John Oyuke
21 March 2006
Nairobi — The European Union wants Inter Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) members to sign a treaty that would usher in stability, security and development in the Horn of Africa.
The EU also said it was willing to give Igad Sh344 million to deal with migration and refugees. European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, said such a regional pact would complement programmes to address cross-border issues.
He expressed hope that Igad leaders would kick-start such a process, which would be followed by dialogue on regional challenges common to Igad members. Michel identified such challenges as democratic governance, conflict, food security, resource sharing, security and religious fundamentalism.
"The basic objective is to break the cycle of conflict in the region," he said during the opening session of the Igad Heads of State summit in Nairobi. He said the pact should involve the African Union and the League of Arab States.
He said the EU would help implement the pact, along with other partners. He said the EU was ready to strengthen Igad for the purpose of ensuring peace, security and development in the region.
Call for dialogue
Meanwhile, President Kibaki assumed Igad and called for an end to the Ethiopia-Eritrea war. Kibaki, who took over from President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, also called on Somalis to support the new government.
"We ask Ethiopia and Eritrea to adhere to the December 2000 Algiers peace agreement and the relevant United Nations Security resolutions. Kenya believes dialogue is the only effective way of easing tensions," said Kibaki.
Other presidents present were Sudan's Omar Bashir, Menes Zenawi of Ethiopia and Djibouti's Ismail Umar Guelleh. The President of Eritrea, Isaias Afewerki, sent Agriculture minister Arfeine Berre as his representative.
Kibaki urged Igad members to address challenges that hinder the organisation's progress. He said poor infrastructure and communication held back intra-regional trade.
He said famine was a setback to development in the region and called for regional co-operation. "Our region is prone to climatic extremes. Igad members are facing lengthy drought that has resulted in severe famine and heavy loss of livestock," he said.
Heads of State Menes Zenawi of Ethiopia , Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Mwai Kibaki (Kenya), Omar Bashir (Sudan) and Djibouti's Ismail Umar Guelleh, and Eritrea's minister of Agriculture Arfaine Berre, stand for prayers before the opening of the 11th Igad Ordinary Summit.
The President was hopeful that the peace process in Sudan would hold.
"Kenya congratulates the people of Sudan for the implementation of the peace agreement. We are confident that this will have a positive impact towards other conflicts in that country," he said.
He urged Igad's partners to support post-conflict reconstruction in Sudan and Somalia. He said piracy along the Somalia coast was cause for concern in the region and among international maritime organisations.
"I call upon Igad and the international community to join hands in fighting piracy," he said.
Post-conflict problems
And Ugandan's President Yoweri Museveni urged Igad members to assemble a force to protect the new Somalia government from militias.
The outgoing Igad chairman said Somalia was undergoing post-conflict problems, which could be solved by training an army, a police force, magistrates and a civil service.
"The post-conflict problems are easy to manage. You cannot have peace unless you have an army," said Museveni.
He said lack of co-operation among Igad members had turned small problems into big ones.
"Uganda and a few other countries are ready to send forces to Somalia to help (the government) to secure itself and start building a national army," he said.
Museveni said other countries had done the same in the past.
"In the case of Somalia, we were told that they were allergic to foreigners including us. That they preferred continued fratricide. I was not sure about the analysis," he said.
He called on Igad to help Somalia pay for the upkeep of militias in Baidoa. He said the transitional government had peacefully mobilised militias in Baidoa not to obstruct the location of the government there. He praised the co-operation between his country and Sudan, which, he said, had forced the Lord's Resistance Army to relocate from Southern Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
"The co-operation between the Sudan, SPLM and Uganda on the issue of the terrorist group led by Joseph Kony is a good example," he said.
Museveni said remnants of LRA had fled to DRC's Garamba National Park. He said United Nations forces controlled the area.
"We should use the same co-operation to decimate the group," he said.
He said Igad members needed to work as a team to resolve common problems such as famine and called on the group to establish intra-regional trade.
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