In this issue:
* INVESTIGATOR FINDS AIDEED GUILTY OF JUNE 5 MASSACRE
* ETHIOPIA AWARDED PEACE PRIZE
* BELED WEYN DAM THREATENS SHABELLE POPULATION
* BELGIANS ADMIT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
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              S O M A L I A  N E W S  U P D A T E

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Vol 2, No 20            August 26, 1993.              ISSN 1103-1999

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Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and
fax. Questions can be directed to [email protected] or to fax
number +46-18-151160. All SNU marked material is free to quote as
long as the source is clearly stated.
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INVESTIGATOR FINDS AIDEED GUILTY OF JUNE 5 MASSACRE

(United Nations, New York, 25 August)  THERE IS CLEAR AND CONVINCING
EVIDENCE that General Mohamed Farah Aideed authorized the 5 June
attack which killed 24 Pakistani peace-keepers serving with the
United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II), and that the attack
was carried out by elements of the Somali National Alliance (SNA),
according to a report issued today.  The report was compiled after a
comprehensive investigation into the incident, conducted by an
independent expert on behalf
of the Secretary-General.
    The attack on the peace-keepers violated multiple provisions of
the 1962 Somali Penal Code which had never been repealed, the report
pointed out.  It also violated international law and thus made
General Aideed and his senior colleagues liable to prosecution before
an international tribunal or the criminal courts of any State.
   There was also sufficient evidence to make a prima facie case
that an attack on a Pakistani strong point in Mogadishu on 13 June
had been designed by persons associated with the SNA to wound or kill
non-combatants, the report went on to say.  A central principle of
international humanitarian law -- respect for the distinction between
combatants and non-combatants -- was violated when individuals or
organizations used civilians as shields for military operations or
demonstrated a wanton indifference to the protection of
non-combatants, the report noted.

ETHIOPIA AWARDED PEACE PRIZE

(Ethiopian Herald, Addis Ababa, 22 August) ETHIOPIA HAS BEEN AWARDED
A PEACE PRIZE as a gesture of gratitude for its efforts towards the
restoration of peace in Somalia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
announced yesterday.
    Ethiopia received the award last week at the end of a two-day
conference organized by the "Peace Committee of Somalia" in Ottowa,
Canada. The prize was handed over to Ato Tekle-Ab Kebede, Charge
d'Affiares of the Ethiopian Embassy in Canada, at a ceremony
attended by numerous Somali nationals and invited guests, according
to the ministry.
    Ato Tekle-Ab said that the Ethiopian people and government were
most concerned about the problem faced by the people of Somalia
because Ethiopia was home for several ethnic Somalis.Mr David
McDonald, member of the Canadian parliament and former ambassador of
Canada to Ethiopia, commended the positive contribution being made by
the Ethiopia government towards the prevalence of peace in Somalia.
The ministry stated that Ethiopia was awarded a similar prize by a
previous meeting organized by Somali citizens in New York.

BELED WEYN DAM THREATENS SHABELLE POPULATION

(SNU, Uppsala, 26 August) THE GERMAN-BASED ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Eco Terra yesterday has warned that the plans to construct a dam to
enchance the water-supply to the UN troops stationed in Beled Weyn
will give drastic conseqences for large parts of southern Somalia.
    Shabelle river, one of the two rivers in Somalia that has a
permanent water-flow,  is a very fragile ecosystem. Subsistence
activities along its lower stretches will be greatly affected if a
dam up-stream further reduces the water. The former regime of Siyad
Barre, through several development projects, increased the off-take
of water so much that Shabelle river no longer reaches its natural
outlet in Jubba river.
    "Now it will be finally destroyed, if these plans are not
stopped immediately, and the result will be not only long term
environmental destruction and tremenduous decline in productivity
downstream, where the traditional, floodbased adapted agriculture
still exists, but also war between the clans will be the result of
any change in the water regime" argues Eco Terra in an appeal issued
yesterday.
    Eco Terra has worked in Somalia since many years and consists of
well-established tropical ecologists such as Dr. Steinhauer. A
spokesperson for the organization in Germany told SNU that  "we do
not see the environmental concerns as opposed to humanitarian
assistance, but on the contrary these plans will, if implemented,
gravely affect subsistence along the entire Shabelle river. Therefore
the dam is a humanitarian hazard as well as an ecological one".
    Water-supply in Somalia has already been affected during the
civil war. "ICRC's kitchens in Mogadishu are fuelled largely by the
bushes and trees from the Balad and Kilometre 16 hills. These hills
are the main water-sources for Mogadishu and with the rapid rate of
deforestation and loss of vegetation cover to bind water there,
Mogadishu's water-supply is already becoming affected", says Eco
Terra. "We have spoken to ICRC about this without result", the
spokesperson adds.
    The environmental degradation caused by the deforestation is
already visible in the outskirts of Mogadishu. "We have documented a
large number of new sand-dunes in an area just south of Mogadishu
where", continues the spokesperson.
    "The important thing right now is to stop the plans for the dam
before they mature any further", summarizes Eco Terra.

BELGIANS ADMIT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

(New York Transfer, New York, 25 August) THE DUTCH PAPER 'Algemeen
Dagblad' reported on Wednesday Aug.25 the confessions from Belgian
Commandos who served in Somalia under the flag of the UN. They
admitted that they "often without any reason and probably due to
stress manhandled, beated till death or shot dead inhabitants of
Somalia".
    This appeared from testimonies from Belgian militaries in a
radioprogram 'Actueel', which is broadcasted by the BRTN (Belgian
broadcasting organisation). Earlier this week, the Belgian Minister
of Defence, Lacroix, denied serious accusations towards the Belgian
commandos. He indignantly stated that this accusations were slander.
Further he said he has complete confidence in his men.
    During the BRTN-broadcast the soldiers admitted that the orders
to shoot only in self-defence are not seldomly broken. Also when,
during a house-search they ran into people who were carrying a
weapon, this often lead to shooting them at once.
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SNU is an entirely independent newsletter devoted to critical
analysis of the political and humanitarian developments in Somalia
and Somaliland. SNU is piblished by Dr. Bernhard Helander in Uppsala,
Sweden.
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