Interview with Chinese Lifeweek Magazine

I was interviewed recently by Lifeweek Magazine about a variety of topics mostly related to Somalia.

Here is the Q&A (in English):

Chinese Lifeweek Magazine

Here is the Chinese article:

Lifeweek Magazine Chinese

Here's the magazine cover:

Correction to "Ethiopian Armed Groups"

I have attached a corrected version of my remarks titled "Ethiopian Armed Groups" found in the right-hand sidebar that were presented in Garmisch on November 13 - 14.

Leenco Lata pointed out that he is not supporting any faction of the Oromo Liberation Front, but rather is engaged with others to resolve differences between the Dawud and Kamal factions. I apologize for the inaccurate statement in the original paper.

Why is there no U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia?

I am quoted in Henok Semaegzer Fente's VOA article "Embassies without Ambassadors." Here are my quotes:

Five months after Yamamoto left Addis to become principal deputy assistant secretary in the State Department Bureau of African Affairs, there is no new ambassador in Addis.

"It is a mistake," says former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn, "that Washington has not assigned a full-time ambassador to Ethiopia. "The administration should have named someone several months ago.

"They are behind the curve already and the longer this drags out, the more difficult it is going to be for the United States to play the role it should be playing in Addis Ababa in the run-up to the election," said Shinn. The embassy is currently headed by Ambassador Roger Meece, who is retired from a lengthy career as a foreign service officer in embassies in central and western Africa. He is on temporary assignment to Addis as charge' d'affaires.

...Shinn said unless the White House names a candidate in the coming two weeks, the process of Senate confirmation will not come in time to place a new ambassador in Addis before the May 2010 elections.

Roger Middleton on the food crisis in the Horn of Africa

There has been a heated discussion in recent weeks on the food crisis in the Horn of Africa. There have been charges and counter charges concerning the severity of the crisis.

Writing in The World Today, Roger Middleton briefly and dispassionately summarized the situation in an item titled "Horn of Africa Food Crisis: Perfect Storm." He concluded that climate is the most obvious and immediate cause of the crisis but added conflict and displacement of people have contributed significantly to the problem.

Report on contemporary piracy

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security has recently published a report that focuses on the Somali piracy issue. Titled "Contemporary Piracy: Consequences and Cures" (PDF format) and dated October 2009, it tends to look at the problem from a legal perspective.

Video and transcript from my remarks at the China 2025 Conference

The transcript is accessible here in PDF format.

Bibliography on China-Africa relations

My publication "China-Africa Relations: A Bibliography," African Research and Documentation (Journal of the Standing Conference on Library Materials on Africa), no. 108 (2008), pp. 3-87, can be viewed below.

China-Africa Relations a Bibliography

Mention in China Law & Policy blog

I am mentioned in a post by Marcy Nicks Moody on the blog post "China Goes Global or Thinks Local?"

Interview with Worldfocus

I am interviewed in Lisa Biagiotti's Worldfocus story "Conflict endures in Ethiopia’s ethnic Somali Region."

The interview has also been posted by the Ogaden People Solidarity Forum on its blog. It is also referenced in a story on Afrik.com.

My remarks on Ethiopian armed groups at a conference hosted by State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and U.S. Africa Command

Ethiopian Rebel Groups