Yemen plays great roles for maintaining stability in the African Horn and Red Sea

Disturbances in Somalia, the African Horn and the growth in piracy are a direct result of the international dispute over the control of maritime routes and energy resources in the Gulf of Aden, Read Sea and Indian Ocean, said participants attending a forum held at Ali Bin Zayed hall in Sana’a University, Yemen on Sunday March 22.  

The forum attracted a wide variety of participants, including 22 lecturers, professors of history and experts in Yemeni African affairs from Yemen, France and Djibouti.  The forum entitled ‘Yemen and the African Horn’ was organized by Sana’a University in collaboration with the French Embassy in Yemen and will run from March 22 to March 23.  

The Forum focused on Yemen’s historical relations with the African Horn  and sought to highlight Yemen’s current role in maintaining security, stability and peace in the African Horn, the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. The forum also focused on the significance of the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab  for the international maritime, the Bab al-Mandab is one of seven world oil transit choke-points and one of the busiest martime transit point in the world. 140 vessels pass through the Bab al-Mandab from the Sues Canal and the Read Sea heading to south Asia and East and South Africa daily. 

The forum also discussed the growing concern of immigration from Africa to Yemen, smuggling and piracy as well as the burdens Yemen has been shouldering as a result of these problems and the roles Yemen has been playing to restore stability to Somalia and to the African Horn in General.   

At the inauguration ceremony Dr. Abdul Kareem al-Eryani , political advisor to President Saleh tackled the conflict in the African Horn and talked about the historical relations between Yemen and the African Horn states in the East of Africa.  Dr. al-Eryani stressed the importance of brining attention to the effects of the dispute in the African Horn and in Somalia in particular which has resulted in mass migration from the African Horn particularly from Somalia to Yemen and placed significant burdens on the country. He also referred to Yemen’s continual calls to solve the Somali issue and the piracy crisis which is continuing despite international efforts to combat both.  

He also pointed out a technical point of contention stating that the translation of Bab al-Mandab as the ‘Gate of Tears’ was completely wrong because Almandab means crossing not tears, referring to the exchange crossing of the sea by the nations living in the west and east of the Red Sea.  On the first day of the Forum Mr. Roland Marchal, the official in charge of the French National Center for Scientific Research CERI and Editor in Chief of the  African Policy magazine, talked about the history of Yemeni African relations and the international historical dispute over control of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. He pointed out that in the past the Red Sea was at the heart of International dispute notably during the Cold War, when relations of all the countries overlooking the Red Sea had been affected. He also said that the European colony and the Cold War lead to the division of a number of the African countries and lead to wars between the newly established states and civil wars within. Mr. Marchal also referred to the issue of the Arab identity of Eretria, and sought to shed doubts on the notion of a pure Arab Sea if Eretria were an Arab state. Marchal also referred to the emergence of new powers that have been trying to play a role in this region, such as China, Iran, Israel, Egypt and Japan, who have been trying to interfere in the affairs of regional states.  

Juliette Honvault a French historian illustrated the historic events in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa and the relations between Yemen and the Horn. She said that the relations and exchanges through immigration from Yemen to the African Horn and vice-versa began 3000 years before the Christ. She referred to the Roman invasion seeking to control the Red Sea, which led to the collapse of the ancient Yemeni states of Sheba Gataban and Mae’ean, which used to control the marine route and the trade of frankincense, myrrh, spices and textiles. 

In pre-Islamic history, she said that the Rasoulitte state in Yemen used to control the maritime routes and had good relations with the states in the Horn of Africa, but after the collapse of the Rasoulit state Yemen lost its control over the area, but the relations and commercial exchange between the Yemen and the African states remained strong. She also pointed to the attempts of Imam al-Mahdi Mohammed to control the port of Zillah in the Horn of Africa, and to the ongoing relations and interference by people on both sides in the affairs of others. For instance, Yemeni’s from Zillah supported their countrymen living in Yemen against Imam Yahya in the 1930s.  The last issue she discussed was the cultural exchanges between both regions, referring to the establishment of the Fatat al-Gazeera newspaper in Aden by Mr. Luqman, and the establishment of the Shamsan Aden newspaper in Barbara by Mr. Luqman. He said he aimed to seek Somali admission to the Arab League at that time, and Somalia is  currently a member of the Arab League. 

