AYAWAtAHIM!!!!!!!!! Mubarek tells Issayas...

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12/22/2005 - 17:41
Egyptian president advises Eritrea to cooperate with UN
Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said Mubarak was trying to prevent a dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia from escalating into renewed warfare.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak advised Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Thursday to cooperate with the United Nations in spite of any reservations he might have about some U.N. peacekeepers. Eritrea expelled Western members of a U.N. peace force last week out of frustration that a five-year-old peace accord with Ethiopia had not been implemented. Both countries have carried out military manoeuvres near the border in recent months. After talks in Cairo on Thursday between Mubarak and Isaias, Egyptian presidential spokesman Suleiman Awad said Mubarak was trying to prevent a dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia from escalating into renewed warfare.Eritrea complains that after five years on the ground the U.N. peace force has failed to implement a resolution calling for demarcation of the border. "The president (Mubarak) called on President Isaias to match his conviction in the justice of the Eritrean position and its right to see the resolution implemented ... with a wise approach in dealing with the United Nations as the organisation which represents international legitimacy," Awad told reporters.The 3,300 peacekeepers at the U.N. peacekeeping Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) have been monitoring the tense Eritrea-Ethiopia border since a 1998-2000 border war between the neighbours killed an estimated 70,000 people.A commission at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled this week that Eritrea violated international law when it attacked the border town of Badme in May 1998, triggering the war, but also said Ethiopian troops had looted and burned buildings in several towns and villages and had raped Eritrean women.

http://www.eitb24.com/noticia_en.php?id=113274

100% debt cancelation

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IMF to Extend 100 Percent Debt Relief to Ethiopia Under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative Mr. David Andrews, the IMF Mission Chief for Ethiopia, issued the following statement on December 22, 2005:

Press Release No. 05/292 December 23, 2005 International Monetary Fund 700 19th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20431 USA

"Under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, the IMF Executive Board has approved debt relief for Ethiopia (see Press Release No 05/286). As part of the Initiative, the IMF will provide 100 percent debt relief on all debt incurred by Ethiopia to the IMF before January 1, 2005 that remains outstanding. This amounts to approximately US$161 million, or US$114 million excluding remaining assistance under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. This debt relief should become available in early January as soon as the remaining consents of the contributors to the PRGF Trust Subsidy Account have been received. The international community has made these additional resources available to help Ethiopia make progress toward its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
"Ethiopia has qualified for IMF debt relief because of its overall satisfactory recent macroeconomic performance, progress in poverty reduction, and sound public expenditure management. In particular, Ethiopia has recorded two years of high economic growth, and rapidly expanding exports, while containing inflationary pressures. Commitment to adjust policies in response to emerging macroeconomic pressures also provides assurance that macroeconomic stability will be maintained. In addition, efforts to strengthen cash management systems and improve internal control and audit are underway. Performance in these areas provides assurance that resources made available under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative will be used effectively. " The IMF looks forward to working with Ethiopia to help it develop a strong and stable economy and to make sustained progress toward the MDGs," he said. IMF EXTERNAL RELATIONS DEPARTMENT Public Affairs: 202-623-7300 - Fax: 202-623-6278 Media Relations: 202-623-7100 - Fax: 202-623-6772

http://www.nieuwsbank.nl/en/2005/12/23/l028.htm

IMFIMFIMF...

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IMF backs down on attempt to back-track on promises of the G8 for debt cancellations to poor counties.
After 18 countries qualified to be beneficiaries of debt cancellations, IMF tried to put a last minute condition on 6 of them, Ethiopia is included there, before delivering on the G8 promise.

IMF called this a lie and all 18 countries are to have their debts to it canceled.

Who knows, maybe tomorrow, IMF will push aside the spokesperson who said the back-tracking was a lie and reinstate "the last minute decision" and add more hoops and hurdles in front of the 6 and say: "sych!!!!!!!!! You thought you were done? I don't think soooo!!!!"

for more:
http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=126464&region=5

Some 60 members of CUD are now in parliament.

