Sunday, September 09, 2007
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Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys |
Addis Ababa (Reporter) - Clad in grey suit, the hard-line clerical leader of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys was, for the first time in months, seen in the open in Asmara on Thursday
Aweys was in Eritrea to attend the conference organized by the group opposed to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia.
The anti-TFG camp in Asmara is headed by individuals such as former speaker of the Somalia's transitional parliament Sheikh Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, former TFG Deputy Prime Minister, Hussein Aideed, and UIC second man Sheikh Sharif Ahmed.
Following the defeat of the Union of Islamic Courts in December 2006, 72-year-old Aweys, who was a former colonel in Siad Barre's army and founder of the Al-Itihad militant group, disappeared.
The government of Ethiopia holds Aweys and the Al-Itihad responsible for several attacks on its territory and even assassination attempts on high ranking government officials.
Since December, Aweys has been sporadically giving statements to the media but his whereabouts had remained a mystery.
In his latest interview with the VOA a week ago via a satellite phone, Aweys vowed that his followers would fight to the death until Ethiopian forces withdrew from his country.
Pursued by advancing Somali and Ethiopian forces to Ras Kamboni, UIC second man Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was captured at the border with Kenya. He was later released and allowed to head to Yemen.
The group in Asmara has been calling for the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Somalia, a point that was reiterated at the opening of the ten-day conference.
"We are expecting to bring up to the end of the conference a program that not only deals with the Ethiopian invasion, but also a program that brings solution to the everlasting civil war that has been occurring in our country for the last 15 years" the VOA quoted Mahad Sheikh, who is one of the organizers of the meeting. "So we are expecting success and to bring change to Somalia."
Other media sources also quoted some of the delegates in Asmara making statements regarding military operations against Ethiopian forces in Somalia.
AFP quoted conference spokesperson Zakariya Mahamud Abdi as having said: "There will be discussions about this issue [fighting Ethiopia]. People who are specialists in the area of military operations will handle this issue - it will not be for Tom, Dick, and Harry."
Last week Thursday, a month-and-half-long peace conference that was organized by the TFG was concluded in Mogadishu.
President Abdullahi Yusuf gave his assurance to the participants of conference that his government would fulfill the pledges made -- such as bringing about clan truce, disarmament and sharing of power and distribution of wealth.
Somali Ambassador to Kenya Mohamed Abdi Nur criticized the meeting in Asmara as redundant and unhelpful.
"We believe anything organized outside the country will come to nothing," he told a news conference in Nairobi.
Meanwhile, Asmara came under harsh criticism from Washington for its active support for to the UIC and other militant groups.
Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer last week disclosed that the United States was considering putting Eritrea on the terrorist list for allegedly funneling weapons and aid to Somali insurgents battling the interim government in Somalia.
"We have tried our best to act with restraint with Eritrea," Frazer told reporters in Washington. "We cannot tolerate... their support for terror activity, particularly in Somalia."
Relations between Eritrea and the US have become tenser as the former accuses Washington of pursuing the wrong policy in the Horn.
Asmara blames the US for not having leaned on Ethiopia to accept a border ruling by the Hague-based Eritrea - Ethiopia Boundary commission (EEBC) .
In addition to the war of words, Washington complains that Asmara is inspecting its diplomatic pouches and refusing visas for US diplomats.
In a related news, allegations that Eritrea is "providing direct support" to the separatist group Tamil Tigers has stirred up investigations in Sri Lanka.
According to the Asian Tribune: "A US Senate Foreign Relations Committee report reveals that the Government of Eritrea is providing direct military assistance to Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. The Senate report does not generalize that military assistance is coming from 'Eritrea' but authoritatively says, 'Government of Eritrea' [is] providing 'direct military aid' to the Sri Lankan rebels."
The same source says it obtained its information from a document prepared by US Senator Richard Lugar and his staff.
The document, Asian Tribune goes on to say, was made available for Congressional record on 15 December 2006, with copies to the White House, State and Defense Departments.
"In Sri Lanka, there are no direct threats to American interests, terrorist or otherwise. An escalating conflict, however, between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is now on the verge of outright civil war. Continual uncertainty and eruptions of violence are indirectly affecting Americans in the country, but Americans, as of this date, are not direct targets. As Sri Lanka is an island nation, anti-government insurgents primarily receive smuggled military arms and hardware via boat, from Indonesia, among other countries. The government of Eritrea reportedly provides direct assistance to the LTTE," according to Senator Lugar's findings.
Lugar reportedly sent "6 Senate Foreign Relations Committee majority staff members to some 20 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to examine the relationship between the State Department and the Defense Department in [US] embassies."
Immediately after the Asian Tribune report, the Sri Lankan government said that its foreign ministry was going to take up the matter and carry out further investigations.
Source: The Reporter, Sept 09, 2007