Hassan Ali al-Khawlani is a PHD student at Algeria University, whose thesis deals with the relations between Yemen and the African States. He argued that the colonial states were behind the disturbances in the Horn of Africa, and they are also responsible for piracy. “The powerful states wanted to spread disturbance in the region as a pretext to regain their supremacy,” said al-Khawlani. He pointed to the success of the Islamic Courts groups in controling Somalia and maintaining security and stability. They even succeeded in curbing piracy but he said that the United States did not like their control over Somalia, so it interfered to topple the Islamic Courts. “This proves that the powerful countries do not care about security and stability or piracy. Rather, they care about their own interests and controling this important maritime route,” said al-Khawlani. 

Mr. Marchal commented by saying that the number of people killed as a result of piracy since its outbreak in 1990 has been less than 20, which might equal the number of people killed in a day in Mogadishu. 

Mr. Ali Saleh Mosa discussed the conflicts in the Horn of Africa, saying its roots lie with the 1884 Conference of Berlin, which divided Africa into several states without considering ethnic problems. Recently, the competition over energy resources has caused border disputes  between the states of the Horn of Africa, including civil wars, themselves a result of the two aforementioned factors. Mosa said that due to the significance of Somalia on maritime routes, it was invaded and controlled by Britain in the north, France in Djibouti and Italy in the south. He said Somalia was divided into five regions, with some of them being given to Ethiopia and Kenya, and some gaining their independence. He also said that after the independence of Somalia and the establishment of a modern state, this country fought 3 wars against Ethiopia in 1963, 1964 and 1977- adding that the 1977 war lead to the collapse of Somalia. Mosa pointed out that the current political conflict in Somalia is so complicated that 18 conferences have failed to achieve reconciliation among the different Somali factions, as loyalty to tribes is greater than to the nation. He said that the Somali state under the leadership of Abdullah Yousif was born sick, and the pressence of foreign forces escalated the conflict. As a result, the Somali state was weakened and the Islamic  Courts emerged and defeated the weak Somali state. He stressed that the withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Mogadishu was the result of the dissatisfaction of the Somali people, who have long historical dispute with Ethiopia. Also, Ethiopia expected some international support to maintain stability in Somalia, but the support it received was not what it expected. Mosa affirmed that reconciliation among the Somali factions can never happen without the participation of all factions, without exception. 

Mr. Qaed al-Ansi discussed the relations between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, particularly between Yemen and Somalia and said that each of them represents a strategic depth for the other. He also discussed Yemen’s efforts to ensure reconciliation among the different Somali factions, and said that Yemen’s  neutrality could ensure its success in earning the trust of all the Somali factions. He said Yemen could bring the different Somali factions closer to achieving reconciliation. Al-Ansi also said that Yemen has contributed to the formation of the Somali government;  it has opened its embassy in Mogadishu; invited Asmara and Djibouti to meet their Somali counterparts in Yemen and brought them closer; and worked to enhance  the position of the Somali state  by ensuring their admission to the Sana’a Congregation , which includes Yemen Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Yemen was the first state to recognize the new Somali state lead by President Abdullah Yousif, and President Saleh was the only Arab leader from Asia to attend the inauguration ceremony in Nairobi. Finally, today Yemen recognizes the new Somali state lead by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmad. 

Mr.  Adawa Hassan Ali,  Professor of contemporary history amd specializing in the affairs of the Horn of Africa discussed the relations between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, particularly with Djibouti and said that Yemenis have become part of Djibouti, its tradition and its culture. He said that Yemenis are an immigrant people not only in Djibouti, but across the world. He pointed out that  Yemeni immigration happened both before and after Islam, but this immigration increased after Islam as Yemenis contributed to spreading the religion in Africa and Asia not by the sword but though trade and culture. “Islam reached to the heart of the Christian Ethiopia by Yemenis,” said Awada.  However he said that these attempts failed  as a result of the Portuguese interference who supported  the Christian  Ethiopians . Awada mentioned that the firs French interference in Djibouti was in 1858 when the French signed a treaty with the Sultan of Ruhaita but he said that the direct French existence in Djibouti was in 1884. He said that when the British refused to provide the French ships with fuel in Aden port that was controlled by the British the French headed to Djibouti. He also said that the first relations between Yemen and the new established Djibouti state was when the French brought 100 Yemeni  skillful workers  to contribute in constructing Djibouti. He said that in 1950 the majority of Djibouti population were Yemeni and that Arabic Language was the official language in Djibouti. 

