The Afar problem… States and federal system… The question of the nationalities…

(Les nouvelles d’Addis, 8th of March 2007, by e.mail)

Les nouvelles d’Addis. Is there an Afar problem in Ethiopia and more widely in Horn of Africa ?

Yussuf Yassin. As you might know, the Afars inhabit Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti in the Horn. In reality, this means, that Somalia is the only country in the Horn in which they do not live. But the fact remains they are also closely related to Somalis, more than any other ethnic group in the sub-region. This sub-region of Africa is also known as North-eastern Africa. The Afar triangle is in the very heart of this north-eastern part of our continent. The Afars share borders with the major nationalities in the region; namely, the Oromoos, the Amharas, the Somalis and the Tigraiys. So it goes without saying that they are at the essential core of almost all the major conflicts such as water and pasturage that bedevil and muddle the sub-region but also conflicts over salt mining , sea outlet, strategically placed roads, border demarcation, decentralization of power, violation of human and democratic rights, economic marginalization. You name it.

In Ethiopia the Afars are one of the more than 80 nationalities which the country is comprised of. In Eritrea they are one of the 10 nationalities. In the Republic of Djibouti they live side by side with the Somali Issas. Together they have their mini-state since Djibouti’s independence in 1977. In spite of their ethnic tensions, discord and strife that flared up in an armed insurgence as in 1991-1995 in Djibouti they don’t shoot at each other on sight as they do in the neighbouring Ethiopia particularly on the Addis Ababa-Djibouti- Assab main road. At the heart of the problem lies the equitable distribution of the meager resources and positions in the state bureaucracy and apparatus.

In Eritrea it is a taboo to speak of the existence of different nationalities except in the folklore performances. The Afars have little to be happy about in that country. The majority of them were against the secession of Eritrea from Ethiopia from the outset. They carry the burnt of all the problems in that country. Above all they looked upon as a threat to the mere existence of the state as they claim the Red Sea coastline in whose absence Eritrea loses its reason d’etre. The Afars inhabit more than 2/3 of Eritrea’s coastline.

83 % of the populations of the Horn are Ethiopians. The majority of the Afars are also Ethiopians. The biggest chunk of Afar Triangle is also here. It is here that they have their most important Sultanate; namely that of Awssa. It is the land of Afaransis (Lucy). It is also here that they have their autonomous region with all its limitations and problems of application. It is also in Ethiopia they are doomed to fight for their survival against all odds of nature. The Afars are one of the most marginalized groups in the country. That is why they fight against all the successive Ethiopian regimes. The recent kidnapping of the European tourists has only drawn attention to ordeal of the abducted, but little to the plight and struggle of the Afars for mere survival.

LNA. Does the Ethiopian government be in advance on the other states of the sub-region in concern with resolution of the nationalities issues because it has established a federal system ?

YY. I think I should say “in principle” yes. Simply because, the federal system is supposed to give them, again “in principle” not only a fair share of power in their region but also an equitable distribution of national wealth. That is what is stated in the Constitution of Federal Republic of Ethiopia. The Afars have their own regional State (kilill) in which they are supposed to exercise their self-government. But, as in all the regional states the Afar kilill is ruled by the TPLF/EPRDF stooges who cannot only raise a finger to stop the interference of the ruling party in the most petty of the Afar affairs , but also cannot ,on the other hand, solve the pettiest of their grievances, leave alone, the bigger issues such as expropriation of Afar fertile land in the Lower (TANDAHOO) and upper Awash(SABURE), the military campaign on the Afars by the Somali-issas from the East , the monopolizing the Afar salts concessions in Afdera predominantly by Tigrai merchants. Those are the major issues which are all at the heart of Afar’s struggle against this regime.

LNA. If this federal system would really be applied, would not it incite to the splitting of Ethiopia ?

YY. I don’t think so. I can understand the concern and fear on the part of some compatriots, but it is not the application of federal system that poses a threat to the country’s territorial integrity. The nationalities in the regions are not empowered and here lies the real problem with Ethiopian federal system .On the contrary, it is the non-application and lop-sided application and irresponsible manipulative machinations of the Tigrai minority group as represented by the ruling TPLF that poses a danger to the unity of Ethiopian state. This group sows discord and hatred among various nationalities of Ethiopia and misuses the federal arrangement for keeping them in perpetual conflict to insure their minority hegemony. In this perpetual war of all against all, leave alone, the minorities in peripheries such as the Afars but even the two main nationalities in the country the Oromoos and the Amharas are kept at bay from decision making process.

The fixation of some about the absolute unity of the country and their nostalgic portrayal of the Imperial and Derge’s Ethiopia as an oasis of idyllic communal peace between nationalities and religious groups is not only false ,but poses also danger. Equally, The simplified notion and belief that Ethiopians cannot devise a formula for living side by side in peace and prosperity in future simply because of perceived historical wrongful acts will not promote understanding and unity among Ethiopian people.