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What are they doing to be effective?

http://www.ethiopianreporter.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1672
The Reporter puts it this way: CUD representatives deliberate on participation in parliament.

Two temporary whips elected.
Members of Parliament (MPs) representing the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) in the 547-member House are to meet on Monday to deliberate on ways of actively participating in the political life of the country. The MPs said it was their responsibility to make efforts to mobilize their participation in parliament now that they had taken their seats.According to some of the MPs, by Tuesday some 42 elected CUD members had gathered immediately after the 9th Regular Session of the House when Prime Minister Meles Zenawi presented a two-month report and decided that Ato Samson W. Yohannis, winner of the Awassa Constituency, and Assefa represent the MPs as whips by effectively engaging in all necessary dialogues with the Speaker of the House. The number of MPs, who joined ranks with that group has now grown to some 50, sources added. "Our representation is only temporary and other MPs would take over as soon as all urgent issues pertaining to the party like the imprisoned leaders etc. are resolved," Samson told The Reporter.
Formally nominating such representatives would save the CUD MPs a great deal of confusion and inactivity. MPs have had difficulty in finding out the exact agendas for discussion and even dates for parliamentary sessions since they had no whip who would supply them with such details from the House. "The meeting would dwell on the idea of how the MPs could participate in parliament, how the Speaker of the House would recognize the MPs, etc", Samson added.
Although as many as 69 MPs have so far taken up their seats thereby ending the boycott, they have so far not been able to make any meaningful participation in it except for raising hands.
Nevertheless, sources close to the party disclosed that Monday's meeting is to deliberate on other urgent issues such as creating unity among all the MPs. Sources said that so far 22 MPs from the All-Ethiopia Unity Party (AEUP), 20 from the Ethiopian Democratic Unity Party Medhin (EDUP-Medhin) and eight from the Rainbow Movement for Democracy and Social Justice have joined parliament, adding that some MPs have not yet joined the majority, which gave representation to the two individuals to start active involvement in parliament.
"It is of paramount importance that we make sure that all MPs are with us. We competed and won the election representing one party, the CUD, and although the EPRDF has put the legality of the CUD into question, we need to organize ourselves collectively and that's what we are attempting to do by Monday," another MP said. The MP added that Monday's deliberation would also dwell on ways of campaigning for the release of the CUD leaders in prison amongst other things.
Reporter: Posted on Saturday, December 17 @ 00:03:18 MST by staff
By Binyam Alemayehu

Can Eritrea pay up?

Eritrea found liable for Ethiopian war damage and blamed for starting the war, breaking int'l law!

Summary from Mail and Guardian:
The Ethio-Eritrea Claims Commission has found Eritrea liable to compensate Ethiopia for damages, the ministry of foreign affairs disclosed on Wednesday.It said in a statement that the commission has also found Eritrea liable for intentionally killing, beating and abducting Ethiopian civilians and for widespread looting and destruction of property during attacks and occupation of Ethiopian territory in border regions during the conflict.The commission was established five years ago under the comprehensive peace agreement between the two countries to determine responsibility for the 1998-2000 border conflict.In its decision made public on Monday, the commission found Eritrea responsible for the two-and-a-half-year border conflict, and exposed it as the aggressor, the statement by the ministry of foreign affairs said.The ministry did not give the amount of compensation Ethiopia claims from Eritrea, but informed sources say it runs into hundreds of millions of dollars."These awards are of monumental significance in exposing Eritrea as the aggressor and the belligerent nature of the regime in the current impasse in the peace process," the statement said. -- Sapa-DPA
Also CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa
/12/21/eritrea.ethiopia.reut/

The full report:
http://www.pca-cpa.org/ENGLISH/RPC/#Eritrea-Ethiopia%20Claims%20Commission
http://www.eitb24.com/noticia_en.php?id=113053