The Archbishop of Canterbury has backed calls for Africa to be “blanketed” with bed nets as part of the battle to eradicate malaria.

Dr Rowan Williams said in spite of being preventable and treatable, the blood disease – caused by a parasite transmitted by the mosquito – was still killing nearly a million people every year.

In a message recorded to mark World Malaria Day on Sunday, Dr Williams called on the world to put its “energy and imagination” behind efforts to achieve the goal of getting rid of malaria deaths by 2015.

“One of the things that I was taught when I was growing up was that among the greatest achievements of modern science was the identification of where malaria came from, the great steps that have been made to eradicate malaria from the world,” he said.

“That was many years ago and in the intervening years, tragically the challenge of malaria has grown worse not better.

“Half the world’s population is at risk from malaria, about a million people die because of it every year and not surprisingly the cost is highest among those most vulnerable and the youngest.”

The message was recorded by Dr Williams to support the global coalition United Against Malaria.

Campaigners are working towards a United Nations target of providing bed nets to everyone at risk by the end of this year with the aim of eradicating malaria deaths by 2015.

Ethiopia, Rwanda and Eritrea have been highlighted for their success in reducing malaria deaths by more than a half in just a few years through the use of bed nets, medicines and spraying.

Malaria sufferers experience flu-like symptoms, such as fever, headache and vomiting. Without treatment, the disease can result in permanent brain damage and death. Source: (The Press Association)

Westerwelle

DPA- Berlin – German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Development Aid Minister Dirk Niebel are to begin a five-day visit to Africa on Wednesday, with stops in Tanzania, South Africa and Djibouti.

In a joint statement Monday, they said the trip demonstrated their alliance to shape foreign and aid policy “in the same mould.”

Westerwelle is leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Niebel is a senior official of the same party, which has unsuccessfully pressed Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling coalition to merge the two ministries into one.

In Tanzania they are to hold talks with with President Jakaya Kikwete, meet with president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Charles Byron and open a German cultural centre, or Goethe Institute, in the port city of Dar-es-Salaam.

In South Africa, a regular binational commission meeting is to take place with Vice-President Kgalema Motlanthe representing the South African side.

President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti is to receive them both on Sunday on the last leg of the trip.

Westerwelle is also to pay a call on German military units in Djibouti comprising a liaison unit with Operation Enduring Freedom, a NATO anti-terrorism deployment, and Operation Atalanta, the European Union naval mission to protect shipping on the Somali coast against pirates.

German business people, cultural figures and aid executives are to be in the tour delegation.

Earlier, in a newspaper interview, Westerwelle said Germany should pay more attention to the opportunities offered by Africa.

“Africa faces enormous challenges: warlike conflicts, natural disasters and pandemics such as AIDS. But we want to put more of the focus on opportunities: its creativity, its economic potential and its wealth in raw materials,” he said.

Video

Extract from State Department Special Briefing:

AMBASSADOR COUSIN: Thank you very much, Ambassador Carson. I’d also like to thank the members of the press for your presence and interest in covering these important issues related to Somalia. As Johnnie Carson stated, the Somali people have suffered tremendously during the more than 20 years of conflict in their country.

The Somalia Monitoring Group, more commonly known as the SMG, submitted their report to the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee this past week. This SMG report – the SMG reports directly to the Security Council on implementation of the Somalia and Eritrea sanctions regimes. We take the work of the Somalia Monitoring Group very seriously and we are studying its recommendations.

Next week, the Security Council will meet and receive the regular 120-day report from the Chair of the Somalia Sanctions Committee that will include a briefing on the committee’s discussion of the SMG’s final report. The Somalia Monitoring Group report contains a number of recommendations, including those regarding the work of the World Food Program in Somalia. We at the U.S. Mission to the UN agencies in Rome are active members of the executive board of the World Food Program. This board regularly examines the work of the World Food Program and the perils its dedicated staff face around the world, particularly in places like Somalia.

In December of 2009, the World Food Program presented a briefing on the – its Somalia program to the World Food Program executive board. After the December board meeting, WFP did take internal measures to address the concerns raised in this internal report. Some of the same types of allegations were raised in the Somalia Monitoring Group’s report. So this morning, the executive board recognized that regardless of the process mandated by the SMG, the board has a responsibility for oversight and governance of the WFP operations. Consensus was reached by the board to ensure that all practices of the WFP in – WFP team in Somalia are in line with the organization’s policies and procedures.

We will continue to work to ensure that the generous contributions of the American people to support the work of the World Food Program are managed in an accountable and transparent manner. We express our gratitude to the WFP staff for their commitment to meet humanitarian needs in the most difficult of circumstances. The United States remains strongly committed to meeting the humanitarian needs of the people of Somalia. We continue to seek ways to ensure that the Somalian people receive the assistance they require.

I’ll end here, Assistant Secretary, and look forward to any questions from the media. Thank you.

