummaa
 Oromiyaa takka ja'anii jalqaban keysaa tokko tahuun addeyafamee jira.
 Sadarkaa dammaqii ummata Oromiyaa fi bara saanii keysatti, gootonni
qubaan lakkaawaman qofti abdii mataa ifii fi ummata Oromiyaa irratti
qaban qofaan sirna gabroomfataa gita bittuu Amaaraa raasuu fi
rarraasuudhaan qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa armaan gayuu isaaniitiif
 ummata Oromiyaa irraa jaalala, kabajaa fi galata guddaa qabaachuu
qofa osoo hin tahin, kutannoo fi murannoon isaanii dhaloota ar'aa
kanaaf fakeenya gaarii    fi sabboonsiisaa, fakkeenya gootonni
Oromiyaa ar'aan tanaas hordofuu Qaban tahuun hubatamee jira. 

    Seenaa boonsisaa FIDOn Warraaqsa Walabummaa Oromiyaa keysatti
bara Dheeraaf  hojjate keysatti bara 1978 irraa jalqabe maqaa
IFLO jechuun Sossoohuun qabsoo  Walabummaa Oromiyaa kommunistootaa
fi lootee galtoota aadaa gita bittuu Amaaraa jalatti kufte irraa
dandamachiisuuf jecha amantii Islaamaa tan aadaa nafxanyoota
ummata Oromiyaa irraa tiysite dahoo godhachuun barbaachisaa akka
ture hirmaattootaaf ibsamee jira. Kufaatii sirna Komunisim fi
dammaqqii ummanni Oromiyaa ar'aan tana irra gaye xiinxalluudhaan
baatii fuulbana bara 2005  irraa jalqabee tooftaa fi tarsiimoo
haarayaan qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa fuulduratti tarkaanfachiisuun
barbaachisaa  tahuun hubatamee FIDO (Front for Indedependent
of Oromiyaa) moggaasuun ibsamee jira.

      FIDOn jaarmaya Walabummaa Oromiyaa dhugoomsuuf bara dheeraaf
qabsaawaa ture qofa  osoo hin tahin, jaarmaya Tokkummaa Humnota
Bilisummaa Oromiyaa cimsutti amanu, kan  THBO cimsuudhaan irree
ummata Oromiyaa cimsuu irratti hojjatu tahuu  fi jaarmaya tumsa
diinota Warraaqsaa Walabummaa Oromiyaa balfatu, kan aadaa diinaaf
Tumsuu hinqabnee   fi kan hin fudhannes tahuun ibsamee jira. FIDOn
jaarmaya aadaa  diinaaf jilbiiffachuu diduu  fi aadaa gootota
Oromiyaa bara baraan dagaagsuudhaan Walabummaa Oromiyaa  
mirkaneessuu irratti akka hojjatu wa 'ada tan hoggayyuu hin  
irraanfannee fi gadi hin dhiifne, ummata Oromiyaatiif seenee
jira. Ummanni Oromiyaa, keysaafuu Dhaloonni haaroyni, qabsoo
hadhooytuu akaakilee fi abaabileen isaanii dhiiga  ifii lolaasanii,
lafee ifii  caccabsanii asiin gayan, Walabummaa Oromiyaatiin akka
gooyan  waamicha qabsoo  dabarsanii jiru. Hirmaattoonni seminaara
kanarratti argamaniis  haalaa fi amala saba boonsisuu fi
abdachiisuun waamicha godhameef  awwaatanii jiru. 

4. Marii qondaalota dhaabolee miseensota THBO  Qondaalonni
dhaabolee miseenota THBO; Adda Tokkummaa Bilisummaa Ummata Oromoo,
Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo fi kan Adda Walabummaa Oromiyaa seeminaara
FIDOn qopheyse kana irratti afeeramuu isaaniitiif  FIDO
galatoomfachuudhaan, aadaan  akkanaa tun, jaarmayoota Walabummaa
Oromiyaatiif qabsaawan hunda keysatti akka dagaagu dhaamsa isaanii
gammachuun dabarsanii jiru. Kana irrattis dabalee tarkaanfiin  
miseensonni THBO yeroo ammaa fudhataa jiran hedduu kan nama  
gammachiisu tahuu akeekanii jiru. Keysaafuu, tarkaanfii Gumii
Adda Bilisummaa Ummata Oromiyaa dinqisiifatanii miseensni THBO
hundi fakkeenya gaarii kana  hordofuudhaan THBO yeroo gabaabaa
keessatti jaarmaya tokkummaa qabsaawoota Walabummaa Oromiyaa
hunda haammattee ummata Oromiyaa fi Addunyaa guutuu wajjiin sagaleen
 tokkoon dubbatu akka tahu dhaamsa isaanii dabarsanii jiru.  
Ar'aan tana humni nafxanyaa kan waggaa 120 ol ummata Oroimiyaa
dhiiga lolaasaa, lafee caccabsaa turellee, bifa haarayaan if
ijaaree Oromiyaa diiguu, ummata Oromiyaa  gargar kuk'kutuu fi
Qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa abdii kutachiisuuf tooftaa haarayaan
booddeysitootaa fi diinota keysaa qabate as bahee jira. Diinonni
Walabummaa Oromiyaa hundi irree tokkummaa qabsaawoota Oromiyaa
waan jibbaniif tumsi  maqaa AFD je'amuun ijaaramellee diina
keysaa meeshaa godhatee harka lafa jalaa fi ifattillee THBO
irratti olola diigaan duulaa jira. Haalli fokkataan keysaan  
dhalate bifa isaa  jijjiiratee humnota alagaallee dabalachuun
THBO irratti duuluun isaa waan maluuf, miseensootni THBO cufti,
kakuu fi wa'ada ummata Oromiyaatiif seenaan haarayoomsudhaan
akeekni THBO irratti ijaarame Walabummaa Oromiyaa dhugoomsuu
tahu irra-deebi'anii ummata Oromiyaa fi Addunyaaf Afaan tokkoon
ibsuu qofa osoo hin tahin, adeemsa diinota  keysaa fi kan siyaasaa
humnota alagaa sirritti hordofuudhaan olola diigaa THBO  irratti
xiyyeeffatame afoo dhaabachuu fi hoongessuun akkaan barbaachisaa
tahee mul'ataa jira.

   Keysaafuu, hawaasni biyyoota ambaa keysatti gar-gar faffaca'ee
Jiraatu olola diinaa kanaaf  ragaadha. Akkasumaan, Wayyaaneen namoota
tokko tokko bu'aa bubuutuun ifitti haammachuun, hawaasa Oromoo biyya
ambaa keysa jiraatu keysatti shoororkaa fi jeequmsa uumuuf
tattaafataa jirti.

   Diinonni irree ummata Oromiyaa jibban, hawaasa keenya gargar
Faffacaasuuf tooftaa  gara-garaatiin tattafatanillee, ummanni
Oromiyaa carraa argate  hundatte fayyadamee, tokkummaa qabsaawoota
Oromiyaa akka barbaadu gama hundaan irra-deddeebi'ee ibsaa jira.
Hoogganni THBO tooftaa diinonni keysaa fi alatti hawaasa keenya
ittiin diiguuf    tattaafatan kana gadi fageenyaan hubachuudhaan,
THBO dirqama if Irratti fudhatee hatattmaan ummata ijaaruu irratti
bobbahuudhaan fedhii hawaasa keenyaa guutuu fi fuullee hundaanuu
qabsoo walabummaa Oromiyaa keysatti hirmaachisuun hedduu  
barbaachisaa tahuu hirmaatonni seeminara kanarratti argaman hundi
walii galanii jiru. 

   Qondaalonni dhaabota miseensa THBO'niis dhaamsa ummataa kanaa
Hooggana THBO'n  akka dhaqqabsiisan wa'da galanii jiru. 

