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Kibaki will be in Ethiopia for Somali Gov's Relocation Process
NAIROBI, (HAN) March 9th, 2005-- The Somali leader reaffirmed the need for a controversial regional peacekeeping mission. But in his comments to Kibaki, Yusuf insisted on the necessity of an operation that will initially be run by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. Yusuf "said there is need for a peace support mission to be deployed to Somalia", the statement from Kibaki's office said. But The USC Cabinet warlords opposed Frontlince forces - to help the government get a foothold in the war-shattered nation when it moves.

Ethiopia will stand ready to send peacekeepers to war-ravaged Somalia, despite opposition from some Somali faction leaders, among others, to the potential move, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will again ratify his last comments "The bottom line is our offer is still on the table, but we are not going to impose ourselves on Somalia," Meles will say again during his  joint news conference with The president of Kenya, this week  in  Addis Ababa, and he told us  "It is up to the Somali government and the Somali people."

Kenyan officials have been putting pressure on Yusuf, his transitional Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi and other officials to move the government from Nairobi to Somalia for some time.

According to the statement, Kibaki told Yusuf that the relocation was necessary as soon as possible in order to give the government legitimacy. The Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf told the Kenyan president of his government in exile that his administration would relocate to lawless Somalia "without any further delay". opposed by Somali warlords - to help the government get a foothold in the war-shattered nation when it moves.

However, Yusuf, who along with other Somali officials has made similar unfulfilled pledges in the past, offered no hint as to when the relocation of the government might actually take place.

The latest vow came in a meeting between Yusuf and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in Nairobi, where the Somali government has been located for security reasons since its creation in October, according to Kibaki's office.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki is to visit Ethiopia this week for talks with top Ethiopian and African Union officials amid controversy over the AU-authorized deployment of regional peacekeepers to lawless Somalia, officials said Tuesday.

The three-day visit, which begins on Wednesday, also comes as tensions have risen along the Kenya-Ethiopia border where several dozen gunmen believed to be Ethiopian rebels ambushed a Kenyan security patrol on Saturday, killing one and seriously wounding four.

In talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the Kenyan president will "seek ways of ensuring safety on the expansive common border, discuss the possibility of Ethiopia using the (Kenyan) port of Mombasa and ways of guaranteeing regional stability," Kibaki's office said.

While in Addis Ababa, Kibaki will also address the AU Commission, which last month authorized the seven-member east African Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to deploy peacekeepers to Somalia to support the relocation from exile there of the country's transitional government.

Senior IGAD defense officials are currently planning the proposed mission whose prospects have been complicated by vehement opposition to the force from some Somali warlords.

The Security Council Pledges Somalia For UN Support of Good Governance

New York, March 9, 2005 -The United Nations Office for Somalia in Nairobi;  "we are focusing our energies on mechanisms and means in three main areas of Somalia peace process and relocation: governance, regional security and economic development."

Good governance is essential if the Somali public is to have confidence in its leadership and regional administrations, and the international community is to sustain assistance. To their great credit, the Southern Somali warlords and regional Authorities in Puntland and Somaliland have acknowledged the need for reform of their regional governing institutions and structures. The USC warlords (cabinet warlords) have adopted their own plan for capital security, and undertaken a number of commitments in the context of the IGAD peace Forces and AU initiatives for Somalia stability and regional security reform. The United Nations and its agencies continue to help the Somalia TNG Administration build up its capacity, and we look forward to working with the current leadership, IGAD frontline states and with other international partners to review the progress that has been made in Nairobi.

Security is likewise a fundamental factor in improving prospects for peace. Put simply, lack of security undermines everything -- the day-to-day safety of Somalia and IGAD frontline states. The United Nations welcomes the new IGAD coordinating group on security, which is meant to work towards the goal of an end to all acts of violence against Somali citizens and refugees, wherever they are. The United Nations will do its utmost to provide support to the new TNG group, and to the security forces of the AU and IGAD initiatives.