MR. DUGUID: Before we get to the questions, I would like to make a correction for the record. I described Ambassador Cousin’s – one of her official duties rather than her official title, which is – Ambassador to U.S. Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome is her official working title.

As we call on you, please identify yourself and which ambassador you would like to speak to.

Matt.

QUESTION: Matt Lee with AP. Ambassador Carson, you mentioned at the very top – you were talking about a number of recent press reports. Can you be specific about what these reports said? I’m not asking you to identify whatever organization they were responsible. But what did they say? And what is wrong – what was wrong with them?

Secondly, you said that the Djibouti process was supported by IGAD, the AU, and all the countries of the region. But that’s not entirely true, is it? I mean, there is one country that doesn’t support it. Or has Eritrea changed their position? And then –those two very briefly – but then on the military aid that you talked about the several tons of weapons that have been provided to the TFG. Are there any concerns that those weapons may be leaking out in the same way that the food aid was described as leaking out to insurgents?

AMBASSADOR CARSON: Let me say, the most prominent article was one that appeared approximately a week ago in The New York Times, written by Jeff Gettleman, and I think co-authored by one of his colleagues, which asserted or carried the assertion that the U.S. Government had military advisors assisting and aiding the TFG, that the U.S. Government was, in fact, helping to coordinate the strategic offensive that is apparently underway now, or may be underway now, in Mogadishu, and that we were, in effect, guiding the hand and the operations of the TFG military. All of those are incorrect. All of those do not reflect the accuracy of our policy, and all of those need to be refuted very strongly. I think my statement clearly outlined what we are doing and why we are doing it.

You indicated that one state in the region has not joined in, and that is absolutely true; that is Eritrea. But Eritrea, in fact, stands alone. What my statement said was that all key states in the region, all the important states in the region – and I would include among them Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and other members of IGAD –

QUESTION: You’re not planning to meet up with President Isaias anytime soon, are you?

AMBASSADOR CARSON: Whenever an opportunity presents itself to engage President Isaias in a conversation that will lead to peace and a cessation of Eritrean support for spoilers in the region, I will do so.

With respect to military weapons, we try as best we possibly can to ensure through a number of mechanisms that any assistance, any assistance that we give to the TFG, directly or indirectly, is accounted for and audited through mechanisms that we believe are very good.

Sudan – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has launched an information campaign in Sudan on the risks of irregular migration as part of a broader effort to tackle key migration issues in East Africa and the Horn of Africa.

The campaign, which will target seven states in eastern Sudan, will be implemented as part of an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) programme to address gaps in migration management in the IGAD region. It aims to inform irregular migrants and potential migrants of the risks they face on their journey to Europe and the Middle East.

With more than 7,600 kms of land borders, 853 kms of coastline and nine neighbours, Sudan lies in the middle of the East African route to the Mediterranean. It is one of the three main routes used by mainly Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali irregular migrants en route to Europe via Libya and Egypt as they seek to escape poverty, conflict and increasing environmental degradation at home.

Sudan is also a country of origin and destination for irregular migrants. More than 100,000 refugees from the Horn of Africa are currently being hosted in camps in Khartoum, Gedaref, Red Sea, Kassala, El Gezira, Sennar and Blue Nile states, with the camps recognized as a source and transit point for flows of both asylum-seekers and economic migrants to, within and through Sudan.

Sudanese nationals seeking a new life abroad using irregular means can often become stranded in transit. All irregular migrants are vulnerable to human trafficking and abuse during their journey, often because of a lack of knowledge about what the journey will actually entail.

Posters and flyers with information and advice are being distributed in Arabic, Amharic and Tigrinya in the seven states. Dialogues are also being held with community leaders in the camps. The campaign, funded by the European Commission, is also using radio and other means to reach irregular migrants and potential Sudanese migrants with materials based on true-life stories designed to target specific ethnic groups, cultures and motives for migrating.

As well as highlighting the risks of irregular migration, campaign materials will inform migrants and potential migrants on the requirements and opportunities for regular migration. This will include information about how to obtain travel documents, work permits and visas, and and about the immigration laws of host countries.

Implemented in collaboration with the Immigration and Passport Department of the Ministry of Interior and the Sudanese Commission for Refugees, the campaign is a step towards a more established response to combating human smuggling and human trafficking in the country by building the government’s capacities on migration issues.

Westminster

UK Members of Parliament discussed regional security in the Horn of Africa during a debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday. Ivan Lewis, Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responded to the debate representing the UK Government.

The debate focused on issues of security and stability in Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Yemen acknowledging the strategic, economic and cultural importance of these countries. However, a great part of the discussion in Westminster Hall centered around the border problem between Eritrea and Ethiopia as a driver of conflict in the region.

Conservative MP Mark Pritchard opened the discussion on Eritrea and Ethiopia by stating, “What happens in Addis Abeba matters”. Mr Pritchard supports his view by arguing that Ethiopia is one of the most stable countries in the Horn. He told attending MPs that he recently made a visit to Ethiopia and that the country reflects stability regardless of ongoing disputes and tensions with Eritrea.