  5. Lola Wayyaaneen Ummata Oromiyaa fi biyyoota olla irratti
adeemsiftu Ilaalchissee ( Marii fi ijjannoo hirmaattootaa )
Hirmaatonni seeminaara kanarratti argaman martuu haala siyaasaa
Addunyaa, kan Gaafa Afrikaa, kan Impaayera Tophiyaa, kan Oromiyaa
fi biyyoota  olla Oromiyaa irratti bal'innaan waliin mari'atanii
jiru. Keessattuu, akeeka, adeemsaa fi jeequmsa Wayyaaneen  
Oromiyaa fi Gaafa Afrikaa keessatti adeemsiftu takka takkaan
xiinxalluudhaan ibsa ijjannoo kan asii gaditti muldhatu baasaanii
jiru. 

    Ibsa ijjannoo FIDO'fi hirmaatoota Seminaara FIDO irraa

  Seminaara Addi Walabummaa Dimokraatummaa Oromiyaa kan maqaa
FIDO'n Beekamu marraa duraatiif Awropha biyya Sweden magaalaa 
Stockholm keysatti godhe, milkiin xumurame. Murtiilee fi ijjannoo
hirmaatoota Seminaaraa akka armaa gadi jiru kana;Wayyaaneen Gaafa
Afrikaa jeequu fi shoorarkeysuu malee, nagaya hin  beytu! Wayyaaneen
aadaa lola cubbuu malee, aadaa nagayaan olloota sii wajji jiraachuu
kan hin dandeenye tahuu ajjeechaa, hidhaa, dararaa fi  saaminsa
Wayyaaneen ummata Oromiyaa fi ummatoota ollaa Oromiyaa jiraatan
hundarratti waggoota kudha shanii ol adeemsisaa jirtu irraa
hubachuun ni dandayama.

Lolli Wayyaaneen fuullee hundaan ummata Oromiyaa irratti labiste
Qabeenya Oromiyaa ibiddaan barbadeessuun, hooggantoota waldaya
gargaarsaa jilmaan hiitee qabeenya waldayaa saamuu fi waajjira
isaa cufuun, barattoota Oromiyaa barnoota irraa arihuu, ugguruu
fi hidhuun, dhukkuba daddabraa tooftaan babal'isuudhaan ummata
Oromiyaa waraanaan, beelaa fi dhukkubaan  lafarraa fixuu bira
dabree kan akka carraa lubbuun hafe hiyyummaa fi doofummaa
jalatti hambiftee gabroomfachuuf akeeka Wayyaaneen yeroo dheeraaf
baafatte tahuu ragaa qabatamaan ifaa bahee jira. Ajjechaan
Wayyaaneen guyya-guyyaan ilmaan Oromiyaa irratti waggaa 15
guutuu dalagaa jirtu, akeeka Wayyaaneen ummata Oromiyaa lafarraa
duguuguuf baafaatte tahuu ifaatti mul'isa.  

Wayyaaneen aadaa shiftummaa/terroristummaa fi diinummaa
babal'isuu Malee ummata kamiifuu akeeka biraa hin qabdu.
Ajjeechaan ummata Sidaamaa, ummata Anyuwak fi ummata
Shakkaa-mazangir irratti jimlaan raawwatte, akeeka Wayyaaneen
ummatoota ollaa Oromiyaa jiraatan hundaaf qabdu ragaa baya.
 Daangaa biyyoota Gaafaa Afrikaa seera malee cabsuudhaan nagayaa
fi Ollummaa Rabbii ummatoota hundaatuu booressuun aadaa Wayyaaneeti.
Daangaa Keniyaa yeroo hedduu seenuudhaan lammii Keniyaa ajjeeftee
jirti. Qabeenna ummata nagayaa waraanaan saamtee jirti. Eritrea
irratti lola labsitee ummatoota ollaa wal ficcisiiftee jirti.
Lubbuu fi qabeenya ummataa barbadeessitee jirti. Nagaya ummata 
Sudan booreessitee jirti.Akeekaa fi dalagaan Wayyaanee hundi
walabummaa biyyoota Gaafa Afrikaa afaan qawweetiin saamuudhaan
ummatoota Gaanfa Afrikaa jiraatan hundarratti sirna gabrummaa
ijaaruu qofa. Aadaa fi muuxannoon Wayyaaneen Addunyaa guututti
mul'iftees mootummoota Gaanfa Afrikaa irratti lola labsuu, mirga
dhala namaa afaan qawweetiin saamuu, lubbuu ilmoo namaa balleessuu,
qabeenya ummataa saamuu, nagayaa fi tasgabbii ummatoota booressuu
fi humnota bilsummaa ummataatiif falmatan maqaa xureessuudhaan
lolaa fi jeequmsaan sirna gabrummaa akka goflaatti Gaafa Afrikaa
keessatti babal'iisuuf tattaafachuu qofa.  

Lolli Wayyaaneen amantii golgaa godhattee Somaliyaa irratti
labsites akeeka, aadaa fi muuxannoo Wayyaaneen mirga dhala
namaa afaan qawweetiin saamuu irratti qabdu kana Gaafa Afrikaa
keysatti babal'isuu malee hiikkaa  biraa hin qabu. Wayyaaneen
aadaa diinummaa babal'isuu fi lola/Terroristummaa labsuu malee,
aadaa nagayaa waan hin qabneef, lolli Wayyaaneen Somaaliyaa 
irratti labsite kun Gaanfa Afrikaa guutuu jeequmsa guddaa
keessa kan galchuu tahuu fi jeequmsa dhalatu hundaaf itti
gaafatamaan Wayyaanee tahuu Addunyaa guutuuf ibsina.
Mootumoonni Addunyaa, Hawaasaa fi jaarmayoonni mirga  dhala
namaatiif dhaabbatan martuu, lola Wayyaaneen amantii golgaa
godhattee sirna gabrummaa fi jeequmsa guddaa Gaafa Afrikaa
keessatti babal'isuuf labsite tahuu hubatanii lolli kun osoo
hin babal'atin akka dura dhaabatan waamicha goona.

Ummata Oromiyaatiif: 

Wayyaaneen biyya abbaa keenyaa (Oromiyaa) afaan qawweetiin nu
saamtee Guyyaa guyyaan dhiiga keenya lolaasaa fi lafee keenya
caccabsaa jirti. Qabsoo Walabummaa Oromiyaa maqaa xureessuuf
tattaafataa jirti. Ummata Oromiyaa  fi ummatoota ollaa isaa
jiraatan walitti diruuf amantii golgaa godhattee  olola dharaa
cubbuu fi shira xaxaa jirti. Ajjeechaan, hidhaan  beelaa fi
dhukkubaan biyya teenya irratti nu fixuun isii hanqatee,
dhiigaa fi lafee keenya biyya ambaa keessatti bobeessuuf
tattaafataa jirti.

 mangudoonni, haawwotiin, dargaggootaa fi shamarran Oromiyaa
hundi Shira Wayyaaneen ummataa fi Qabsoo walabummaa Oromiyaa
irratti xaxaa jirtu Kana hubachuudhaan harka walqabattanii
Wayyaanee if irraa tan dhumaatiif buqqisuuf waan qabsoo haqa
irra jirtaniif akka itti fuftan waamicha isinii goona.    

Matoota Amantiitiif:

Matoota Amantii Islaamaa fi Christaanaa shira Wayyaaneen
ummata Oromiyaa irratti hojjattu gadi fageennaan xiinxalluu
fi hubachuudhaan ummata keysan gorsaa fi barnootaan akka biraa
dhaabbattan isinitti dhaamana.    

Ummata biyya ormaa jiraniif:

Sababaa gabroomfataa Abashaatiin biyya Abbaa keessan  irraa
buqqatanii Akka nama biyya hin qabneetti jiraachuu keessaniif
gaddi nutti dhagayamuu daangaa hin qabu. Bakka jiran fi carraa
argatan hundatti fayyadamuudhaan falmii abbaa biyyummaa itti
fuftan malee biyya ifii argachuun hin danda'amu. Carraa argattan
hundatti fuyyadamuudhaan mootummoota Addunyaa, hawaasaa fi
jaarmayoota mirga dhalaa namaatiif dhaabbatan qunnamtanii
shira Wayyaaneen ummata Oromiyaa irratti hojjattu hunda
saaxiluun qabsoo ummata  keessanii akka gargaartan waamicha
lammummaa isiniif goona.

