H O R N O F A F R I C A

** H O R N O F A F R I C A **

CLANDESTINE AND UNOFFICIAL BROADCASTS
(SWB 16 Mar 95)
The following list gives brief details of broadcasts by political, humanitarian or international organizations to countries covered by Part 5 of the SWB and supersedes that published in ME/1748 on 23rd July 1993. Stations are listed under their target country. In general, transmissions from state- owned stations and from licensed commercial broadcasters have been omitted.

Monitoring of some broadcasts has been irregular and inclusion of a station or programme in this list does not necessarily mean it was confirmed as active at the time of publication...

ERITREA

Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea is the official radio of Eritrea, based in Asmara. For over a decade prior to the defeat of the Mengistu government in May 1991 it had operated on a clandestine basis in support of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and other opposition groups.

ETHIOPIA

Free Radio Voice of Ethiopian Unity was first monitored on 17th November 1993 broadcasting in Amharic via a transmitter also used by Radio Moscow's Amharic service. It is hostile to the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments. The radio gave a P.O. Box address in Washington DC, USA. In its mode of operation, political line and contact address it is very similar to the Voice of Ethiopian Patriotism, a station monitored in October and November 1992, also broadcasting from transmitters in the former Soviet Union. Free Radio Voice of Ethiopian Unity was heard again in October 1994, having been unheard since January 1994.

Radio Torch (Amharic: Fana) is operated by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF, the ruling coalition). It was inaugurated on 7th November 1994. Radio Torch appears to have replaced two earlier EPRDF stations - Voice of the Ethiopian People for Peace, Democracy and Freedom, and Voice of the Broad Oromo Masses (see below) - which broadcast in Amharic and Oromo respectively from shared transmitter facilities. The broadcasts of Radio Torch echo the line taken by Radio Ethiopia, the government station in Addis Ababa.

Voice of the Broad Oromo Masses. A former clandestine radio during the Mengistu regime, which continued broadcasting from Addis Ababa after his downfall. It has been replaced by Radio Torch (see above). The radio supported the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (a component of the ruling EPRDF).

Voice of the Ethiopian People for Peace, Democracy and Freedom. A former clandestine radio during the Mengistu regime, which continued broadcasting from Addis Ababa after his downfall. It has been replaced by Radio Torch (see above). It supported the EPRDF.

Voice of the Tigray Revolution. A former clandestine radio during the Mengistu regime, it now operates from Mekele (capital of Tigray region, northern Ethiopia) and supports the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), a component of the ruling EPRDF.

Voice of Oromo Liberation broadcasts on behalf of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and in opposition to the Ethiopian government. In February 1995 the radio was heard again for the first time in over two and a half years, broadcasting via a private shortwave station in the USA.

The previous series of broadcasts by Voice of Oromo Liberation, which began in June 1988 and was last heard in June 1992, emanated from a transmitter in Sudan, and the cessation of these broadcasts was linked at the time to an improvement in relations between the Sudanese and Ethiopian governments.

Unconfirmed reports at the end of March 1993 said that Voice of Oromo Liberation had resumed broadcasting via the facilities of WWCR (Worldwide Christian Radio), a shortwave station in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

In February 1995 Voice of Oromo Liberation was heard broadcasting via the facilities of WHRI (World Harvest Radio International), a shortwave station in Indiana, USA. Its broadcasts, in the Oromo language, included commentaries critical of the Ethiopian government and calling on the Oromo people to wage an armed struggle against it.

SOMALIA

Radio Mogadishu, Voice of the Somali Republic. A shortwave station loyal to Ali Mahdi Muhammad, the self-styled "president of the Somali Republic". Believed to be based in the Kaaraan district of northern Mogadishu, Ali Mahdi's stronghold. First heard in March 1992.

Radio Mogadishu, Voice of the Somali People. A shortwave station loyal to the Somali National Alliance led by Gen Muhammad Farah Aydid. First heard on 19th July 1993, it replaced the main Radio Mogadishu mediumwave station destroyed by UN/US forces on 12th June 1993. Until April 1994 it described itself as "Voice of the Great Somali People". It is assumed to be based in southern Mogadishu.