Mr Pritchard was asked by Jeremey Corbyn, Labour MP from the Islington constituency, if he was able to discuss the issue of border dispute with the Ethiopian Government during his visit to Addis Ababa and whether he believes that there is any chance that the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling might be accepted by both parties.

Mr Pritchard replied that he had discussed it with the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia and other representatives of the Government. He said that it would help if the court would make the effort to visit the border rather than making judgments based on a map from a room in a European capital.

Throughout the debate the Conservative MP appeared to support Ethiopia accusing Eritrea of causing instability in the Horn with the support of Libya, Qatar and Iran. While the Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs tried to emphasise the complexity of the forces driving conflict in the Horn.

“I wonder whether we are not sometimes too simplistic in looking at goodies and baddies, and whether a much higher degree of involvement is needed,” Mr Corbyn said for instance.

Moreover, Labour and Liberal Democrats seemed to support the view that the Algiers Agreement and the Court of Arbitration ruling might be key to solving many problems in the region.

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ivan Lewis responded to the debate saying,

“To my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North who raised the issue of the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, I have to say that there was arbitration. The Eritrea-Ethiopia boundary commission made a very clear decision on the border.

Despite our friendship with Ethiopia and our tremendous admiration for the progress it has made, we continue to press it to implement the decision following arbitration. The matter will continue to be a running sore and a cause of much instability until it has done so.

I say to the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) who asked the question that we continue to make the case for that recommendation to be implemented, because it is a root cause of the significant instability.”

“We support the sanctions regime against Eritrea because we believe that country has consistently flouted international law, which is why we supported UN Security Council resolution 1907. However, that is not an alternative to engagement. Of course, we want to engage with Eritrea, as well as to insist that it does not behave in a way that undermines stability in the horn. It is very important to get that balance right.”

Watch the debate on link below:

WESTMINISTER HALL VIDEO

A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) met on Tuesday with Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Prime Minister Dileita Mohamed Dileita on ways to enhance ties between the two nations, according to reports from its capital Djibouti.

China and Djibouti have strengthened their political trust and conducted mutually beneficial cooperation since they forged diplomatic ties in 1979, said Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The two countries have maintained close coordination on international affairs, Wang said, adding that relationship between the CPC and Djibouti Popular Rally for Progress (RPP) has become an important part of bilateral ties.

China is willing to work together with Djibouti to boost mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples, and strengthen exchanges between the two parties and two countries, he said.

President Guelleh, who is also RPP chairman, said Djibouti is ready to promote its pragmatic cooperation with China, a major partner of the African nation, so as to benefit the two peoples.

Prime Minister and RPP Vice Chairman Dileita spoke highly of China’s Africa policy and the Djibouti-China relations, and reaffirmed his country’s adherence to the one-China policy.

Wang arrived in Djibouti Tuesday, the last leg of his six-nation Africa tour. He has visited the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, Benin, Mali and Senegal. Source: (Xinhua)

Harry Norman: Hello this is Harry Norman: for Proactive Investors, and welcome to another Proactive audio interview. Today is the 22nd of December 2009 and I’m talking with Bob Foster.  CEO of Stratex International.  Listed on the AIM Market, Mining Sector.  Stock ticker STI.  Share price 3.12 pence. Market cap £7.8 Million Sterling. Web address stratexinternational.com

Harry Norman: Thank you for joining us for this interview Bob.
Bob Foster: Harry it’s always a pleasure to talk to Proactive.

Please give investors a brief introduction to Stratex and the company’s business model.
We formed the company in 2004 and listed in 2006.  The major focus has been on Turkey, primarily gold. The major focus in more detail has been gold exploration.  But more recently we’ve recognised the importance of actually taking some of our projects to production.  That became particularly apparent at the beginning of this year when, like so many small companies, our share price really took a serious hammering.  And we had to remind our shareholders and our investors where we were going.

So effectively we have four strategies:

One is to put key projects into production.

The second is, with some of our better exploration projects, to minimise the exposure and the financial risk by bringing in good joint venture partners.

The third is the early stage exploration projects – to take those forward ourselves and we continually hope that one of these will develop into a major discovery.

And the fourth, and still some way off yet, but clearly it’s something we have an eye on, is the opportunity for some form of merger and acquisition where we can actually move up to the next level and really move things forward much more rapidly and with more substance.

What progress has been made with Stratex’s gold exploration projects at Altintepe and Inlice in Turkey?
Harry, we’ve identified a very appropriate joint venture partner – a Turkish, privately owned company called NTF with major expertise in civil engineering and earth moving and contract mining.  They’re earning into the projects by taking us through feasibility on both – to the tune of $2 Million on Inlice and, subject to a $1/2 Million scoping study, to the tune of $2 ½ Million on Altintepe.  This takes away a considerable amount of the financial and technical risk to us.  We’ve already started scoping studies and pre feasibility studies funded by our partners NTF on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding.  They’re funding it to the tune of at least $50,000 a month and the work is progressing very well.

