In this issue: * ELIASSON RESIGNS * TITANIC'S LAST CRUISE? * VICIOUS TONGUES ____________________________________________________________________ S O M A L I A N E W S U P D A T E ____________________________________________________________________ Vol 2, No 34 November 27, 1993. ISSN 1103-1999 ____________________________________________________________________ Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and fax. Questions can be directed to Bernhard.Helander@antro.uu.se or to fax number +46-18-151160. All SNU marked material is free to quote as long as the source is clearly stated. ____________________________________________________________________ ELIASSON RESIGNS Addis Ababa, November 27, 1993 - Somalia's curse on the UN and its high-ranking officials has claimed another victim. The Under- Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, has announced his resignation today. His contract officially runs until February. Nonetheless, he is still expected to arrive in Addis Ababa today to chair the Fourth Coordination Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia scheduled to start on Monday. Mr Eliasson will follow UN Special Representatives to Somalia, Mohamed Sahnoun and Ismat Kittani, as the latest in a series of sacrifices on the altar of the UN's folly. Ironically, Eliasson's position, and his Department of Humanitarian Affairs were created by the UN General Assembly in December 1991, partly in response to the tragedy unfolding in Somalia. Like medieval barons, the leaders of the UN's "specialized" agencies, such as UNICEF and UNDP, jealous of their turf and independence, fought bitterly to strangle the DHA at birth. Ms Madeline Albright, the United States' Ambassador to the United Nations, made a strong but belated speech of support for the DHA and Mr Eliasson to the UN General Assembly on November 19 in which she urged the UN humanitarian agencies to accept DHA's leadership in coordinating responses to humanitarian emergencies and said "that may require some loss of customary independence, but it will result in major gains in overall effectiveness". However, Mr Eliasson seems likely to throw in the towel and head back to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he worked for Olof Palme for many years. The Fourth Coordination Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia starts on Monday, with or without Mr Eliasson in the chair (see below). Its provisional agenda covers three major areas: "the continuing emergency," "towards reconstruction and rehabilitation" and "transition to economic management and governance". The meeting is expected to end on December 1. In its desire to appear even- handed, and to keep numbers of delegates below the 700 who attended the last conference at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the UN has taken a back seat in the choice of Somali participants. It has asked the regions each to provide five representatives and the 15 factions plus the SNM two each. No names have been specified. One of the unfortunate results of this is that the Somali NGOs have no guarantee of adequate representation. From the UN side, Special Representative Admiral Howe, Under- Secretary-General James Jonah (also said to be resigning by the London Independent) and Eliasson will be hosted by the notorious Layashi Yaker, Executive Secretary of the UN's Economic Commission for Africa, renowned for his tedious speeches, described by a major donor representative at the last conference in March 1993, as "better than a dose of Valium". From the Somali side, it is rumoured that Robert Oakley, the US Special Representative to Somalia has specifically encouraged General Aidiid to come. The US, in an unclassified State Department telex to its Ambassadors, has stated its hope that the conference will "provide a forum for dialogue among Somali regional and factional representatives leading to a resumption of progress toward political reconciliation." These political discussions are expected to take place after the formal conference has ended, and the US may be willing to pay the additional hotel bills and expenses for an extension, which the Ethiopians had to pick up last time. TITANIC'S LAST CRUISE? (SNU, Uppsala, November 27) - A United Nations conference on Somalia billed as the last chance for peace in the broken Horn of Africa country opens in the Ethiopian capital on Monday. The three-day meeting is expected to review humanitarian assistance and tackle the thorny issue of political reconciliation in Somalia. In a UNOSOM press release it is said that "the discussions are expected to focus on the responsibilities of Somalis for both the creation and maintenance of a secure and safe environment as well as the consequences of continuing insecurity and instability". The importance of this is of course that with the bulk of the peace- keeping troops hiding in their barracks, the only weapon left for UNOSOM is to point out that there is a good chance that it will begin phasing out its operation unless substantial progress in security and demobilization is achieved before March 31 next year. With street violence increasing and spreading into the country- side and technicals patrolling the streets of Mogadishu, just as before the arrival of the UNITAF last December, desperation is spreading among UNOSOM's officers. Some are already describing their remaining duties as "rearranging the deck-chairs on Titanic". A fitting metaphor given the fact that UNOSOM is headed by an Admiral. "The conference [in Addis Ababa] is seen as most decisive for Somalia. It is a make or break situation and Somalis must take the advantage and come to terms with themselves", an African diplomat involved in the Somali peace effort told Reuters. "Unless Somali faction leaders...agree to work for peace and reconciliation before the withdrawal of American forces serving under UNOSOM, they must know that the chances for a Somali nation to exist are nil," he added. UN officials said Reuters that the Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi who has brokered several meetings aimed at promoting a peace accord between the warring Somali factions will preside over the political aspect of the conference. Menes is expected to base reconciliation efforts on a peace accord signed by 15 Somali factions in Addis Ababa last March. The accord calls on the faction leaders to set up a federal- style Transitional National Council (TNC) in which all of the 18 regions of Somalia will take part. The TNC will have a two-year mandate to serve as a central administration before national elections are held to set up a democratically chosen government. However, it may well be that the diplomatic expectations on the outcome of the conference are too high. It remains uncertain whether any of the factional leaders will actually show up in Addis. The conference is intended to be a meeting ground for some 90 delegates from Somalia's 18 regions. Aideed has said that he will come as well, in which case the leaders of the 12 factions opposed to Aideed - the so-called Somali Salvation Alliance - has promised not to come. It is also expected to be attended by representatives of donor Governments, regional and multilateral organizations and organizations and agencies of the United Nations and international non-governmental organizations. The Conference will be held at the Conference Centre of the Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa. It was to be chaired by Jan Eliasson, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. However, since Eliasson just resigned (see above) it is unclear who will assume the chairmanship. Five discussion papers have been circulated among the delegates and the factional leaders. The papers are on the following topics: The Continuing Emergency; The Resettlement of Displaced Persons and Refugees; The Productive Sector, Commerce and Trade; The Rehabilitation of Social Services, Education, Health, Water and Sanitation; and The Transition to Economic Management and Governance. The conference will also review how much of the $163 million pledged by donors for Somalia has actually been disbursed. Many donors are reported to be increasingly hesitant to run operations in Somali with daily death-threats from the militias and with the foreign forces about to pull out. VICIOUS TONGUES (SNU, Uppsala, November 27) Said in a Texan home: "Well son, did you catch the gang-leader?" "Aideed not!" ____________________________________________________________________ SNU is an entirely independent newsletter devoted to critical analysis of the political and humanitarian developments in Somalia and Somaliland. SNU is edited and published by Dr. Bernhard Helander, Uppsala University, Sweden. SNU is produced with support from the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, Sweden. ____________________________________________________________________