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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Sat Aug 20 2011 - 18:20:51 EDT
Afewerki: Igad should seize the moment
Posted Saturday, August 20 2011 at 17:18
SECURITY MATTERS of the troubled Horn of Africa dominated debate in local,
regional and international media last week, and with good reason.
Reclusive Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, the man who fought a bloody
war with neighbouring Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000, and has been accused
of stoking terrorism in Somalia, made an historic visit to Kampala at the
invitation of President Yoweri Museveni. Make no mistake; Museveni wields
substantial influence in the region. But this is not to say Afewerki should
be dismissed just because his presumed Al Shabaab protégés are beaten for
now, and out of Mogadishu.
There is more to Somali issues than just the temporary defeat of an Islamist
faction. Here is a divided country that has had no central government for
decades and is now facing a massive famine. On its own, the highly contested
Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu has no control over any
institution without the support of Amisom or the European Union.
It is for this reason that Afewerki is a central cog of the machinery that
seeks to stabilise Somalia. He must now be reintegrated into the agenda of
the Inter Governmental Authority on Development as a force that can sway
Somali Islamists towards a national consensus.
As for Eritrea, Igad must negotiate a truce that will soothe the Security
Council and stop the looming sanctions on Asmara, considering that it is
ordinary Eritreans who will suffer the effect of these sanctions, not
Afewerki.
This is the time to salvage regional pride and security, and give Somalis a
chance to rebuild. Igad should seize the moment; Afewerki’s Kampala visit
should be hailed as a step towards ending the Somali tragedy.
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