Information on a specific treatment by the government of members of the Issa clan could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, please find attached some articles that may be of interest.

One 1994 article attached to this Response refers to the Issa and Gurgura Liberation Front (IGLF), an armed opposition group (Indian Ocean Newsletter 22 Jan. 1994). The precise ethnic breakdown of this group or the extent of its support among a particular clan could not be found among the sources consulted. Additional, less recent information on this group can be found in Response to Information Request ETH11384 of 14 August 1992 and other Responses available through the Refinfo database.

Other documents attached to this Response refer to recent (1995) political conditions in Ethiopia, with references to Region 5, the Somali region of Ethiopia, and Somali political groups.

One attachment describes, in general terms, the government and the human rights situation in Ethiopia as of late-1994 (Africa Report Nov.-Dec. 1994, 31-34). The text states that "all credible representatives of ethnic groups other than the Tigrayans have either resigned or been expelled from the government" (ibid., 31-32). The source adds that "in many parts of the country, there is open hostility between local residents and the TPLF [Tigrayan People's Liberation Front] army," noting that in the Somalia region "TPLF soldiers are considered an occupation force" (ibid., 32). The article then mentions clashes between the TPLF and the Ogadeni National Liberation Front (ONLF), and the disappearance of leaders and sympathizers of the latter (ibid.). However, it is not clear from the source the affiliation or extent of support, if any, of the ONLF among members of the Issa clan.

A more recent attachment includes a reference to the creation of an Ethiopian Somali Democratic Movement (ESDM), sponsored by the ruling EPRDF party (Africa Confidential 14 Apr. 1995, 3). The ESDM reportedly "brings together all Somali clans (except the Ogaden)" (ibid.).

More recent references to the relationship between the government or ruling party and specific Somali clans could not be found among the sources consulted.

Another document attached to this Response, which could be relevant to the situation of some Muslim Somalis in Ethiopia and is also included for your reference, reports on Islamic fundamentalist movements that "could seek control of frustrated elements disappointed by the way the opposition has been politically marginalized in new bodies" (Indian Ocean Newsletter 20 May 1995, 2). The source states that these movements are "already working on Ethiopia's Muslim community," adding that the community's "composition by numbers is a taboo subject" (ibid.). The report refers briefly to proselytism in Addis Ababa.

An October 1994 report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on the refugee situation in Ethiopia states the following:

Despite the improved security situation throughout the country, there have been clashes between the EPRDF and Somali groups affiliated with the Ogadeni National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the Islamic fundamentalist groups (ITEHAD), causing occasional suspension of relief efforts in Ogaden. Additionally, sporadic banditry attacks in eastern and southern Ethiopia are threatening relief operations in remote areas (31 Oct. 1994, n.p.).

The report, however, does not contain a specific reference to members of the Issa clan. The full text of the cited document can be found in the HCRViews database of the UNHCR, available through the IRB network and Regional Documentation Centres.

Other documents available at your Regional Documentation Centre, such as the yearly Amnesty International reports and the United States Department of State Country Reports, also refer to members and supporters of ethnically-based armed opposition groups, but do not contain specific references to members of the Issa clan. The most recent Country Reports provides in its section on Ethiopia the following statement on ethnic groups:

Ethiopia has more than 80 different ethnic groups. Although all of these groups have had some influence on the political and cultural life of the country, Ahmaras and Tigrayans from the northern highlands have traditionally dominated this process. Some ethnic groups, such as Oromos, the largest single group, claim to have been dominated for at least a century by the Amharas and Tigrayans. In an attempt to rectify this problem, the Government has supported a loose federal system and in 1994 changed regional boundaries to encompass more completely entire (major) ethnic populations (Feb. 1995, 87).

The Human Rights Watch World Report 1995 also refers to the regional reorganization of Ethiopia along ethnic lines (1995, 19). The source refers to a decreasing military presence in civilian communities that nevertheless caused insecurity due to linguistic differences (ibid.). The report mentions the Charter guarantee of "the right of every nation (defined as a people living in the same geographic area with a common language and identity) to self-determination" and of each region to adopt their own language (ibid.). The report adds the following:

Though ethnic-based hostilities decreased in intensity and frequency after the adoption of this new policy, they nevertheless continued. This was largely due to failure, on the government's part, to expressly provide for the protection of minorities and ethnic groups dwelling outside their home regions [...] (ibid.).

The ongoing struggle for secession in the ethnic Somali area of the Ogaden (now known as Region Five) resulted in continuing bloodshed and threatened future peace and stability in the country. It also provided a disturbing picture of the problems which could face the country in the future if the issue of secession is not settled. The Charter guarantees a right to secession of a people if they are "convinced that their rights are denied, abridged or abrogated." It remained unclear how secession can be peacefully accomplished in Ethiopia under the new policy.

The government had yet to review its policies on land and language, which have contributed to loss of life and enhanced ethnic tensions in the country. Nor had the government adopted specific policies to protect ethnic minorities, to define the rights of ethnic groups in divided communities or to provide specific protection for dispersed groups and persons living outside their ethnic base (ibid.).

The full text of the above-cited Human Rights Watch report can be obtained at your Regional Documentation Centre.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below a list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Africa Confidential [London]. 14 April 1995. Vol. 36, No. 8. "Ethiopia: The Centre Holds."

Africa Report [New York]. November-December 1994. Makau Wa Mutua. "The Anointed Leadership."

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1994. February 1995. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

Human Rights Watch World Report 1995. 1995. New York: Human Rights Watch.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [London]. 20 May 1995. No. 672. "Ethiopia: 'Twas a Famous Victory."

_____. 22 January 1994. No. 607. "Ethiopia: EPRDF Troops Engage Issa Militia." (NEXIS)

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Geneva. 31 October 1994. "Public Information Fact Sheets - Africa: Ethiopia." (HCRViews)

Africa Confidential [London]. 26 May 1995. Vol. 36, No. 11. "Winner Takes All," p. 5.

_____. 14 April 1995. Vol. 36, No. 8. "Ethiopia: The Centre Holds," pp. 2-3.

Africa Report [New York]. November-December 1994. Makau Wa Mutua. "The Anointed Leadership," pp. 31-34.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [London]. 27 May 1995. No. 673. "Ethiopia: The Home-Team ONLF," p. 4.

_____. 20 May 1995. No. 672. "Ethiopia: 'Twas a Famous Victory," p. 2.

_____. 25 March 1995. No. 664. "Ethiopia: Government in Talks With CAFPD," p. 4.

_____. 22 January 1994. No. 607. "Ethiopia: EPRDF Troops Engage Issa Militia." (NEXIS)

Africa Research Bulletin: Political Series [London]. Monthly.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Reports. Daily.

Human Rights Watch/Africa [New York]. Monthly.

Third World Quarterly [London]. Quarterly.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Newspapers and periodicals pertaining to the appropriate region.

On-line searches of news articles.
Note on oral sources:

Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.