Dhaabolee Oromiyaa:

 Ummanni Oromiyaa gabroomfataa Abashaa if irraa kaasuuf Oromiyaa
Dhuunfachuuf qabsoo hadhooftuu wal irraa hin cinne bara dheeraaf
deemsisaa jira. Diina keessaa fi alaa, bakkaa fi haala hunda
keessatti if irraa tiysaa qabsoo ummata keessanii finiinsuun
diina biyya teenna dhuunfate if irraa kaasuuf, harka wal
qabattanii fuul duratti akka tarkaanfattan isin gaafanna.
Lolli Wayyaaneen amantii golgaa godhattee Soomaaliyaa fi
humnota bilisummaa  ummata isaaniitiif falmatan irratti
labsite, labsa qabsoo walabummaa Oromiyaa irratti xiyyeeffate
tahuu hubachuudhaan daandii Tokkummaan Humnota Bilisummaa
Oromiyaa THBO'n taraare cimsitanii Addunyaa guutuu fi ummata
keessanitti sagalee tokkoon akka dubbattan isinitti dhaammanna.
Dhuma irratti; Jaallan kanneen Siminaarri kun akka milkiin fiinxaan
Bahu qooda dafqaa, dinaggee fi barnootaa nuu dhiheysitan, gumaachi
keysan, Gumaacha bilisummaa Oromiyaa haa tahu jenna.

Dhaamsaa fi galata:

Dhaabonni Walabummaa Oromiyaatiif qabaasawan martuu fedhii,
hawwii fi dhaamsa ummata Oromiyaa sirritti caqasuudhaan
daandii THBO taraare cimsanii ummata Oromiyaa qabsoof Kakaasuu
fi onnachiisuudhaan gaaddisa THBO jalatti ijaaranii fi
hidhachiisuun qabsoo walabummaa irratti akka hirmaachisan
FIDOn asumaan dhaamsa hirmaatootaa dabarsa.

Dhumarratti, Oromoota qophii seeminaara kanaa irratti galma
walagayii Nuuf qabuun, nyaataa fi dhugaatiin, bakkee bultiitiin,  
dinaggeen, yeroon, yaadaa fi humna isaaniitiin nu gargaaran,
akkasumaas Oromoota karaa dheeraa fi gabaabaa kutuun seeminraa
kanarratti hirmaatan hundaanuu galani keessan walabummaa Oromiyaa
haa tahu jedha. Galata arkadhaa!

Tokkummaan Humna!

Oromiyaan ni Bilisoomti!

Qindeysitoota Seminaara FIDO

Former Ethiopian dictator convicted

Wednesday, December 13, 2006 (Addis Ababa):

Former Ethiopian dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam was convicted in Addis Ababa on Tuesday of genocide and other charges relating to the deaths of nearly 2,000 people in a bloody campaign known as Red Terror.

Mengistu is living in exile in Zimbabwe and was tried in absentia in a case that has dragged on for 12 years.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has pledged not to deport Mengistu as long as he does not engage in political activity.

Rebels who toppled Mengistu in 1991 were determined to try him, starting planning for trials in Ethiopian courts for those held responsible for human rights abuses almost as soon as they took over.

Public interest

But as the myriad, complex cases dragged on, public interest waned.

Mengistu's trial, which began in 1994, was slowed by requests from both sides for long breaks.

Hundreds of key witnesses have died, further complicating proceedings.

Mengistu was tried along with scores of his former aides for alleged involvement in the killings during the 1977-78 Red Terror campaign.

Mengistu seized power in 1974, when his military junta ended Emperor Haile Selassie's rule in a bloody coup.

Some experts say 150-thousand university students, intellectuals and politicians were killed in a nationwide purge by Mengistu's Marxist regime.

The exact number of people massacred during the Red Terror campaign is not known.

Ethiopia's courts have convicted 1,018 people since 1994 for participating in the Red Terror, but 6,426 await trial and more than 3-thousand of them, like Mengistu, live in exile.

A total of 106 top officials were originally charged alongside Mengistu, of which 43 have died and 26 have been convicted.

The former dictator and 32 others have been tried in absentia, while 37 have attended the court hearings since the trial began.

Mengistu was deposed in 1991 by rebels led by Meles Zenawi, now Ethiopia's prime minister.

He fled to the protection of Mugabe's authoritarian regime in Zimbabwe, where his army had helped train guerrillas in their struggle for independence from white rule. (AP)

Eritrean government: running out of propaganda tricks

Gemeda Humnasa

December 11, 2006

The Eritrean government has been using a lot of propaganda and supporting various rebels in an attempt to destabilize East Africa. For the sake of peace and democracy for Ethiopians, Somalis, Sudanese and Eritreans; the government might be running out of its tricks.

We know how corrupt both the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments were when they got their share of the cake in the early 1990’s. Words around Ethiopia indicated that the leaders of these two countries, Isaias Afewerki and Meles Zenawi, were even in the gambling business and wasting a lot of their government’s money. This might be just a gossip but their dispute with money has been seen as the original reason of their animosity, instead of the border issue with Badme. No matter what happened before, we must focus on what is the reality today.

Currently, in an attempt to increase nationalism mood in Eritrea and to provoke Ethiopia one more time; the Eritrean government is sparking another war in southern Somalia. It is yet another war started by the young government of Eritrea which was ironically originally supported by the Ethiopian government. Anyway no one can deny that the Somalia Transitional government is weak but that is more the fault of the United Nation’s lack of support to the T.F.G. to get on its foot two years ago. When Kofi Annan gave his last address on Monday, Africans were hoping that he would accept his failure to assist the Somalia transitional government. The reality is the Union of Islamic Courts is threatening to take around 1/5th of Ethiopian land and around 1/4th of Kenyan land. And no one is putting this information in anyone’s mouth. This was publicly stated by the UIC and the jihadists many times. Eritrea claiming to help the radical Islamists to stabilize Somalia is a humorous claim that doesn’t appear funny to those serious about creating peace and democracy in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Everybody knows Eritrea doesn’t have any independent or private media. But the world is not stressing this issue just for the sake of calling it “private.” We are stressing it because when a country has a private media, its dirt and mistakes would become public just like the dirt and mistakes of the Ethiopian government and then improvements can be made. Even more, when private media exists, most likely multi-party system will also exist and the chances of a one-party government supporting jihadists and Al-Qaeda members gets lower. Now we are not talking about chance anymore because the Eritrean government has already started supporting the terrorists and the secessionists. If an inside opposition party challenged the Eritrean government, this would have never happened. If we had all these things in Eritrea, we would have known how bad & often religious citizens are being persecuted. We would have known if there are hundreds more or thousands more that are being tortured and killed. Most of the time, we don’t know how bad things get until the persecuted leave the country secretly, some how, and reach the Ethiopian, Sudanese and other borders. The country is so closed that the whole country appears like a prison. As the result, the lone media that comes out of the nation is not about how different economic and other policies should be done in the country. It is usually propaganda news about countries that the government hates. Which are of course Ethiopia and Western nations. So it is common to hear about Eritrean news agencies talking dirt about Ethiopia, Israel, America and Great Briton. These Eritrean news sources might as well change their names to the regions they cover instead of calling themselves “Eritrean.” People might have to wait a whole year before they can hear about any Eritrean reporter discussing how to challenge the policies of the Eritrean government. For example you will never see an opposition party itself, let alone the opposition party like Ethiopia’s CUDP members shouting and criticizing the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Most Ethiopians wonder when will they see such democratic change in Eritrea, not because they hate Eritreans, but only because they know that in order to live peacefully as neighbors we can not have a dictatorship unchallenged and the atrocities it commits concealed from the whole wide world. If this keeps going we will see the Eritrean government bombing more Ethiopian schools and financing more terrorist groups for many more decades. Ethiopia itself is not completely open, but it is a galaxy away compared to Eritrea. It is safe to say that those of us living in America will continue to see press conferences, parliament meetings, opposition member discussions and almost everything that is going on in Ethiopia.