We’re close to signing the definitive agreement.  The only delay there has been in relation to tax structures and the capital structure of the joint venture company.  That should be signed early in the New Year.  And they themselves, NTF, are committed to making mining their core business in the future, which gives us a great deal of comfort as well.

What convinced Teck Resources to enter a joint venture with Stratex for the Hasançelebi high-sulphidation gold project in central Turkey and what progress has been made there?
Well Harry you might remember that Teck in fact were a founder shareholder in our company before we even listed – and that was on the basis of a degree of recognition that David Hall the Chairman, and myself had been round the block many times and could contribute something significantly to any future exploration.  Of course we’ve brought on board now Bahri Yildiz in Turkey, our General Manager and Geologist, and we’re moving forward.

Teck invested in the Konya project and put $1½ Million into that.  No major drill intersections were returned and they decided that it probably wasn’t quite for them.  And also of course Teck themselves have been through a pretty difficult time over the last year, but have restructured and are moving forward pretty positively now.

I think having restructured and taken a new look at life, they’ve always had a major focus on Turkey with a strong team there.

They’ve looked at our Hasançelebi project and they share the view that we have, that it’s a very substantially aerially extensive project and has a lot of gold upside.  800 metres plus of gold-bearing rock.  And they’re committed to spending $1/2 Million by the end of the next year.  This expenditure will include at least 2,000 metres of drilling, which they and we see as key to actually taking this project forward.

They can acquire 51% [50% is as stated in the interview but should have been 51% - up to you if you have to stay with the reported 50%] by expending a total of $2 Million and then taking that to 70% by expending a further $3 Million.

The work has already started.  It will slow down during the winter months.  But they’re very positive about the project.

What progress has been made with Stratex’s joint venture with Centerra Gold for the oxide high-sulphidation gold project in Central Anatolia in Turkey, Bob?
Excellent progress.  Just like Teck Resources, we regard Centerra as an ideal joint venture partner.  Considerable technical expertise and the appropriate cash to help us all go forward.

At this stage they’ve spent their first committed $1/2 Million to undertake drilling and further exploration of the key Ortacam Zone within the project itself.  The outcome of that most recently has been the press release on the 42 metres returning at 2 grams per ton of gold.  We’ve found them very supportive in all we do.  They take an intelligent and direct interest. – technical interest – in what we’re doing.  There will be a slight downtime now as we review data and allow the snows to disappear and in March/April we will be up and running again and we look forward to taking this forward.

They have the option to expending a total of 3 Million to get to 50% – that’s US dollars – and a further 3 Million to get to 70%.

Bob do you still believe there are some significant gold deposits undiscovered in Turkey?
Without doubt – the country is still very under-explored.  It’s a huge country with all the right geology, as geologists will tell you.  It’s probably a case that we’ve found the most obvious gold deposits sticking out at the surface.  And perhaps an element of maturity here now – we have to start looking for signs for what might be beneath the surface.  At this stage it only has to be a few tens of metres.   Subtle geochemical signatures, geophysical signatures.  We believe the upside is still very high and, although we have begun to look elsewhere outside Turkey, it is still our major focus of exploration, and will remain so for some years to come.

Stratex recently acquired 5.6% of Ethiopia-focussed Sheba Exploration plus an earn into Sheba’s Shehagne project and a joint venture with Sheba for other projects in Ethiopia.  What’s so compelling about Ethiopia and Sheba Exploration? Well Ethiopia geology-wise is just as exciting, for slightly different reasons, as Turkey and without doubt it’s more under-explored than Turkey.

It has two different kinds of geological terrains.  One that is very old, that’s 700 to 1,000 million years old, and one that’s very young.  Sheba has been focussing its exploration on the northern parts of Ethiopia and some of the oldest rocks there, with some early discoveries or indications of gold.  We liked what they were doing.  We’d read their press releases.  We’d done a diligence on their projects, obviously with their approval.  And we saw this as an excellent opportunity to establish a firm footprint in the country based on underlying assets, which we would then develop in conjunction with our new joint venture partners, while also looking elsewhere.

I think a key point to make here Harry is that some of the ground held by Sheba in the northern part of the country is just across the border from discoveries in Eritrea, which are of very major significance.  Sunridge’s, base metal and gold discoveries and also of course Nevsun’s major Bisha copper-zinc-gold deposit as well.  So all the indications are very positive.

Stratex recently announced the first discovery of epithermal gold mineralisation in Ethiopia.  What is the significance of this discovery and is this prospect part of your joint venture with Sheba Exploration, Bob? This is outside our current relationship with Sheba.  It actually represents the combination of two years of conceptual thinking, modelling and wondering where to explore for this kind of gold mineralisation.  Our analogy really was some of the gold mineralisation of southern parts of South America, particularly the Cerro Vanguardia gold deposit, a major multi-million-ounce vein-type deposit formed when the Atlantic Ocean began to open.

