Ethiopian Envoy Speaks on Military Mission

Mogadishu, 10 May 2007 - Ethiopian envoy to Somalia, Fiseha Shawel, made clear the Ethiopian military mission in Somalia Wednesday. He also talked about "terrorist" suspects seized from Somalia and sent to Ethiopian jails in Addis Ababa as Shabelle stringer, Abdiaziz Dhoore, interviewed him at the Ethiopian military base near former US embassy, south of the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday.

Shabelle: The Ethiopian troops seized today a hoard of weapons that include anti-tank mines and rocket-propelled grenades. Who was using those arms your troops expropriated?

Shawel: Some of these arms are old and they were used by former warlords. They were confiscated by the Union of Islamic Courts, but some of the weapons are also fresh and have been used by the Islamists in the last battle with the Somali government forces and Ethiopians. We have found them under the ground of a house in Mogadishu as the Ethiopian troops dug the ground. Eritrean names were written on some of these arms. There are also military dresses and sealed cans of food from Eritrea.

Shabelle: Many suspects were sized during the fighting between Ethiopian troops backing the Somali forces and the Islamic fighters. Where are these prisoners held and when will they be on a court dock?

Shawel: The prisoners that have been caught in the fighting are in the Somali government custodies and as the transitional government was readying the court processes the defendants will face trial soon. But I can assure you that the prisoners are Islamists--Al-Shawab groups that were the strong forces of the Islamic Courts and we are still pursuing other Al-Shawab fighters that are active in their fight against us and the government.

Shabelle: There are more prisoners snatched from Somalia and deployed to Addis Ababa. When will those either be released or tried?

Shawel: First of all, I want to make one thing clear. There are no Somali inmates that were moved out of Somalia to Ethiopia. The Somalis captured in the fighting are in the Somali interim government's jails. We have in Ethiopia the foreign terrorists that are internationally wanted. We believe they hail from 23 countries including America, Sweden, Australia, Britain, Lebanon, Yemen, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and many other countries. Some of them were in the forefront of the war. We will release those who are not extremists and keep the hardliners. Some of the prisoners whose governments have embassies in Addis Ababa are being cared for by their governments which made contacts with Ethiopia. They will all be tried in the future.

Shabelle: The international human rights agencies have been very much concerned about the wellbeing of the prisoners that include children in Addis Abab jails. How do you react to that?

Shawel: The children whose terrorist parents in Addis Ababa penitentiaries are between three and two years old and we have them separately in places that are not prisons. There are some people who are assigned to nursing them. Also young persons under the age of 18 are well taken care of in special places. They have everything in life. They have food, shelter and anything they need. But they are separated from their parents.

Source: Shabelle Media Network

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