New York (HAN) March 8, 2005 – Calling on United Nations Member States to support war-battered Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, the Security Council today said it would welcome an incrementally expanding role for the world body in the Horn of Africa country.

The Government has been trying to relocate from Nairobi, Kenya, to a home country still suffering from widespread insecurity.

"The Security Council welcomes the progress made in the Somali national reconciliation process, in particular the Transitional Federal Government's ongoing relocation efforts, expects further progress in this regard and stresses the need for the international community to provide strong political, financial and capacity-building support for these efforts," the Council President for March, Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg of Brazil, read from a consensus statement.

The Council recognized the African Union's (AU) readiness to play an important role in a future peace support mission, but such a mission "must be carefully considered and planned and would require the support of the Somali people," the statement said.

It urged all factions and militia leaders to cease hostilities and, together with the Transitional Federal Government, to start immediate negotiations towards a comprehensive and verifiable ceasefire agreement leading to final disarmament. The Council also welcomed the UN's offer to provide advice in this regard, Mr. Sardenberg said.

More resources were needed for reconstruction, especially for those efforts coordinated by UN agencies, he added.

Meanwhile, improving the humanitarian situation was essential to forging peace and reconciliation, and ensuring access to Somalis in need and guaranteeing the safety and security of humanitarian aid workers was an immediate priority and obligation of the Government, he said as the Council congratulated the UN Political Office in Somalia (UNPOS) on its achievements.

UNPOS chief Winston Tubman told a earlier Monday, before briefing the Council, that an expanded UN presence in the Horn of Africa country could help Somalis implement their agreements and coordinate regional and international backing for the peace process.

The UN also could chair a Coordination and Monitoring Committee, as well as play a leading political role in the peace building that is still needed, he said.

"The capital, Mogadishu, is particularly insecure. We cannot say that either peace or reconciliation has been achieved, or that the fighting inside Somalia has ceased. At the same time, a fledgling peace process has pointed to a way out of the morass. We have worked hard to support that process," Mr. Tubman said.

Calling attention "to a very dramatic moment taking place in Somalia today," he said the Government's leaders had visited Somalia, "testing the waters."

"They were warmly received by the Somali people while on a brief tour last week, conceived as part of a phased-in return," he said.

According to a recent report on the country by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Mr. Tubman said, the UN was willing to offer advice on organizing immediate negotiations for a comprehensive ceasefire was calling for the strengthening of the arms embargo and was prepared to support the AU in planning a protection force.

On that last aspect of national security, he added, "Although some Somalis have expressed concerns and reservations, we hope their concerns can be addressed and their reservations overcome."

The prevailing insecurity was preventing the UN from implementing post-tsunami programmes in large areas of the country. "With better security, we can reach many more people in need," he said.

By late 1964, it had become obvious that the initial campaign to unify all Somalis had failed. Ethiopian forces had established superiority over the Somalis in the Ogaden, in part because of Ethiopia's ability to conduct air raids on Somali territory. In Kenya the government relied on assistance from British counterinsurgency experts to control Somali guerrillas in what was then the Northern Frontier District (NFD). In late 1964, Kenya's president Jomo Kenyatta and Ethiopia's emperor Haile Selassie signed a mutual defense agreement aimed at containing Somali aggression. The two countries renewed the pact in 1979 and again in 1989. These factors, in combination with the opposition of the Organization of African Unity to Somali aims and defense costs that amounted to 30 percent of the national budget in the mid-1980s, forced Mogadishu to reconsider its territorial ambitions. Han Staff 

han@geeskaafrika.com

HAN Bulletin is your independent, online intelligence resource edited and published by the regional political historian, veteran newsman and founder of www.geeskaafrika.com (Geeska Afrika Online 1985). Each week he taps his vast network of international intelligence sources to bring you credible insights into geo-political and geo-strategic developments for the Horn of Africa.  Contact at  nurkafi@geeskaafrika.com  (Managing Editor/Publisher)