If you can imagine in Eastern Ethiopia and through Kenya of course we have the East African Rift.  That is a very young ocean attempting to be formed.  It was an obvious place to go and in fact our first visits there by David Hall and our exploration team came up with some strong indications.  And so on that basis we are very very excited about it.

What is Stratex’s financial situation going forward Bob?
Comfortable.  Way back in 2007 we were fortunate enough to raise £7 Million at a time when the markets just began to tremble – and long before the major convulsions of mid late 2008.  Since then of course we’ve been putting the money primarily into exploration in Turkey – in some good exploration projects which we’re now funding by joint ventures, so that minimises our financial risk.  Taking our two gold projects forward in Turkey of course has minimised our financial and technical exposure.

We’re virtually cash neutral in terms of expenditure in Turkey.  This gives us the opportunity to look elsewhere.  Add to this the fact that signing the definitive agreement with our partners NTF will put another $1 Million in the bank. And exploring in Turkey and given a discovery we actually can claim back a significant amount of VAT, so we’re due back the best part of another $1 Million over the next year or so.

So we don’t have to turn to the markets now.  We will turn to the markets when we feel it’s appropriate.  We’ve been given to understand that the markets rather like what we’re doing and we could raise money.  But we’re in a happy position to be able to pick and choose the appropriate time – and perhaps the appropriate events around which to raise money.

What news flow can investors expect over the next twelve to eighteen months from Stratex Bob? I think it’s a very positive view to take here Harry.  Of course the joint venture with our partners NTF with Inlice and Altintepe going through feasibility and, all being well, into production.  There’s going to be a long strand of news flow as we undertake the infill drilling, update resources on both projects, and metallurgical test work etc.

The remainder of the exploration projects in Turkey – things will be a little quiet over the next two to three months.  But come March-April we’ll be seeing a complete ramp-up of the exploration there and, with our two joint venture partners funding projects and our own exploration, there will be a lot to report.

And of course Ethiopia climate-wise at the very least allows us to explore all the year round and, with our two major projects there with our partners Sheba and with our new project in the Rift Valley, there will be a continuous news flow from that region as well – so a lot of news. Source: (ProactiveInvestors)

The African Union is urging the United Nations to boost its support for Somalia’s fragile government in view of the rise of terrorist activity in the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping calls the overall security situation in the Horn of Africa nation “unstable, volatile and challenging’.

In a report to the AU Peace and Security Council Friday, Ping notes several tragic security breakdowns in the past few months. The most recent was a suicide attack December 3 on a medical school graduation in Mogadishu that killed 25, including three government ministers. Another suicide attack in September on the headquarters of the AU peacekeeping mission, AMISOM, killed 20 people, mostly peacekeepers, including the deputy force commander.

Acting on Ping’s recommendation, the Council extended AMISOM’s mandate for another 12 months. The U.N. Security Council approved $210 million to fund the 5,200 AMISOM peacekeepers for the past seven months. But as the Council meets next week to review AMISOM funding levels, AU Peace and Security Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra is calling for Somalia to be seen not just as a breeding ground for terrorists, but as part of a region dotted with troubled states such as Eritrea and Yemen.

“We look forward to more bold decisions within the UN Security Council so that engagement of the international community would be commensurate with the challenges. These are not limited to local challenges, they go beyond, to include piracy, international terrorism, and these are of a global nature,” said Lamamra.

U.N. Special Representative to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah says several recent events have highlighted the Horn of Africa ‘s growing significance as a hub in the global terror network.

“It is today becoming…a global crisis, and the latest developments in Mogadishu with killing of students by a Somali coming from Denmark, or an attempt against a journalist in Denmark, and before that in Kenya is showing that Somalia is a global crisis,” said Ould-Abdallah. “Note the importance British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has attached to Somalia, linking it clearly to developments coming from Afghanistan or Yemen,” he added.

The latest AU report notes security in Somalia is complicated by a fight between two rival insurgent groups for control of a lucrative port city. Both groups, al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam are said to have links with al-Qaida.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Nigerian man accused of trying to detonate a bomb on a Detroit-bound airliner Christmas Day had met a radical U.S. Muslim cleric in Yemen after being recruited by al-Qaida in London.

Yemen, the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden, is 250 kilometers from the northern coast of Somalia across the Gulf of Aden, the busy waterway that has been the scene of hijackings by Somali pirates. Source: (Voice of America)

U.S. AFRICOM Public Affairs

PARIS, France, — AIDAN O’DONNELL (RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE): Thank you once again for speaking to us.

GEN. WILLIAM E. WARD: Sure.

MR O’DONNELL: Can I just ask you, first of all, you talked about increased professionalization of the various countries you’re working with – presumably better armies, better security. And the suggestion is that this leads to greater stability. Why do you feel that a better army will necessarily lead to greater stability and not to greater instability?

