February 26, 2007
Imperial chic
Today was the Fifth Summit of the Sana'a Cooperation Forum - a body that includes Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen - held in the President's Palace in the middle of Addis Ababa.
There was an opening ceremony and a press briefing by Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, President of Somalia; Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of Yemen; Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Umar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, President of Sudan.
Nothing very newsy came out of it - mutual cooperation etc etc. At the end of the day, one of the most interesting things about it all was the decor.
There was this stuffed lion mounted on a piano in the throne room. Next door in the reception hall there was another stuffed lioness, two elephant's feet doubling up as whisky decanter holders, lots of gilt, lots of carved ivory and, in the next room after that, a tiger skin, complete with roaring head. Presumably they were all from the collection of the last Emperor - or do visiting heads of state still hand out this kind of stuff? See Flickr for more shots.
And here's a quick quiz. Below are the first two questions asked at today's press conference. A huge prize to the first person who can say which one was asked by a state-controlled journalist from a state-controlled news organisation (from Sudan) and which one wasn't.
Q1: This Sanaa Forum, this Cooperation Forum, if we give it a geographical look, or geopolitical look, to what extent do you expect it to give a model to our sub-region of Afro-Arab cooperation?Q2: To the President of Sudan, what is halting the deployment of a UN peace force in Darfur?
Posted by aheavens at February 26, 2007 2:05 PM
Comments
Question # 1 is from the state owned media journalist.
Posted by: Dave at February 27, 2007 4:07 AM
Only in Arat Killo would they think to put a dead lion on a Piano. Wierd!!
Posted by: Mamitu at February 27, 2007 3:09 PM
I disagree with Dave. I guess a more independent-minded journalist working for the Sudanese government would ask Q2 but would not then go back to the Sudan again - otherwise, he would now be in prison confessing under torture!
And thanks Andy for giving us a glimpse of our palace. If these guys care for the beauty of a dead lion, why wouldn't they care then for those alive ones in the Zoo in Sidist Kilo?
Posted by: Minte at February 27, 2007 4:59 PM
Ok, this is probably a trick question but I will go with # 2 and Bashir gave a scripted answer. I must say though that question 1 must have been one of the questions during the press conference or you are good at sounding like a state-owned media journalist :-)
Posted by: Me Too at February 27, 2007 5:37 PM
Hi Andrew, nice to see you back blogging.
Almost misread 'carved ivory' for 'carved irony' there...
Posted by: Terri at February 27, 2007 5:38 PM
The lion's like the 'keeper of the piano' ... so nobody can plays the piano?
Posted by: Tobian at February 27, 2007 6:12 PM