If we want peace in East Africa, Eritrea will have to start to open up a little and stop attacking Ethiopians. When the Eritrean government laughably told the United Nations not to send foreign peacekeepers inside Somalia, the world was wondering what to call the thousands of Eritreans already training with the jihadists. Eritrean jihadists? Eritrean-jihadist-Somalis? Such hypocrisy by the Eritrean government would have never been tolerated by the Eritrean people if they were free. Last week, when we saw hundreds of Eritreans protesting in London against the Eritrean government, we did not see their political representation. We did not see their propaganda or political affiliation. What we saw was pure thirst for freedom in Eritrea.

Now the mess the Eritrean government has created in Somalia has to be cleaned out by the blood of thousands of people. Hopefully, when the war is over, Somalia would have a leadership that will be friendly with its neighbors. But not just Somalia, the secessionist rebels like OLF would have never been in such a position if they were not supported by the Eritrean government. OLF was dying. Kenya was also kicking it out. And Ethiopian Oromos were ignoring it and telling it to reform. What OLF did not understand was that the spirit of OLF for justice, freedom and equality will never die. The progressive spirit of Oromo Liberation Front will and should never die. No matter how small in number the fighters of OLF are, the membership of the progressive OLF will always be more than 25 million Ethiopians. But the membership of the backward OLF is getting smaller and smaller everyday. What OLF failed to see was that the struggle has been reformed. It has changed from armed to a peaceful struggle. The leadership of OLF failed to see that Oromos are developing and improving Oromia while peacefully dealing with discrimination. At this time, Oromos are not being persecuted for being Oromos. They are being persecuted for following the destructive & backward policies of OLF which are in fact backward enough to destabilize the whole of Ethiopia. At this time, Ethiopians do not see the current, unreformed OLF as standing for a better Ethiopia anymore. OLF now looks more like an Oromia supremacy organization. It was up to OLF to catch up with the reformation. But so far it has failed. Most importantly, compromising outlooks and reformations are usually fueled by desperation. When OLF started to lose members, its growing desperation was about to end the misery of all Ethiopians and we were going in the right direction. But all of the sudden, the Eritrean government came to the picture and by giving military aid to OLF rebels; it came to “the rescue” of the dying, backward OLF while blocking the progressive OLF.

If we want peace in East Africa, proxy wars & battles have to stop. The Ethiopian government must stop arming the Eritrean Islamists and the Eritrean government must stop arming Oromo Liberation Front, Ogaden National Liberation Front, UIC and many more alongside Libya. The Eritrean government should see that if it attempts to destabilize others, the nations around it are financially able to destabilize Eritrea back anytime they want. Particularly they are able to withstand such attempt by Eritrea because they are bigger and capable. Also, the trick Shabea uses when it says “the minority regime in Ethiopia” are an old, overused and useless method of propaganda. When Ethiopians see an article on any Internet news website and if the article’s heading starts with “minority regime,” they automatically know it is an Eritrean government’s propaganda article. It is the propaganda it has been using to fuel secessionist groups like OLF and ONLF. While the fact a minority is represented in the highest part of government should be the pride of Ethiopia, according to the Eritrean government it should be condemned. This is a sign of backwardness. When minorities like Ethiopian Afar, Gurage, Somali and Hadiyas hold high positions in Ethiopian government; this should applauded and be a sign of progress not a sign of minority regression or illegitimacy.

Various propaganda techniques used by the Eritrean government are overused and mostly comical than practical. It has randomly tried to accuse the Ethiopian government of killings. It has exploited ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia by saying they are some kind of genocide. It has tried everything in the textbook. Now it is trying to justify supporting terrorists. Instead of finding ways to provoke its neighbors and spread propaganda, it would have been helpful both for Ethiopians and Eritreans if the Eritrean government improved its country’s economy instead. When Eritreans are living in peace and when their country develops, Ethiopians will also live in peace and their country will prosper. Most of all, Eritrea would not have been forced to use millions of dollars for its military because it feels insecure. A country that has very limited fertile land and natural resources can not afford to waste so much money on military. What the Eritrean government does not know is that Eritreans will gain two things at the same time if their economy grows and their government stops provoking other nations. Because if this happens, its neighbors would also not find it necessary to stop and take over a mischievous Eritrea. The craving of opposition parties in Ethiopia to take back Eritrea would have been changed if Eritrea was not destabilizing the horn of Africa.

Maybe the last of the Eritrean government's tricks were drained out too late because, now, everyone is visiting Mogadishu and it is not to take a vacation. It is not to shop at the beautiful Bakara Market in Mogadishu. And anymore propaganda and tricks from the Eritrean government are only a burial insult to its remaining (if any) intelligence.

The next horror in Somalia

Radical Islamists are preparing to take control of the impoverished country and start a regional war in East Africa.

By Garrett Jones, Garrett Jones is a retired CIA case officer who has served in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
December 10, 2006

TO MOST Americans, Somalia is the place where "Black Hawk Down" happened, or the place with the pictures of the starving African children, or, for some, the biblical land of Punt. (Scholars quibble about locating Punt.) Americans tend to confuse African countries with one another except when our soldiers are dying there, and the violence in Sudan, Uganda, Congo or Zimbabwe can seem indistinguishable. But the anarchy in Somalia, which straddles the strategic Horn of Africa, is in a class by itself.

For more than 16 years, Somalia has existed without the pretense of a central government, surviving largely on foreign aid and remittances from its overseas diaspora, the best and brightest young Somalis. With the fading of the seasonal rains in December, the Somalis are preparing once again to inflict their intra-clan squabbling on their neighbors. Meanwhile, the neighbors are preparing a proxy war, and they plan to fight one another to the last Somali.
Experts call Somalia a failed state. This is a sophism. Somalia was a failed state in 1990 under the last central government of the mildly insane Mohamed Siad Barre. Nowadays, one could call Somalia a space between countries. Or simply a feral nation. This is the place that perfected the practice of extorting cash from international aid organizations in return for allowing the aid groups the privilege of feeding other starving Somalis. (Gangsters R Us, with Third World panache.) When the United Nations tried to intervene and establish a central government in 1993 (an admittedly naive effort), the Somalis united just long enough to drive off the foreigners and resume their embrace of warlords and clans.

I was there in 1993, running covert operations in Mogadishu for the CIA when the U.N. effort was wrecked. President George H.W. Bush had sent the Marines into Somalia to feed the starving children, and President Clinton was attempting to install a Jeffersonian democracy in a medieval culture. The Clinton theory was that the U.N. would use its peacemaking powers to force the Somali factions into a political accord, and then peace would break out.

Unfortunately, nobody told the Somalis. They viewed the U.N. and the U.S. as foreign invaders bent on Christianizing their Muslim culture while destroying the power of the clans and warlords. This dispute spawned a series of attacks that cumulated in the Battle of Mogadishu between the U.S. Task Force Ranger and Somali clan fighters, as portrayed in the film "Black Hawk Down." After losing 17 elite troops to an African mob in a single night, Clinton lost all stomach for further "nation building" involving U.S. casualties, and the U.N. effort collapsed. After that, the world largely went back to ignoring the Somalis.

Now the Somalis are poised to insist that the international community tune back in while they commit an auto-da-fe on CNN. Somali Islamists, modeling themselves on the Taliban, have taken control of most of the country, driving the warlords out of the cities and into the bush. The internationally recognized Somali interim government (an effort by neighboring countries to get the clans and factions to agree to some sort of consensus government with which the world can interact) is surrounded in the provincial city of Baidoa, about 160 miles northwest of the capital. When the roads are dry enough to allow military operations, the Islamists will swiftly overwhelm the interim government unless outside help arrives at the last minute.