Radio Free Somalia/Voice of Free Somalia. A shortwave station broadcasting from Gaalkayo in the Mudug region of northeast Somalia. It began broadcasting on 18th August 1993, in Somali and English. The radio was set up with assistance from radio amateurs from Australia. It has described itself as "free from politics" and not part of any group or organization. After being off the air for a period, the station was monitored again in December 1994.

Radio Manta ("Radio Today") was the UN station in Mogadishu during the period of UN involvement in Somalia which ended in March 1995. Initially named Radio Rajo ("Radio Hope") and set up by the US Operation Restore Hope in January 1993, it changed its name to Radio Manta in May 1993 following the handover of the international operation in Somalia from the US-led Unified Task Force (Unitaf) to the United Nations Operation in Somalia (Unosom).

Somaliland

Radio Hargeisa, Voice of the Republic of Somaliland. Self- explanatory name. Operates a low-powered shortwave transmitter. A Hargeisa newspaper reported in November 1994 that the Somaliland government had purchased a new "high- powered national radio station".

Radio Awdal (region in northwestern Somaliland).Shortwave station run by the Gadabursi clan in the town of Boorama, northwest of Hargeisa and close to the Ethiopian border.

AFRICANS DECIDE TO BOOST REGIONAL LINKS AT IGADD SUMMIT (Reuter 18 Apr 95, by Tsegaye Tadesse) ADDIS ABABA - Six leaders in a regional Eastern Africa grouping put aside their differences on Tuesday and agreed on a declaration to strengthen their ties.

Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi was joined by presidents Daniel arap Moi of Kenya, Omar Hassan al- Bashir of Sudan, Hassan Gouled Aptidon of Djibouti and Isayas Afewerki of Eritrea and Ugandan vice- president Specioza Kazibwe for the one-day summit.

The meeting in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, chaired by Moi, was held after various disputes among the members of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD).

But conference sources said the leaders appeared to have avoided an airing of their biting differences.

Eritrea cut diplomatic relations with Sudan last December.

Uganda and Sudan accuse each other of backing rebels in their own countries and last week engaged in tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats.

Kenya and Uganda are at loggerheads over a guerrilla movement Kenya says is based in Uganda and wants to topple Moi's government. Uganda denies it hosts such a group.

"Aware of the vital need for a more expanded cooperation among our countries, with a framework of an expanded and revitalised IGADD, a ministerial committee shall be set up to undertake a thorough study," the declaration said.

That committee will be composed of foreign ministers and other relevant ministers members from each member state and will hand in its recommendations at the next IGADD summit in Khartoum in September, the declaration added.

It said a revitalised IGADD would boost trade, transport and communication, contribute to joint development strategies and promote investment.

It was unclear whether the regional summit discussed the 12- year civil war in southern Sudan, one of the group's principal regional concerns...

IGADD was set up in 1986 by the six states originally to coordinate measures to combat drought and desertification.

OAU CELEBRATES 32ND ANNIVERSARY
(Reuter 24 May 95, by Tsegaye Tadesse)
ADDIS ABABA - The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) marked its 32nd anniversary on Wednesday, celebrating the "sparkle" of newly-liberated South Africa but lamenting the dark side of wars in parts of the continent.

OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim, in a message to celebrate Africa Day which marks the founding of the pan- Africa body in Addis Ababa, said South Africa was already bringing its economic talent to the continent.

He said it was "also making a valuable contribution in the task of searching for peace in Angola, Rwanda, Burundi and elswhere in the continent."

But he also remembered the conflicts which tortured Africa in the past year, including Burundi, Somalia, Liberia, Angola and Sierra Leone.

He said economic reforms, though they had been painful, were beginning to bear fruit.

"We see the positive results of greater efficiency and private sector participation in the economies of our countries," Salim said.

"The removal of rigidities have stimulated greater economic activity and opportunities for individual and corporate participations," he added.

But he added: "Access of the majority of the African people to education, health care, drinking water, shelter and other soical amenities have decreased.

"The income gap between the rich and poor is widening, posing a long-term threat to social harmony."

He urged African countries to promote regional trade and economic co-operation, saying the continent had to liberate itself from dependence on the outside world.

Leaders of OAU states will hold their annual summit in Addis Ababa from June 26 to June 28, OAU officials said.