(2011-0283-F) Hanish Islands Conflict

65 folders, approximately 5,396 pages

This collection consists of records related to the December 1995 military conflict between Eritrea and Yemen over the islands of the Zukar-Hanish archipelago in the Red Sea. It contains National Security Council staff member files, NSC Cables, NSC E-Mails and other correspondence, briefings and policy papers.

The materials in FOIA 2011-0283-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. The Hanish Islands conflict was a dispute between Yemen and Eritrea over the islands that make up the Zukur-Hanish archipelago in the Red Sea. Active fighting took place over a three day period from December 15th to December 17th , 1995. Greater Hanish (also known as Hanish al-Kabir) is the main island in the archipelago and until 1995 was virtually uninhabited with sovereignty issues going all the way back to the Ottoman Empire and Italian colonialism. In November 1995, a German company began building a hotel and scuba diving center on the island with the Yemenis providing a force of approximately 200 armed men to guard the construction site. Eritrean officials objected to this construction work, claiming it was “an attempt to establish facts on the ground”. Eritrea's Foreign Minister Petros Solomon delivered an ultimatum giving Yemen one month to withdraw all personnel from Hanish al-Kabir. When the Eritrean ultimatum ran out and the Yemeni military forces and civilians had not withdrawn, Eritrea launched a successful sea-borne military operation to take the island by force. As no resolution to the conflict could be reached in bilateral talks, the status of the entire archipelago was referred to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. After two years of negotiations, the arbitrators determined that most of the archipelago did indeed belong to Yemen, while allowing Eritrea to retain its fishing rights in the waters around all the islands and granting Eritrean sovereignty over some of the smaller islands close to the African coast. Records responsive to this FOIA include National Security Council Cables, Emails, other correspondence, briefing papers, schedules, and policy papers. The majority of the records related to this FOIA case are closed for national security reasons.

Textual

Records that are responsive to this FOIA request were found in these collection areas - Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files, Clinton Presidential Records: ARMS Emails, and Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management Systems. Staff and Office files were maintained at the folder level by staff members within their individual offices and document all levels of administration activity. Staff and Office files are processed at the folder level, that is, individual documents are not selected and removed from a folder for processing. While this method maintains folder integrity, it frequently results in the incidental processing of documents that are not wholly responsive to the subject area. The Automated Records Management System (ARMS) is a database that contains email records of the Executive Office of the President. ARMS email are arranged by topic, there-under by bucket, and there-under chronologically by creation date.

Collection is open to all researchers. Access to Clinton Presidential Records is governed by the Presidential Records Act (PRA) (44 U.S.C. Chapter 22, as amended) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552, as amended) and therefore records may be restricted in whole or in part in accordance with legal exemptions.

Documents in this collection that were prepared by officials of the United States government as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Researchers are advised to consult the copyright law of the United States (17 U.S.C. Chapter 1) which governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Official records of William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency are housed at the Clinton Presidential Library and administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) under the provisions of the Presidential Records Act (PRA).

Staff Archivist, 2015. Previously restricted materials are added as they are released.