Mr. Hamid al-Youssofi talked about the continual interlink between Yemen and the African Horn and said that the population exchange movement between the two sides has been happening along the history. He said that the Yemenis immigrated to Ethiopia among them were the al-Amharah tribe and al-Aja’aez  tribe. He also referred to the extension of the Sheba state to Ethiopia and to the Ethiopian invasion of Yemen in the 5th century before the Christ. He also said that new immigrations took place in the 18th century  and that a reversed immigration from African Horn to Yemen happened following the collapse of the Ethiopian Empire and due to the civil wars in the African Horn. Al-Youssofi referred to the Yemeni expatriates  influence in the African Horn states and said that several African citizens in Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, and Kenya were appointed in key posts including ministers and chiefs of stuff. He affirmed that all governments of Djibouti included ministers of Yemeni origin. He also pointed out that Yemen played a key role in maintaining security and stability in the region and has good relations with the African Horn states and had no problems with any of them except when Eretria occupied Yemen’s Hunish Island and that Yemen resorted to international arbitration to solve its problem with Eretria.  He also pointed out that Yemen has been always mediating to solve different disputes among the African Horn and Read sea states and has been contributing for solving disputes among the different Somali factions. 

In the third session entitled beyond the regional frame and the significance of the two states at the international arena that was chaired by Mr. Faris Sanabani  related the international forces interference to the contradiction of interests and to these countries feeling that their interests are endangered. Mr. Jerome Spinoza the Official in Charge of the Special Mission of the African Affairs at the Foreign Commission at the French Defense Ministry talked about the French attitude and the French vision about the conflict of securing the maritime routes in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. He said that France has been adopting the role of the honest mediator rather than the war style for solving the conflicts in this region and that France always work to maintain the commercial flow through the Red Sea for its significance as the Arab Sea or the Red Sea was cut at a certain time before the Europeans. He also referred to the French British dispute in Africa and to both countries problem in the Sues Canal. Spinoza said that the collapse of the Soviet Union lead to new conflicts among the different international powers over securing energy resources and their routes as well as over securing maritime routes. 

Mr. Arif al-Shibani. Talked about the historical political collation between the United States and France to control this part of the world but American attitude has changed after the collapse of the Soviet Union when the United States moved to fill the gap caused by the departure of the Soviet Union and that the United States started to compete France in the region particularly in Djibouti. The United States started to end the European existence in the region and to insure its military presence for facing terror and to secure its interests in the region. For achieving this Mr. Shibani said that the United States adopted different approaches ranged between the direct military interference and using democracy as a pretence to topple down the states that it sees are against its interests.  However al-Shibani pointed out that Africa represents one of three significant dimensions for France in addition to its two other dimensions of obtaining nuclear power and its permanent membership of the UN Security Council. He said that France interests are endangered currently due to the American interference and that most recent conflicts were not in favor of the French interests. He also pointed to the new powers that started to have existence and influence in the region including Iran, China, Israel and Japan. 

Mr. Ali Saleh Mosa talked about Yemen’s foreign policy regarding the African Horn and said that Yemen and Sudan can never be separated off the African Horn . He denied that Yemen’s policy is random or unplanned and said that Yemen’s credibility as unbiased mediator has gained it respect and trust among all parties.   Mosa said that solving the piracy problem should be adopted through the same procedures for solving piracy in Malaga. “Unfortunately the piracy problem in the African Horn has been taking the shape of the international interference not for the protection but for controlling the region,” said Mosa.

The ambassador of Ethiopia commented on the session by saying that it was true that the African nations were colonized and by the beginning of the 50s of last century they got their independence a state after the other however he said that Somalia launched a war against Ethiopia over borders problems between the two countries in 1963 but he said that in the African conference held in Cairo the conference decided to keep the borders as they are. He further mentioned that the Islamic Courts militants pushed by Eretria that has been creating conflicts with all regional countries declared war against his country. 

Finally the cultural attaché of the Somali embassy in Sana’a Radhwan Hersi praised the roles being paid by Yemen in Somalia and in the African Horn despite its limited financial resources, However he said that Yemen could play greater roles in the Somali arena and in the African Horn Arenas. 

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