GEN. WARD: Because I think what you have is a – it’s not just a better army; it’s an army that functions in accordance with those things that we see as good principles, how they contribute to good governance, that responds to the legitimate government in ways that are not extrajudicial but are professional in accordance with what goes on.

If you take an example of Kenya, you know, 2 years ago, this time, Kenya was going through a very substantial governance issue associated with their elections. Their professional military stayed out of that because of that very fact — that it’s professional, and they knew how to operate in a democratic society where the army, the military, is not a part of those activities. And so we see a more professional military, not one that’s solely skilled in military tactics, but how it conducts itself – its behavior, its discipline – as a stabilizing factor.

MR O’DONNELL: You mentioned, once or twice, earlier, the question of border patrols. There are numerous clashes between various states on the very question of borders. If you’re helping a country to run a more efficient army along its border, presumably, this is giving an advantage to one country over another, in terms of a potential border dispute.

GEN. WARD: Well, the issue – and that’s why the regional business is so important. That’s why, as these nations work together regionally, that becomes increasingly, increasingly important to preclude the potential for that very thing happening. Recently, we were in East Africa – had an exercise that involved five East African nations – Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya -

MODERATOR: Uganda.

GEN. WARD: Uganda and Burundi?

COL CHILDRESS: Tanzania.

GEN. WARD: Tanzania. And they all worked together. In fact, as they were moving to conduct the exercise – the nations moving across each others’ borders – they were being greeted at the border by the next country and they were traveling together, so they all wound up in the exercise area to conduct a humanitarian assistance exercise — all together — so they get to know each other in a more effective way and their cooperating increases. It is that type of condition that we are supporting the creation of, as the nations have determined that they do, in fact, want to work together as better partners.

MR O’DONNELL: Okay. AFRICOM has asked to set it itself up in Tamanrasset and Gao. Have the respective governments approved this and will there be an installation at some point?

GEN. WARD: No, no, AFRICOM has not asked to set up in Gao or Tamanrasset. We have conducted training activities in those locations, as we have in other parts of the continent, as well. But in no way does it reflect any permanent presence.

MR O’DONNELL: Okay, we have the impression that al-Qaida in the Maghreb has abandoned the North African front to concentrate on the Sahel-Sahara strip. Is this the case and is this, for you, a new strategy on their part?

GEN. WARD: Well, I think al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb would seek to operate wherever it could find space to do so, and the vast regions of the Sahel there are areas that they would certainly look to move in. That’s why the nations of the Sahel increasing their capacity to have better control, better visibility over their vast territories, is an objective that we have, in working with those nations of the region, as well as working with other international partners.

MR O’DONNELL: Can you tell us something about the use of private military contractors by AFRICOM, or PMCs? They’re being used by African states, they’re being used by American companies and also by AFRICOM. To what extent are they being used, and are you satisfied that the necessary accountability is there?

GEN. WARD: AFRICOM does not use private military contractors.

MR O’DONNELL: Do you feel that this is something that might be used in the future, given that U.S. military resources are strained outside of AFRICOM?

GEN. WARD: I’m not envisioning that.

MR O’DONNELL: Okay. In August 2009, the U.S. assassinated a Shabaab leader using helicopters out of Mogadishu. What kind of information-gathering led to this, and is this something that we can expect to see in the future?

GEN. WARD: Well, I don’t know if I would characterize it as such. There are terrorists that are operating around the world, and our president has said, as well as the current administration, that we will pursue those terrorists, where they may be. And that is something that is an option that remains on the table.

MR O’DONNELL: In Northern Chad in 2008, we’ve seen Navy SEAL units – very small, very mobile – about 15 people – on intelligence-gathering missions. Can you tell us how widespread this kind of operation is around the continent?

GEN. WARD: I would not characterize any particular – I’m not sure what you’re talking about there. So I don’t know if there were Navy SEALS on some intelligence gathering mission at all. We do conduct security assistance and training missions with a range of our forces that operate, again, in these countries to provide training, support and assistance, as is coordinated by those partner nations. And that occurs as a part of our security assistance program in many parts of the continent.

SONIA ROLLEY (RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE): Do you believe that the threat of the Shabaab to go to Yemen and to help al-Qaida there is a real threat, or it’s just talk or for publicity?

GEN. WARD: As I mentioned, I think whenever these groups say that they’re going to do something, we would take them at their word that they would do that. And we would – that would be of a concern. So I take them at their word.

MS. ROLLEY: And you believe that they have the capacity to do it? You believe that they are still an important threat in Somalia, as before?

GEN. WARD: I think so. It doesn’t take a lot to be a threat. And so I think they say that they are going to do that and I take them at their word.

MS. ROLLEY: And what about the role of Eritrea? Do you believe that Eritrea is a key country in the region, with Somalia, for example, but also with Yemen? Do you have evidence that Eritrea is a key player in these terrorist activities in the region?

