19 May 2000
Congressional Lawmakers Examine Horn of Africa Crisis
(U.S. praised for "proactive approach") (950) By Charles W. Corey Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The International Relations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives took time from its crowded legislative calendar May 18 to focus on the crisis in the Horn of Africa, in which the lives of 16 million people are now at risk because of persistent drought -- and because precious natural resources and money needed to combat the natural disaster are being consumed by the Ethiopia-Eritrea border war. Committee Chairman Benjamin Gilman (Republican of New York) set the tone for the hearing on the crisis in the region, by reminding guests and those testifying that the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea is "inextricably linked to the famine." "In southeastern Ethiopia and in parts of the central highlands, food shortages have reached a critical stage," he said, while asserting that "the cycle of famine in Ethiopia will not be broken, however, for as long as the government continues to spend a third of its budget on the military." Gilman cited figures from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which estimate that Ethiopia spent $467 million on its military last year -- what he called a "dramatic increase over previous years." Sadly, he said, "economic development efforts have been put on hold while scarce resources are committed to the war effort." He added: "Let us be very plain: what is taking place in Ethiopia today is a man-made disaster. Without the war, there would be no famine. The decisions of the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea have directly contributed to the dire condition of their populations." Taking a historic look at the border conflict, Gilman recalled that "this is the same pattern we saw in the early 1980s when the horrific Dergue regime under Mengistu used famine to make war on its own people. How regrettable that the current governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia, which had valiantly fought against the Dergue, now share this aspect with it." Reinforcing that point was Ed Royce (Republican of California), who chairs the House Subcommittee on Africa. "Today we are looking at a macabre scenario in which both nations are spending tens of millions of dollars and hundreds of millions of man hours on war ... all the while, millions starve. I'm not going to pull any punches: this is gruesome and a gross devaluing of human life by both sides. The international community must speak out against this sad chapter in Africa's history, including imposing an arms embargo, and I commend the Clinton administration for pushing that at the U.N." The committee first turned to Catherine Bertini, executive director, World Food Program and Special Representative of the U.N. secretary-general to the Horn of Africa, for her perspective on the crisis. Bertini, who had just returned from the region, said the crisis has not yet reached the famine stage, but that it "can easily" enough unless preventative measures are taken now. Testifying from London via teleconference, Bertini said three consecutive years of poor rainfall have been debilitating to the people of the Horn and their animals. Food stores are gone, water is scarce, and "health conditions are deteriorating," she stressed. "If we do not move quickly and efficiently, the potential scale of the crisis is enormous ... in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the southern part of Sudan. Conservative estimates of the food requirements already exceed 1 million tons for this year," she warned, but "ongoing detailed assessments in several of these countries are likely to yield even higher numbers." Bertini said the current pipeline for food aid looks secure into the summer, but she cautioned that additional, significant pledges will be needed from the international community. The United States, which has already provided generous assistance, can help even more by: -- extending even more its contributions for food, but also helping to provide water, medicines, and livestock; and -- helping to upgrade Berbera and Djibouti port facilities and roads leading into and out of those ports; Also testifying was Hugh Parmer, assistant administrator, Bureau for Humanitarian Response, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Parmer, who visited the region earlier this year to assess the situation, said that an additional 175,000 metric tons of food has been secured for Ethiopia, plus 50,000 metric tons for other countries in the Horn -- bringing the total U.S. assistance package to 909,000 metric tons. USAID, he added, anticipates that it will have to increase its estimates of those in need when new disaster assessments are made in June. A new agency Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) has been sent to the region and is expected to arrive May 18, he noted. Asked if the war has affected U.S. emergency food aid to the region, Parmer said the Clinton administration "has never made a linkage between the behavior of Ethiopia and Eritrea in their conflict and our commitment to providing humanitarian assistance. ... There was no delay, at least on the part of the U.S. government, that was related to political or policy issues." He told the lawmakers that the "epicenter" of the "near famine" is in the south and the war is in the north of the region. So, "at this point," he said, "it has not physically impaired our ability to deliver goods." One worry, however, he said, "is the availability of sufficient trucking capacity to transport emergency food shipments to those in need," in light of the demands of war in both Ethiopia and Eritrea. (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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