Already, a team of Al Qaeda-style suicide bombers have blasted Baidoa. The Islamists make no bones about their plans to install a fundamentalist government and to begin "rescuing" their brethren in neighboring countries (read all of East Africa) from the oppressive rule of the Christian Crusaders. Somalia's neighbors are bracing for a regional war, and the U.S. State Department says 10 countries are taking sides in some fashion. Ethiopia, which has a restive Muslim south and a history of being a target for Somali brigandage whenever the Somalis pause in their intra-clan feuding, is sending troops to back up the interim government and oppose the Islamists.

The Eritreans, led by an increasingly paranoid, sociopathic president, are the sworn blood enemies of the Ethiopians. Seeing a chance to weaken their bigger neighbor, they are flying in arms and instructors to the Islamists.

Across the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, the Wahhabi fundamentalists see the Christian Ethiopians embarking on a "crusade" to crush Islam. In response, they are providing cash through Wahhabi charities to their Islamic comrades, frightening and infuriating Washington.

Kenya's kleptocratic government, overwhelmed by an influx of refugees, is wringing its hands while endless talks take place in Nairobi hotels between irrelevant Somali politicians and clueless U.N. diplomats in search of a peace plan. The Islamists want no part of the talks; they are winning.

When the big, ugly regional war breaks out, the Islamists, with the help of Eritrean advisors, are likely to hold their own. Now add in your odd Somali warlord, drug-crazed clan gunmen and the Somali history of atrocities and you have a real mess in the Horn of Africa. Fighting will probably spill into Kenya, and destitute refugees will surge across East Africa. Bottom line: It is likely by this time next year that the Horn of Africa will host its own little Taliban wannabe, more or less in control of Somalia and at war with its neighbors. Along the way, there will be a lot of dead people and suffering refugees.

Although this is far away, and may not happen to anyone you know personally, it is going to become a concern of the U.S. soon. An Islamic fundamentalist haven on the Horn of Africa is more than a tragedy for the long-suffering Africans; it is a threat to the oil routes that fuel the West and pass just offshore. Recent domestic terrorist attacks have already shaken the House of Saud's iron grip on its population; a sanctuary where its fundamentalist enemies can regroup only a few hours across the Red Sea would be a dagger at its heart.

A terrorist Somalia would be difficult to contain. Most African governments have little ability to find, let alone effectively police, their own borders. If the Islamic fundamentalists establish a haven in Somalia, they could infiltrate or threaten the many weak secular governments in surrounding countries.

It simply is not prudent to ignore what is going on in Somalia, but everyone agrees the last thing the U.S. wants now is to embark on another adventure in East Africa. The only practical option is to interest the Islamists in talking. Right now, they do not need to talk; they are getting everything they want on the battlefield. If they suffer a military setback, talk may look more appealing.

To improve the odds of such an Islamist setback, the U.S. should provide training and equipment to Somalia's neighbors. Frankly, the track record is poor; in the past, most military aid has been used to suppress domestic critics rather than fight foreign enemies. And it's certainly true that the one thing Africa does not need is more guns. But it looks like it's getting them anyway, according to a November U.N. report on weapons smuggling.



Washington should also lean hard on the government of Saudi Arabia to crack down on the Wahhabi charity money that fuels the Somali Islamist war machine. If the Saudis don't want those petrodollars coming back at them in a few years as RPGs fired by antiroyalist fundamentalists based in Somalia, it behooves them to overcome the reservations they have shown about squeezing fellow Wahhabists.

However, even our best efforts will not stop a long, bloody conflict. Get ready for more pictures of starving African babies. Film at 11, death and suffering around the clock.

Eritrean embassy demo on human rights day 8/12/06

About 80 to 100 brave Eritreans turned up outside the Eritrean embassy today (saturday 8th Dec 2006) to commemorate the International Human Rights Day and demand freedom and justice in from the government of their country. (Photo plus background below. Video to follow)

(photos (c) Real2Reel. Some rights reserved - Creative Commons share-alike, non commerical, attribution)

Background

Nearly 10% of Eritreas 4.5 million population are conscripted into national service and provide the military dictatorship with a cheap workforce. All Eritrean men and women from the age of 18-40 are forced into demoralising jobs in government departments or be made to build the nation’s undeveloped infrastructure for effectively zero wages. Conscientious objectors are rounded up in frequent raids and incarcerated in prisons or sent to the infamous Sawa camp.

Sawa is a brutal military training camp where the country’s school age chidlren are sent for “education”. The brutal reputation of this camp, where rape and torture have been well documented, instils an awesome fear into Eritrea’s youth.

Tens of thousands of Eritrean have fled the country seeking a safe refugee and freedom. Several thousand prisoners of conscience are detained without charge or trial in Eritrea. Life in the country is increasingly characterized by random disappearances, with people being arbitrarily detained without any official notification to family or friends.

Eritrea is currently a mass of detention centers. Prisons are so overcrowded that airport hangars, shipping contains, police stations, schools and other unsuitable accommodation function as long or short term holding cells for the country’s burgeoning population of detainees, despite lacking adequate sanitation and other facilities.

As well as political dissident and journalists, over 2000 christians are currently detained, for the most part without charges. On 22nd May 2002, the Eritrean government ordered the closure of all churches not belonging to the Orthodox, Roman Catholic or Lutheran denominations. In October 2006 it was reported that two young Christians, Immanuel Andegergesh and Kibrom Firemichel were tortured to death two days after having been arrested for holding a religious service.

The pervasive use of torture and extra-judicial killings in the country's many detention centers, closing down of independent media and imprisonment of the journalists, has enabled the government to keep the population under complete control.

Among the demands being made of the regime in Eritrea is the release of journalist jailed and for no further repression on the media. While the world media was focused on the attack on the twin towers, the Eritream regime swooped on all the independent media outlets on 18th September 2001, and shut the down. For 5 years 16 journalists are known to have been held in prison and just last month at least nine more imprisoned without explanation (http://cs.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=138). Reporters Without Borders, cite Eritrea as a media “black hole” ranking second worse in the world to North Korea.

On 12th November 2006; Ahmed Baja of Eri-TV, Senait Tesfay of Eri-TV's Tigrinya-language Service, Paulos Kidane of Eri-TV's Amharic-language Service and Radio Dimtsi Hafash (Voice of the Broad Masses), Daniel Mussie of Radio Dimtsi Hafash's Oromo-language service, Temesghen Abay of Radio Dimtsi Hafash's Tigrinya-language service, Yemane Haile of the Eritrean News Agency (ENA), Fethia (surname unknown) of Eri-TV's Arabic-language service, Simon (surname unknown) of Eri-TV and an unidentified journalist working for Eri-TV's Arabic-language service were are taken into custody.

"The media is a central component of any democratic society and therefore this continued arrest of journalists has set a very bad precedent for Eritrea and is highly condemned,” said Hassan Shire Sheikh, Chairperson of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Network.

Ethiopian army seen in Somalia

Mogadishu - About 500 Ethiopian troops were spotted in Somalia on Wednesday along a main supply route to the government stronghold in Baidoa, as rains and floods stalled a feared march to war in other parts of the country.

The column of soldiers along with four "technicals" - pick-up trucks mounted with heavy weapons that are the standard combat vehicle in the poor, anarchic Horn of Africa nation - passed through Hudur in a rare daytime sighting.

"I saw a convoy of Ethiopian trucks carrying troops travelling in the middle of the town this afternoon," Mukhtar Abdi, said a resident of Hudur.

"They moved and are 5km south of the town at the main water supply well."

Tensions have risen in Somalia since June when Islamists fighters captured the capital Mogadishu from US-backed warlords and moved on to wrest territory from the government now isolated in the southern town of Baidoa.

