     Guuleed S | Saturday, March 24, 2001 - 02:15 pm
Yahoo.com
Ethiopia shows its hand in Somalia crisis
NAIROBI, March 23 (AFP) -
By hosting a group of Somali warlords and other dissidents who this week joined forces in calling for the new regime in Mogadishu to be replaced, Ethiopia has once again shown itself to be a key player in Somalia's political turmoil.
The support Addis Ababa initially lent Somalia's nascent transitional government (STG) -- by attending the talks in Arta, Djibouti last year that led to its formation -- has proved short-lived.
While the United Nations, the Arab League and the Organisation of African Unity all back the STG, Ethiopia quickly became critical of its top officials, such as President Abdulkassim Salat Hassan, Prime Minister Ali Khalif Galaydh and Speaker of Parliament Abdallah Derrow Issak.
After two weeks of talks in the southern Ethiopian town of Awasa, the Somali faction leaders and other opponents of the STG on Thursday set up a Reconciliation and Restoration Council (SRRC) in order to prepare the way for yet another national reconciliation conference which, in theory, will lead to the establishment of a "legitimate" and more representative government in Mogadishu.
The conference would be the 14th such event since president Mohamed Siad Bare was ousted in 1991, since when Somalia has gone without a central government and has been torn apart by competing warlords.
Two of these conferences were held in Ethiopia, in 1993 and 1996.
Addis Ababa cites security concerns to justify its involvement with Somalia, with which it fought a war in 1997.
With much of the population of its southeastern Ogaden region being of Somali origin, Ethiopia is wary of advocates of a "Greater Somalia" as well of Islamic extremist groups.
One such group, Al-Itihad, which has bases in Somalia, was accused of carrying out a wave of attacks in Ethiopia in 1996.
Now, Addis Ababa accuses the STG, which was set up with the backing of Mogadishu's Islamic courts, of being extremist and of not representing the whole of Somalia.
In its attitude to Somalia, Addis Ababa has found an ally in the president of the self-declared republic of Somaliland, Mohamed Ibrahim Egal.
Earlier this month the self-styled head of state spoke in favour of a greater Ethiopian involvement in Somalia.
"Ethiopia is a major power. It must do more," he said, reiterating his own opposition to the STG.
The new authorities in Mogadishu have strongly condemned Ethiopia's activities, accusing its neighbour of having a "policy of destabilisation."
Prime Minister Galaydh said a joint security commission with Ethiopia had been mooted but that "they do not want to address us."
"Ethiopia will not allow us to pursue peaceful constructive dialogue (with the warlords). We succeeded with two of them," he explained, referring to faction leaders Mohamed Haji Bod and Mohamed Qanyare Afrah, who have rallied to the STG.
President Salat told AFP that the Awasa meeting had "greatly complicated" the reconciliation process.
Last week, the parliamentary speaker met with UN envoy David Stephen to ask him to call on the the Security Council, which meets next week on Somalia, to tell Ethiopia to stop interfering.
In February, the STG accused Ethiopian troops of having entered Somalia, a claim denied by Addis Ababa, and of arming several Somali factions, including the Rahanwein Resistance Army, which controls the border region around Baidoa.
According to diplomats, these charges led the UN to maintain the arms sales embargo imposed on Ethiopia during its war with Eritrea, fought between 1998 and 2000. |
