Freezing of German development aid demanded

Germany must freeze its development aid for Ethiopia if Ethiopian troops are not immediately withdrawn from Somalia and all attacks on the neighbouring country ended. This demand was made by the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV) on Wednesday. "Germany and the European Union must set a clear signal that war is not a way of resolving conflict", said the GfbV Africa expert Ulrich Delius in Göttingen and warned that tens of thousands will be driven into the misery of being refugees. The Horn of Africa is a powder-keg and therefore everyone must be brought to account who wilfully plays with fire and so endangers the stability of a whole region.

Germany is the most important donor country to Ethiopia in Europe. In 2005 Berlin not only promised aid to the extent of 69 million euros for the next three years. In addition debts of 67 million euros were remitted to the country to speed up the fight against poverty. The German government must now make sure that Ethiopia´s war-mongering is not encouraged with this direct and indirect aid.

Ethiopia´s announcement that it would withdraw its troops within a week tends to lack credibility in view of the fact that they have been operating in Somalia since August 2006. "This war will not end in seven days, but threatens to turn into a conflagration", warned Delius. Ethiopia is trying to make capital out of standing up to Somalia´s Islamists. However the country is assiduously pursuing its own interests, which must not be financed by German taxes. Ethiopia and Somalia have been at war with one another several times since 1964 over Ogaden, an area rich in minerals. In the Horn of Africa it is not a matter of "bad" Islamists against "good" Ethiopians, as is often asserted in simplification, but both Somalia and Ethiopia are striving for expansion at the cost of the neighbouring country. The conflict is being accentuated by Eritrea´s lending support to the radical Muslims in Somalia in order to harm the hostile neighbouring country of Ethiopia.

"Ethiopia´s power elite is responsible for severe violations of human rights in Ogaden, over which Somalia and Ethiopia are fighting", said Delius. The Ethiopian security forces have acted with great brutality towards the Somali civilian population in order to break the resistance organisation Ogaden National Liberation Front. Since 1992 more than 2,900 people have disappeared and 2,030 persons killed by violence. The dispute with Somalia will escalate further since large deposits of oil and natural gas have been discovered in the region.

The GfbV voiced sharp criticism against the behaviour of the African union (AU). It is frittering away its competence as a regional intermediary because it has intervened one-sidedly on the side of Ethiopia.