Fears that foreign involvement in Somalia could spark a regional war have grown amid reports arch foes Eritrea and Ethiopia could use the country as a proxy battleground, with Eritrea backing the Islamists and Ethiopia the government.

In recent weeks, a combination Somalia's torrential rains and tattered infrastructure - the result of 15 years of anarchy since dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted in 1991 - has limited troop movements.

'Mainly infantrymen'

Some experts say combat is unlikely to break out until the rains - which the UN says have affected about 350 000 in the usually arid nation - taper off, likely later this month.

Security experts and diplomats estimate between 5 000 and 10 000 Ethiopian soldiers are inside Somalia to prop up the Western-backed government.

Hudur is directly north of Baidoa, about half the distance to the Ethiopian border.

A businessman in Hudur, Abdishakur Ali Adan, said: "These troops were mainly infantrymen."

Both estimated the strength of the force at about 500, and a local administration official who declined to be named confirmed their presence.

Ethiopia makes a distinction between fighting soldiers and military trainers, several hundred of which it admits to having sent to Baidoa.

"We have made our position crystal clear that we have no troops inside Somalia," said Ethiopian information ministry spokesperson Zemedhun Tekele.

But the Somalia Islamic Courts Council (SICC), which has eclipsed the government as the country's premier military and political force, says they are there as invaders and has threatened holy war against Addis Ababa and anyone who sides with them.

'Heavy fighting' in Somali town

'Heavy fighting' in Somali town

The Islamists called for all Somalis to fight Ethiopia

Somali government fighters, backed up by Ethiopian troops, have attacked Islamist positions sparking heavy fighting, an Islamist leader says.

The clashes have occurred in Dinsoor, 110 kilometres (70 miles) south-west of government base Baidoa.

Islamist leader Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed called on all Somalis to "stand up and defeat the enemies".

The fighting come two days after the UN approved plans to send peacekeepers to Somalia - which the Islamists reject.

If the Ethiopian involvement is confirmed, it would be the first time that Islamist and Ethiopian troops have come into direct contact.

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the clash could be the opening shots of the long-anticipated war for control of Somalia.

'Many deaths'

Deputy Defence Minister Salat Ali Jelle confirmed the fighting to the BBC but denied that Ethiopian troops were involved.

The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan in the capital, Mogadishu, says local villagers report seeing Ethiopian troops.
He says telecommunications to Dinsoor have been cut off.

An Islamist commander in the area, Sheikh Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, told the AFP news agency: "I don't have the exact toll, but I am told many people have died."

Mr Ahmed said the attack had been repelled.

"Our forces have been raided by Ethiopian troops, so people get up and fight against the Ethiopians," he said after Muslim Friday prayers in Mogadishu.

Ethiopia has denied repeated claims that its troops are fighting alongside government militia but admits to having hundreds of military trainers in Baidoa, the only town the government controls.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed to both sides to spare civilians, affected by devastating floods.

The ICRC says hundreds of thousands of people are on the move, trying to escape the flood waters.

The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) has taken control of most of southern Somalia since taking Mogadishu in June.
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said African nations who will contribute to the proposed force should persuade the UIC that it would not be an "invasion force".

"It is important that we get the Somalis to understand that the force is coming in to help," he said.

The resolution proposes sending an African protection force to Baidoa and easing an international arms embargo on Somalia to help the government re-arm.

The US-led resolution, adopted unanimously by the 15-nation Security Council, said the government represented "the only route to achieving peace and stability" in Somalia, which has been without effective central government since 1991.

The Islamists have also accused Ethiopia of shelling the town of Bandiradley, 630 kilometres (390 miles) north-east of the capital, Mogadishu, which is the most northern town they control.

One pro-government fighter was reportedly killed in the clashes.

'Front-line states'

Ethiopia and other states which border Somalia were excluded from contributing to the proposed African peace force.

Ethiopia has twice fought wars with Somalia.

Both government and Islamist forces have been preparing for war

Despite the exclusion of the "front-line states" the UIC still reject the idea of foreign peacekeepers, saying Islamic laws have already brought stability to areas they control.

"Deploying foreign forces to Somalia is seen as invading forces and the Somali people are prepared to defend themselves against aggression," Union of Islamic Courts official Ibrahim Adow told the BBC's Network Africa programme on Thursday.

However, observers believe it will be a long time before any peacekeepers arrive and say the UN resolution may be primarily intended to show symbolic support for the government.

The East African body, Igad, which is supposed to supply the troops is understood to be split over the idea.

Somalia's government has welcomed the resolution.

The government and the UIC are due to hold peace talks in Sudan next week.

The US, Ethiopia and the Somali government also fear the Islamists are offering shelter to al-Qaeda operatives, a charge they deny.

A recent UN report accused several countries, including Ethiopia and Eritrea, of breaking the weapons ban.

Government forces, Ethiopian troops clash for second day with Islamic militia in southern Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia: Government forces backed by Ethiopian troops have clashed for a second day with Islamic militiamen near a village in southern Somalia, officials said Saturday.

Mohamed Ibrahim Bilal, an Islamic courts official, said that the government had launched a counterattack at Rama'addey village, while Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi claimed that Islamic militiamen had attacked government positions.

"The Ethiopian troops along with government troops have counterattacked our militia ... The fighting is going on," said Bilal, an Islamic courts official of the Bay region where the village is located.

The transitional government and Ethiopia have consistently denied that Ethiopian forces are in the country, but their presence has been widely reported by witnesses and journalists. Ethiopia has said that it has a few hundred military advisers in Somalia helping the government form a national army.

Rama'addey, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the government's headquarters of Baidoa, is at a front line between the Islamic courts and transitional government forces.

Residents said that in the past two days there has been increased movement of military personnel in Baidoa, raising tensions in the town, which is 250 kilometers (155 miles) northwest of the capital, Mogadishu. The residents, speaking on condition of anonymity because of fear of reprisals, said that on Friday they saw President Abdullahi Yusuf dressed in military uniform in a pickup mounted with machine guns that was part of a military convoy of 16 vehicles.

Speaking in neighboring Kenya's capital, Nairobi, Gedi told The Associated Press that the Islamic militia fought with a government reconnaissance force on Friday. He said it was clear the Islamic forces were attempting to destabilize his government by attacking his forces.

"They met with a reconnaissance team from the government in the area, some fighting took place and casualties were limited," Gedi said. "This morning, they have attacked the government forces on the front line and the fighting is continuing."

He said the fighting was not the beginning of a government offensive and reiterated that he was prepared for renewed peace talks, scheduled for later this month in Khartoum, Sudan. But he said that it was clear that the Islamic courts were attempting to continue their military advance in direct defiance of a U.N. resolution on Wednesday.

Communications networks are down in Rama'addey and surrounding villages and in the nearest town, Dinsor, making it difficult to reach residents either by mobile phone or radio.

On Friday, the rivals clashed in Safarnoolees village, which served as a base for the transitional government forces. The Islamic militiamen claimed that they had routed the government forces Friday while Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle denied that had happened.

Eyewitnesses reported Saturday that they counted at least 15 people killed and 18 others wounded in that fighting.

"We could see the dead bodies, but we couldn't know who they were," said Sheikh Abdi Garre, who saw the bodies on the road to the government-controlled town of Baidoa, from where he spoke by phone.

Sheikh Ibrahim Shukri Abuu-zeynab, a spokesman for the Islamic courts that controls most of southern Somalia, said that the dead were government and Ethiopian soldiers.

"We defeated them and they were forced to leave their dead behind," Abuu-zeynab said.

Jelle denied that Ethiopians were fighting on the government side and said the dead were not government soldiers.

Somalia has not had an effective central government for 15 years, after warlords overthrew longtime dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other.

A transitional government was formed two years but it has been unable to assert its authority over the country and since June the Council of Islamic Courts has seized the capital, Mogadishu, and taken control of much of southern Somalia.