The following is a list of documents and folders processed in response to FOIA 2011-0283-F:
Box 1
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
National Security Council
African Affairs
Frazer, Jendayi
Eritrea Country File [1] [OA/ID 1926]
Eritrea Country File [2] [OA/ID 1926]
Jett, Dennis / Steinberg, Donald / DeShazer, MacArthur / Rice, Susan et. al.
Working Visit of President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea, February 1, 1995
[OA/ID 2663]
Jett, Dennis / Ward, Jennifer / Steinberg, Donald et. al.
Eritrea [OA/ID 501]
Prendergast, John
Eritrea [1] [OA/ID 2857]
Eritrea [2] [OA/ID 2857]
Rice, Susan / Wilson, Ernest J. / McCormick, Shawn / Barks – Ruggles, Erica
Eritrea 1996 – 1997 [1] [OA/ID 2107]
Box 2
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files (continued)
National Security Council
African Affairs
Rice, Susan / Wilson, Ernest J. / McCormick, Shawn / Barks – Ruggles, Erica
Eritrea 1996 – 1997 [2] [OA/ID 2107]
Eritrea 1996 – 1997 [3] [OA/ID 2107]
Smith, Gayle / Barks – Ruggles, Erica / Byrne, Cathy / Frazer, Jendayi et. al.
Eritrea 1998 – Present [2000] [1] [OA/ID 3059]
Eritrea 1998 – Present [2000] [2] [OA/ID 3059]
Steinberg, Donald / Rice, Susan / DeShazer, MacArthur / McCormick, Shawn
Eritrea 1995 [OA/ID 871]
Global Affairs
Orr, Robert
Yemen [OA/ID 915]
Sheehan, Michael
Eritrea [OA/ID 642]
Near East and South Asian Affairs
Indyk, Martin
Yemen [OA/ID 321]
Speechwriting
Boorstin, Robert
Eritrea [OA/ID 415]
Transnational Threats
Simon, Steven
Yemen [OA/ID 2241]
Box 3
Clinton Presidential Records: Automated Records Management System [Email]
NSC [OA/ID 1200000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[05/14/1997]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System
NSC Cables
Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [OA/ID 510000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[01/19/1995 – 12/12/1995]
[12/16/1995 – 12/18/1995]
[12/19/1995 – 12/20/1995]
[12/21/1995 – 12/22/1995]
[12/22/1995 – 12/26/1995]
[12/27/1995 – 12/29/1995]
[12/29/1995 – 03/04/1996]
Box 4
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System (continued)
NSC Cables
Jan 1995-Dec 1996 [OA/ID 510000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[03/04/1996 – 03/08/1996]
[03/08/1996 – 03/19/1996]
[03/19/1996 – 03/25/1996]
[03/25/1996 – 04/01/1996]
[04/02/1996 – 04/09/1996]
[04/10/1996 – 04/15/1996]
[04/15/1996 – 04/18/1996]
Box 5
[04/18/1996 – 04/25/1996]
[04/25/1996 – 05/05/1996]
[05/07/1996 – 05/21/1996]
[05/21/1996 – 06/01/1996]
[06/01/1996 – 06/06/1996]
[06/07/1996 – 07/03/1996]
[07/25/1996 – 08/13/1996]
Box 6
[08/13/1996 – 08/15/1996]
[08/15/1996 – 08/16/1996]
[08/16/1996 – 08/18/1996]
[08/19/1996 – 08/20/1996]
[08/20/1996 – 08/22/1996]
[08/22/1996 – 08/28/1996]
[08/28/1996 – 09/06/1996]
Box 7
[09/09/1996 – 10/06/1996]
[10/12/1996 – 12/29/1996]
Jan 1997-Dec 1998 [OA/ID 520000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[01/06/1997 – 02/12/1997]
[02/21/1997 – 04/04/1997]
[05/01/1997 – 09/19/1997]
[09/19/1997 – 03/10/1998]
[04/01/1998 – 05/18/1998]
Box 8
[05/18/1998 – 06/16/1998]
[06/22/1998 – 11/06/1998]
[11/06/1998 – 12/28/1998]
Clinton Presidential Records: NSC Cable, Email, and Records Management System (continued)
NSC Email
MS Mail – Record (Sep 1994-Sep 1997) [OA/ID 590000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[12/18/1995 – 12/28/1995]
[12/28/1995 – 03/26/1996]
[03/28/1996 – 08/27/1996]
MS Mail – Non-Record (Sep 1994-Sep 1997) [OA/ID 605000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[01/05/1996 – 08/16/1996]
Box 9
Exchange – Non-Record (Mar 1997 – Jan 2001) [OA/ID 630000]
[Yemen, Eritrea, Hanish]
[09/22/1998 – 12/22/1998]
NSC Records Management System
[Eritrea and Yemen …]
9509111 [OA/ID 619]
9600043 [OA/ID 1080]
9607976 [OA/ID 1133]
9804202 [OA/ID 2042]