GEN. WARD: Well, I think it’s a function of how these countries work to help to prevent crisis – help to create stability, as opposed to not. And that is what we would like to see all the countries be active contributors in helping to create stability – don’t see a lot of that evidence from Eritrea.

COL CHILDRESS: We have time for one more question.

MR O’DONNELL: Just to come back, finally, to the question of military contractors, if you are operating in Africa, if the U.S. government is awarding contracts to American security companies who are operating in, say, Liberia, Sudan, Somalia, does this mean that you’re then working around these companies – these entities?

GEN. WARD: I’m not quite sure – you know, we have contractors in Africa. The contractors are there providing logistic support. I’m not aware of American security contractors or companies operating in Africa conducting security activities.

MR O’DONNELL: And do you believe that – are you having to have a closer look on Nigeria, for example, because of what happened with the terrorist attempt on the plane?

MS. ROLLEY: No. There are – we have not done anything different insofar as what we are doing. We work with the Nigerians. But we haven’t done anything different. What was going with the plane – our Transportation Security Administration — and those airport and flight safety requirements — is responsible for coordinating and working those with other nations who have flights that originate in their territories that are bound for the United States.

MR O’DONNELL: Thank you very much.

(END)

Book Cover

Chatham House is scheduled to release a new book titled “Eritrea’s External Relations: Understanding Its Regional Role and Foreign Policy” on January 15.

The press release reads as follows:

Eritrea is increasingly isolated, militarised, and misunderstood on the world stage. It has become vital to the stability of east and northeast Africa, and beyond. A focal point of violent insecurity across the region, Eritrea urgently requires better understanding on the part of policy-makers in the international community.

Eritrea’s External Relations: Understanding Its Regional Role and Foreign Policy, publishing 15th January 2010, is a pioneering assessment of the country’s regional role and foreign relations, representing the first significant analysis of those relations and the internal and regional dynamics which lie behind them, and bringing together the insights of several international analysts and scholars.

Eritrea’s External Relations argues forcefully that the international community must engage with the Eritrean Government as a matter of priority, and urges policy-makers to understand the country’s political culture as a first step toward its rehabilitation. It is argued that Eritrea’s diplomatic culture is rooted in a violent and misunderstood past, and makes the explicit connection between troubled foreign relations and external adventurism on the one hand, and a militaristic, oppressive political culture at home on the other.

The book explores the manner in which the lack of resolution in the conflict with Ethiopia – a failure in which the international community is complicit – continues to destabilise the region in unforeseen ways. Until this is addressed, there is no prospect of peaceful development in the region.

Eritrea’s External Relations makes recommendations for policy-makers as to how best to approach this embittered and aggressive regime, and how it might be made a partner rather than an opponent.

Eritrea’s External Relations makes clear that a failed state in Eritrea would be catastrophic both for the wider region and for international security, and that therefore new paths of engagement are absolutely essential in terms of both the stabilisation of external relations and the encouragement of some degree of liberalisation and demilitarisation inside Eritrea itself.

The Editor:

Richard Reid is Reader in the History of Africa in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He taught for several years at the University of Asmara in Eritrea and has also at Durham University. He is the author of War in Pre-Colonial Eastern Africa and A History of Modern Africa: 1800 to the Present.

He was guest editor of a special volume of the Journal of Eastern African Studies in 2007, dealing with identities in east and northeast Africa. He is also the author of several articles on modern Eritrea and Ethiopia, dealing particularly with the liberation struggle, the 1998–2000 war, and the current political situation.

Released by:

Chatham House has been the home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs for over eight decades. Its mission is to be a world-leading source of independent analysis, informed debate and influential ideas on how to build a prosperous and secure world for all. www.chathamhouse.org.uk

The Book at Amazon:

Eritrea’s External Relations: Understanding Its Regional Role and Foreign Policy

The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department (ECHO) has raised a red flag over the worsening food security situation in the Horn of Africa.

Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner in charge of development and humanitarian aid, attributes the disastrous situation to the terrible potential of climate change.

“Large parts of the Horn of Africa have had less than 75 percent of normal rainfall this year, having already endured a series of severe droughts. The population can no longer cope with such extreme and protracted hardship which often comes on top of conflict situation. As a result, more than 16 million people desperately need help,” he said in a statement released by ECHO.

Initial optimism occasioned by forecasts of El Niño rains were thwarted when November proved largely dry. El Niño refers to a periodic warming of temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, far from East Africa’s shores but with impacts on the country’s rainfall and weather patterns.

Samuel Mwangi, acting assistant director of Kenya’s national weather forecasting services explains that El Niño has been linked with greater rainfall during the annual “short rains” in East Africa, between October and December.

ECHO warns that if the December rains are below average, parts of Kenya may suffer irreparable damage.