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Associated Press writers Salad Duhul and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia, and Chris Tomlinson in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

UN authorises regional force to protect Somalia`s Govt

United Nations, Dec 07: The UN Security Council has authorised the establishment of an African protection and training mission in Somalia to help the country`s government fight against the militias and restore peace in the region. The new force, which will be set up by the African Union (AU) and the inter-governmental authority on development (IGAD), an East African group, has an initial mandate for six months. The resolution adopted unanimously prohibits countries bordering Somalia to deploy troops in that country. Under the resolution, the arms embargo on Somalia has been partially lifted to allow the supply of weapons and military equipment and technical training and assistance intended solely for the new force. The council took action in face of mounting international concern at the lack of progress in peace talks between the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs)and the union of Islamic courts, which controls the capital, Mogadishu. The mission is charged with protecting members of the TFIs, including the government, training those institutions` security forces to provide their own security and help re-establish national security forces. The other responsibility of the new force will be to maintain security in Baidoa, where the TFIs are based, to monitor progress on dialogue between the TFIs and the Islamic courts and to ensure the free movement and safety of all those involved in the dialogue process. Council members also stressed that they consider the TFIs and the transitional federal charter to "offer the only route to achieve peace and stability in Somalia", which has not had a functioning national government since the regime of Muhammad Siad Barre was toppled in 1991. The resolution urges both sides to resume peace talks immediately, and warned that the council would take action against anyone who tries to block peaceful dialogue or overthrow the TFIs by force. Last week, council members adopted a resolution condemning the recent spike in Somalia`s weapons trade and extending the mandate by six months of a group of experts charged with monitoring the flow of arms. Bureau Report

UN backs peace force for Somalia

UN backs peace force for Somalia

The African peacekeepers are likely to face opposition in Somalia

The UN Security Council has voted to authorise a regional force to bolster Somalia's weak government, which is under pressure from Islamist militias.

The US-led resolution, co-sponsored by Congo, Ghana and Tanzania, also urged the government to resume peace talks.

The agreement also called for the easing of a 1992 arms embargo to allow Somali government forces to re-arm.

The resolution supported an 8,000-strong mission from the seven nations of east African body, Igad.

The resolution, adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council, said Somalia's transitional government represented "the only route to achieving peace and stability" in the country, which has been without effective central government since 1991.

However, observers believe it will be a long time before any peacekeepers arrive and say the UN resolution may be primarily intended to show symbolic support for the government.

Choice

The peacekeepers are likely to face strong opposition from the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC), which seized the capital, Mogadishu, in June before taking control of much of the south and centre of the country.

The UIC say they are capable of restoring security to the country, so there is no need for foreign peacekeepers.

They see a peacekeeping force as cover for Ethiopian troops being sent to help the government, even though the resolution rules out sending troops from states that border Somalia, such as Ethiopia.

The UIC has declared "Holy War" on Ethiopia, which has twice fought wars with Somalia, over control of Ethiopia's large Somali-speaking region.

Ethiopia denies sending troops to help Somalia's government but admits to providing military trainers.

Outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said not intervening was not an option.

"The other option is that the instability we have seen in Somalia for over 15 years would spread to the region," he said.

"I think the choice of doing nothing is really not a choice at all."

The aim of the force would be to protect transitional institutions located in Baidoa, some 250km (155 miles) north-west of the capital.

Washington also fears the Islamists are offering shelter to al-Qaeda operatives, a charge they deny.

Spiralling conflict

Experts worry a spiralling conflict could spill over into other countries in the Horn of Africa.

The fear in particular is that Ethiopia and Eritrea will come into conflict because they support opposite sides and might see in Somalia another battleground in which to continue the intermittent war over their own border dispute.

The Islamists have removed the check-points, at which gunmen used to extort money from commercial vehicles in Mogadishu.

In some areas, they have imposed strict Sharia law, such as public executions of murderers and floggings for drug dealers.

Some cinemas which show foreign films and football matches and radio stations which ban Western music have been closed but in other areas under UIC control, such activities have been allowed to continue.

They have also banned the popular stimulant, khat.

Somalia War, a cover for genocide against the Oromos

By Siddise Abamagal

Dec 4, 2006 — The current development in the Horn seems to be eclipsing the Oromo people’s quest for freedom, justice, democracy and self determination. This is exactly what the Zenawi minority regime has been planning for years. It is an open secret that Oromos have been the major victims of this regime. Oromo political forces, haven been the main opponents and challengers of the Tigrain People Liberation Front (TPLF) misrule. The rise of Oromo nationalism combined with awareness about the increasing human rights abuses and lootings of the Oromian resources by TPLF-managed companies are posing serious challenges to the dictatorial regime of Meles Zenawi. At a time when the Oromo plight and their struggle for justice are gaining international recognition, the regime is seeking various methods to continue unleashing its anti-Oromo policies by diverting the attention of the international community.

In 2004, when prominent human right groups such is Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch produced detailed reports about the gross human rights violations against Oromos, the regime, instead of addressing those concerns, changed focus to the election which Oromos know from the outset that it would be a sham election which the regime would not only rig it but also identify its main opponents among the citizens. In the run up for the 1992 election, the regime purposely excluded the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), the vanguard Oromo political force, knowing that OLF could win the election in a land slide victory in Oromia. The same method has been applied during the 2005 election. Since OLF was declared "illegal", it could not participate in the election. To over shadow the plight of Oromo people, the regime allowed smaller and new political parties to participate. Strangely enough, to give a semblance of free and democratic election, the regime allowed these new parties to gain access to government owned media. By doing so, it was able to temporarily dupe the world and peace loving Ethiopians that Ethiopia is entering a new era. However, the Zenawi failed to understand that it was rejected by Ethiopian people until the residents of Finfinne (Addis Ababa), on May 8, 2005, marched to show their support to opposition parties and their preparedness to oust him through ballot.

Having caught up red handed while cheating the vote, Zenawi unleashed his secret weapon against those who were peacefully demanding their vote to be respected. An elected Oromo member of the parliament Tasfaye Adane was killed in broad day light by government security forces. The entire leadership of the opposition parties, mainly from the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), were put in prison and charged with treason and genocide. The entire free press in the country has been silenced and journalists have been jailed. His Western friends who once praised him of being one of the "African new generations of democrats" were forced to see the true nature of Zenawi’s regime.

Now a year and half after the election, the regime is trying to come with a new cover up to unleash new wave of genocide against the Oromo dissents. For those who are following the development, hundreds of Oromo members of the army were compelled to defect and several othe rs including high ranking Oromo military and police officers were sacked and replaced by those who are less competent to speak against the regime. Hundreds of Oromo soldiers, led by Brig. General Kemal Gelchu, Brig. General Hailu Gonfa, Colonel Gammachu Ayana, Colonel Ababa Garesu and many other high ranking officers have defected to OLF after realizing the unwavering anti-Oromo, anti-democratic and dictatorial stand of the regime. The commander of Ethiopian air force, the only remaining senior Oromo military official, General Alemishet Degife and army Brig General Kumera have been sacked. Military sources close to the regime disclosed that at least 41 Oromo members of the military above the ranks of major, including General Aloo, have been sacked and immediately put under detention. The regime has forced prominent Oromo lawyers, such us judge Tashale Abara to exile so that they cannot defend the rights of their people in the court of law. It has also threatened to death Oromo members of parliament such as Dr Getachew Jigii who fled the country leaving their constituency without representation. Any potential Oromo within the country who can be a potential treat is eliminated one by one. Now the regime is ready, the preparations over. This time around it declared "an illegal, immoral and senseless war" against Somalia as Tadesse Tadele wrote few days back. Such a declaration of war was also simultaneously made against OLF and Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).

The TPLF’s rubber stamp parliament has approved Zenawi’s war declaration. This should no come as a surprise because those MPs were not elected by the people, they were rather appointed by Zenawi since the election was deemed null and void. Almost each and every MPs who belong to opposition parties had condemned and opposed the war and as a result has been accused of been enemy of the state. Zenawi’s declaration of war on OLF and other armed groups under legal pretext is nothing other than trying to give his planned genocide a legal cover up.