LNA. Some Ethiopian opposition forces criticize the “ethnic” federalism. Do they have alternative solutions ?

YY. I am sure they have their own alternatives as no political organization in today’s Ethiopia can advance and promote a political platform of opposing or dismantling ”in principle” the federal arrangement. Some of the opposition groups you might have in mind are not against the decentralization of power and empowerment of the nationalities in their regions per se. They might have their concern about the appropriateness of the ethnic criteria predominantly used as basis to crave out the territorial boundaries of federal states.

LNA. What are the main demands of Ugugumo (ARDUF) ?

YY. Historically ugugumo started in the remote part of north eastern area of the Afar Triangle where the British tourists were recently abducted as a home grown grass – roots resistance movement against the TPLF in 1970’s. Later when Eritrea become independent and the two rebel groups TPLF and EPLF became the ruling parties in Ethiopia and Eritrea respectively the movement continued with a new pan-Ethiopian momentum for the reunification of Red Sea Afar coastline to Ethiopia with the slogan of “Aasa Baday,N’agata” (Red Sea is our home land). By the way, the Afars call them ”namma Tigre” (the two Tigrai groups) as both speak Tigrinya and the Afars seem not to discern any difference between them.

It fights as well against all types of Afar marginalization. Although with a diminished strength and intensity, in spite of the all the ups and downs caused by the betrayal of some of its leaders the movement seems to be still active as the recent tourist abduction corroborated.

LNA. How do you place Ugugumo (UGUGUMO) in the Ethiopian political scene ?

YY. As I pointed out earlier, the Ugugomo started as local popular uprising in Brahalie area in 1970’s hence its name in Afar-af the ugugumo or the Uprising. Later after the independence of Eritrea its ranks were joined by some former members of Afar National Liberation Movement(ANLM). It took over a national and regional dimension as it become ARDUF. Its new platform fighting for the reunification of the Afar Red Sea coastline with the Ethiopian Afarland bestowed on it Pan-Ethiopian obligations.

It cannot be a separatist movement as is repeatedly asserted by the western media as it fights for reunification and not separation. On the contrary, it is clear that their main objective is fighting against the separation of the Red Sea Afars from the rest of Ethiopia. The Ugugumo leaders who joined “the greener pasture” in the kilill (region) or in Addis Ababa could provide an alibi for Afar representation in the center but, they will always be strangers to the power game of the power elites vying for the control of central state.

LNA. Beyond the defence of the fundamental interests of Afar people, does Ugugumo have a global vision on Ethiopia and Horn of Africa ?

YY. I am not sure that this movement has a global vision of Ethiopia or for that matter that of Horn of Africa, broadly speaking. The year 1991 heralded very important developments in the Horn. It was a year of great upheavals. Both the Derge of Mengistu Haile Mariam and Zaid Barre in Somalia were uprooted by their opponents in this year. The year saw the birth of Eritrea as an independent state. As an immediate cause of Eritrea’s independence Ethiopia was land-locked as it lost its Afar coastal region and Assab port. The Afars lost their Autonomous Region of Assab as it was dismantled by the triumphant Eritreans. It was also in the same year that the Afar insurgents under the leadership of FRUD posed a serious threat to the mini-state of Djibouti. The Djibouti government accused the Afar militias of the defunct Mengistu regime in Ethiopia of extending a helping hand to their kin and kith in Djibouti. It was also in this year that Ugugumo launched its struggle for the reunification of Red Sea coastline and nullification of Ethiopia’s recent land-locked ness. Making Ethiopia a Red Sea coastline state was a task that the Afars has to shoulder with Ethiopian nationalists. The Afars become part of the equation. As the Afars are found in the three African Horn countries they are not part of the problem but, they can always be a bridge of understanding among the states. They can push for more understanding among the peoples and states of the sub-region. Any type of cooperation and integration draw their unification nearer. I am not so sure that Ugugumo’s leaders are armed with such articulated vision, but they realize definitely that their fate is bound with the fate of all the peoples of the sub-region.

LNA. In your opinion, is there a lasting solution for nationalities problems in the frame of the present state structures of Horn of Africa ?

YY. We have seen the problem with present state structures, closely. Even in Ethiopia that has opted for a federal arrangement the picture leaves much to be wished. That does not mean that finding a workable and operational formula for a lasting solution is an impossible task. The formula could be found both in the state structure of each state as well as in any form of union and cooperation among all states. As we have seen above the Horn is composed of people of Ethiopian stock and Somali stock as Eritrea was part of Ethiopia recently. The major ethnic groups in Djibouti the Afars and Somali-Issas are related to both groups. But the individual states have to democratize themselves first. Local empowerment of groups in a stats structure is democracy in action.

(*) Former researcher in the Peace Research Institute (Oslo), political analyst of the Horn of Africa