ECHO regional information officer Daniel Dickinson told IPS, “In the face of the unfolding drought situation, ECHO is providing 50 million euros in humanitarian aid to vulnerable drought-affected people in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The rains have failed and people have exhausted the coping mechanisms which they had and urgently need help.”

Kenya’s minister for special programmes, Naomi Shaban, issued a similar warning in mid- December over the worsening food security situation across the country.

Speaking as she flagged off relief food worth $80,000 donated by Telkom Kenya and World Vision Kenya, Shaban said ten districts across the country are facing an imminent crisis in relation to food insecurity.

“Unfortunately, the country has experienced another season of failed rains which is expected to increase the current levels of food insecurity. Although Kenya’s food security is still on the borderline, many districts are at risk of sliding into an acute food and livelihood crisis. This situation is made worse by high food prices,” Shaban explained.

In Kenya, Dickinson says it is estimated 3.8 million people currently rely on humanitarian aid and the situation is worsening. with acute malnutrition above 20 percent in five districts.

The government of Kenya has increased its monthly spending on relief food to $1.3 million per month to assist those facing starvation. In early 2009, the government declared the unfolding food security situation a national disaster, stating that 10 million Kenyans were unable to access food.

In Ethiopia, ECHO reports indicate with several consecutive crop failures, the nutritional situation in that country has deteriorated badly and is expected to worsen further.

The story unfolding in Somalia is similar, with the situation aggravated by ongoing conflict. In Uganda, ECHO indicates 2.2 million people in northern Acholi and Karamoja regions face food insecurity.

According to Famine Early Warning Systems Network (which issues alerts on food insecurity) poor rains in November have revised prospects for widespread food security improvements that were expected to manifest toward the end of December in Kenya.

Those set to be adversely affected include pastoral households who already face unrelenting prices for food, an outbreak of cholera and heightened conflict over limited pasture and water in drought conditions.

However, Mwangi says sections of the country have experienced increased rainfall as predicted, which means good harvests will be recorded in certain areas.

“It must be pointed out that the poor performance of rainfall is not widespread across the country. There are areas that will still record good harvests from the rainfall received during the season.

In Coast, Northeastern, Eastern and Central Provinces, the rainfall was characterised by heavy storms in the second half of the month. This significantly enhanced the total rainfall amounts recorded in these provinces,” Mwangi says.

It is not clear whether good harvests in these areas will cover the predicted shortfalls in the rest of the country. Source: (IPS)

Horn of Africa

London based think tank Chatham House published a briefing paper on economic drivers of conflict and cooperation in the Horn of Africa.

According to the research agency, economic relations between nations in the Horn of Africa could play a vital role in bringing peaceful cooperation to the region. However, disagreement over territorial integrity, cultural nationalism and internal factionalism have economic elements which fuel conflict or are critical to its outcome.

Further, it states the Horn of Africa remains highly violent and conflict driven within and across national borders. The fact that the region is linked together through colonial occurrences, common ecological zones and cultural interdependence, explains why disputes in one country can have political and economic significance beyond its borders.

The termination of trade between Eritrea and Ethiopia after the 1998-2000 war represents an economic driver of conflict, the report states. The border closure between Eritrea and Ethiopia caused all Ethiopian trade to be redirected via Djibouti.

The growth of trade volumes via Djibouti went up from 1.7 million tonnes in 1997 to 3.1 million tonnes in 1998 and 4.2 million tonnes in 2002. Before the conflict the port of Assab was handling 80 – 85% of Ethiopia’s international trade, with only 15 – 20% passing through Djibouti.

According to the think tank a possible return of trade between Ethiopia and Eritrea will depend on a number of factors;

• The degree of development in the economic infrastructure of  Tigray
• The availability of finance to upgrade the ports of Massawa and Assab
• The degree of competitive measures applied from Djibouti
• Low cost operation costs at ports in Somalia (Berbera port fees 40% lower than those in Djibouti)
• The development of relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia
• The alternative of road supply routes with Sudan (cheap import and exports- only 45km from Tessenei)

For  more: plesae visit the Chatham House Web page

Summary points:

• Among the drivers of conflict in the Horn of Africa economic motivations have been ubiquitous and pervasive in prompting and sustaining conflict. At other times economic drivers have exhibited a potential for peaceful cooperation. An understanding of their role and relationship with other forces of change is essential.
• Conflict in the Horn frequently has economic impacts across national borders. This paper identifies four major zones of borderland insecurity in which informal trade as much as formal relationships can both sustain conflict and offer potential for post conflict cooperation.
• Underlying the various sub-regional conflicts are a number of recurrent economic themes, including access to sea ports, livestock as a basis for livelihoods, energy related issues, the wider impact of localized conflict, drought, land rights and remittances.
• The establishment of permanent peace can only be built upon a common set of values reflecting equity, tolerance and an acknowledgment of the potential of traditional institutions in entrenching community cohesion. Only on such a foundation will specific programmes be assured of harnessing those economic drivers necessary for their success.