Therefore in the upcoming weeks and months we will be witnessing a nationwide campaign of arrest and killing against Oromos. While officially telling the world it evades Somalia to fight terrorism, Zenawi will unleash it lethal force against Oromos whom it view as the worst threat to its authoritarian rule. The major victims of this brand-new genocide will be those Oromo nationalists within the army, students and scholars. A high raking Oromo who is serving TPLF security has disclosed that the government has been planning to murder some leaders of "Oromo People Democratic Organization (OPDO), the brain child of TPLF, and blame it on OLF. In addition to that, the regime will continue detonating explosive in several crowded Oromian towns to terrorize and murder Oromo civilians. The goal is not only to eliminate those OPDO members who sympathize with the Oromo cause but also to mislead the world in to labeling OLF as terrorist group.

It is sad to see that the international community is turning a blind eye on Zenawi’s preparation to turn the Horn in to a complete chaos. It is a shame for the United States of America to try to side with this regime’s war on Somalia. This regime has misinformed and misled the US into supporting Somali warlords in the name of war on terror. While US poured millions of dollars to Zenawi’s account which he used to finance his meddling militia, the Somali people are being betrayed in their effort to once again re-unify their country. The Union of Islamic Courts is a byproduct of the misguided US policy in the horn and the frustration of Somali people against the blood-sucking warlords organized by Zenawi and financed by America. Hence, the US should revisit its policy on the Horn. It should stop financing Zenawi’s regime that has murdered 15- 20,000 Oromos in the past 15 years, according to the Oromia Supreme Court president who recently fled the country. The US should engage the UIC in dialogue for the betterment of the Somali people and for long term peace and stability. They should be careful not to create another Iraq in the Horn.

Zenawi’s declaration of war should be seen not only against that of the Somali people, but also against all people in the region including Ethiopians, Kenyans, Eritrean, and Sudanese. The Oromos cannot be a part of this regime’s war against our Somali neighbors and condemn it earnestly.

* The author is a Public Policy student and lives in North America. She can be reached at sabagalo@gmail.com

8 Ethiopian soldiers arrive here opposing TPLF regime’s invasion of Somalia

Asmara, 6 December 2006 – 8 Ethiopian soldiers arrived in Eritrea opposing the TPLF regime’s invasion of Somalia. One of the soldiers, Alelign Simeneh disclosed that troops from different divisions of the Ethiopian Army have entered Somalia territory in breach of its sovereignty. He added that the regime is imprisoning officers, soldiers and health professionals under the guise of evaluation after the defection of two Ethiopian generals who have joined the opposition.

Accordingly, Lt. Colonel Girma, ex-secretary of Maj. General Bacha Debele and several other senior officers and health professionals who were members of the Army and an unknown number of nurses have defected.

The 8 soldiers are Kamel Kemalo Sheik, Hassan Mohammed Ibrahim, Wegari Gidina Mokjera, Abyot Sheferaw Hunde, Teyib Haji Temam Suleiman, all 5 from the Oromo ethnic group, and Alelign Simeneh Gezu and Adane Mekuanint Ayichew, both from the Amhara ethnic group, as well as Abdi Saleh Mohammed, a Tigrayan.

Ethiopian premier, US Albright hold talks on Somalia, Darfur

Dec 2, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has held talks with former US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, here today on Somalia and Sudan’s Darfur.

The two sides discussed on issues related to the current situation in Somalia and Darfur as well on the relations between US and Ethiopia. Meles on the occasion briefed Albright on the political situation in the Horn of Africa.

Albright lauded the efforts being made by Prime Minister Meles to reduce poverty and maintain democracy in Ethiopia.

Albright who is currently associate chairperson of the Pro-Poor an international commission noted she has exchanged views with Prime Minister Meles on ways that would enable the commission to support the poverty reduction efforts in Ethiopia. Albright said the commission will also be doing pre-assessment activities to help improve legal empowerment of people.

“We have been conducting consultations in the region. We were in Kenya and Tanzania and now here to see what the commission can do to listen to ideas from the local constituency about what can be done about the most serious problem in the world. And that is the number of poor people that are not part of any legal system.”

Somalia: Islamic Courts warn UN agencies of chartering Ethiopian planes

Mohamed Abdi Farah
Sat. December 02, 2006 12:32 pm.

(SomaliNet) Powerful Islamic Courts Union in Somalia warned on Saturday the UN relief agencies of using the airplanes from Ethiopia for their aid distribution in the flood hit areas in southern Somalia.

Sheik Mukhtar Robow known as ‘Abu-Mansur’ the deputy chief security of Islamic Courts said if the UN agencies charter Ethiopian airplanes it would be dangerous to the Somali community who had long been in trouble and now hit by the floods.

“The planes will definitely be exploring to the enemy of Somalia people which is Ethiopia,” Sheik Mansur said. “We will shot down any plane from Ethiopia which take part in the airlifting help because we see them as our enemy,”

He made it clear the Islamic Courts position towards any possible mission by the Ethiopian planes underscoring that the Islamic Courts would not accept that the aid agencies rent airplanes from Ethiopia for airlifting.

The comments by Sheik Mansur came after it emerged reports that UN aid agencies chartered planes owned by Ethiopian government in which the UN wanted to distribute aid supply through air in the areas hit by the floods made by the Shabeelle and Juba rivers.

It is the first time the Islamic Courts ban the UN aid organizations to use Ethiopian airplanes for delivering aid supply in southern Somalia

This indicates the deep hatred between Islamic Courts and Ethiopia.

Ethiopian PM slams opposition’s rejection of resolution on Somalia

Saturday 2 December 2006.

Nov 30, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has criticized the stand of opposition political parties against the terms of the authorization given by the parliament to attack Somali Islamists.

“No citizen with a clear conscience should stand a passive observer in the face of a strategy put up from Asmara to Mogadishu to create mayhem in Ethiopia”, Meles said during a Parliamentary session held here on Thursday to endorse the resolution on the danger posed against Ethiopia by extremists in Somalia.

“Is it right to not find anything wrong until attacks reach Addis Ababa,” questioned the Prime Minister. “Some oppositions may not feel being attacked until the attackers make their way to Addis. Having been enduring absence of peace from attacks by the encroaching assailants, the victims – the Ethiopian Somalis – could not agree to refuse to see.”

Meles described as imprudent and a historic mistake the expressed stand of some opposition parties that they would neither put nag against, nor give support to the measures of self-defence the Ethiopian government is to take.

Meles said it is the parliament that should decide whether to take measures of defence, and decision for does not mean that the government will go for it outright. “We shall take all avenues to peace even in the face of attacks until all options are exhausted.”

The majority of the opposition forces objected the vote in favour of the l authorization of military action fearing that government would engage the country in a war that may be used by the government to divert the attention from internal problems.

Prof Beyene Petros, a representative of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), one of the main parliamentary opposition parties, said the resolution would allow the government to take action that may put the country into a quagmire that would be difficult to come out from.

The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) also opposed the resolution by its leader Bulcha Demeksa.

The Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) has also opposed the resolution. Party representative Temesgen Zewdie said that given the seriousness of the issue, the time allotted for deliberation among members of the house is short. The party also called for the intervention of international arbitrators.

But the EDUP-MEDHIN (United Ethiopian Democratic Party-Medhin) expressed full support to the resolution. "After a thorough discussion on the issue, we accepted the resolution as a declaration of self-defence," said party leader, Lidetu Ayalew.

US Administration to prevent a war between the Ethiopian government and the Islamic courts militias circulated Friday a draft resolution that would authorize a regional force to protect Somalia’s weak U.N.-backed transitional government and threaten Security Council action against those who block peace efforts and attempt to overthrow it.

The draft would authorize the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a seven-nation East African group, and the African Union to deploy "a protection and training mission in Somalia" - and it would lift an arms embargo on Somalia to allow that force to be armed.

(AP)