Video News
Archive for the ‘News’ Category
የመለስ ዜናዊ ድንቀኛ ተረቶች
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ባለፈው ሳምንት በኢትዮጵያ በተካሄደው በ‹‹ ዓለም አቀፉ የኤኮኖሚ ስብሰባ ላይ›› የግፍ ገዢው የፈላጭ ቆራጩ መለስ ዜናዊ አርቲ ቡርቲ መነባንብ: …በኔ እምነት በታሪክም ሆነ በቲዎሪ የኤኮኖሚ እድገትና ዴሞክራሲ ቀጥተኛ ግንኙነትም ሆነ ተዛምዶ የላቸውም፡፡በኔ አመለካከት፤ በኤኮኖሚ እድገት ላይ የሚያስከትለውን ጫና ገሸሽ አድርገን ዴሞክራሲ በራሱ ጥሩ ነገር ነው፡፡በኔ አመለካከት አፍሪካውያን በጣም ስብጥሮች [...]
Camp David is for peacemakers, not for dictators
By Ephrem Madebo In my social life, political or any, I don’t remember to have seen any movement that captivated the imagination of the entire segments of a society like the 2008 Obama presidential campaign did. Obama 2008 was one for the ages so much so that it brought an end to the Anglo-Saxon domination [...]
Amnesty urges Obama to confront Zenawi
Amnesty International today urged President Barack Obama and fellow G8 leaders to speak up about Ethiopia’s appalling human rights record when he and the group meets with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at Camp David on Saturday, May 19. The human rights organization said Zenawai should not receive a “free pass” on rights abuses during meetings on food security. Zenawi will join the leaders of Benin, Ghana and Tanzania for a discussion with G8 leaders on food security, and Amnesty International said the meeting presents the Obama administration with an opportunity to urge Zenawi to put a stop to repressive laws in the Horn of African country.
CPJ urges Obama to press Meles on repressions
May 16, 2012 His Excellency Barack Obama President of the United States of America White House Via facsimile: +1 202-456-2461 Dear President Obama: As you prepare to host the G-8 summit and discuss the security of food supplies with leaders from Africa, we call on you to strongly consider the role of an independent press in [...]
African Hunger Games at Camp David
White House spokesman Jay Carney announced last week that President Obama has invited the presidents of Ghana, Tanzania, Benin and Meles Zenawi to attend the G8 Summit (the forum for the governments of eight of the world’s largest economies) for a discussion of food security on May 19 at Camp David (Presidential retreat) in Maryland. The U.S. has been handing out food aid to the African continent for decades. Now President Obama says there is another looming “food crises” in Africa.
Terrorism case adjourned
An Ethiopian judge delayed the verdict on Friday in the case of 24 people charged with terrorism, including prominent journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition member Andualem Arage. The conclusion of the trial, which has been widely condemned by human rights organisations, was postponed until June 21 because the judge had not received a full transcript of the defendants’ case.
Ethiopian journalist faces verdict
By: Naomi Hunt, Press Freedom Adviser for Africa & the Middle East
VIENNA, May 7, 2012 – A verdict in the trial of critical journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition figures accused of terrorism-related crimes is expected on Friday, May 11. Ethiopia’s crackdown on the media and freedom of expression has received bad press around the world, with major international mediacovering the issue and newsmakers from all around the world speaking outagainst the jailing of journalists (and other government critics) on terrorism charges.
IPI urges Schwab to speak out on press freedom
IPI today published an open letter to Klaus Schwab, Founder & Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, urging him to speak out on press freedom. The World Economic Forum on Africa is scheduled for May 9 to May 11, 2012 and will be held in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. Journalists are also being [...]
New printing directive equals pre-censorship
New printing directive equals pre-censorship The directive from Barhanena Selam, in Amharic. (CPJ) New York, May 9, 2012 (CPJ) –Ethiopia’s main, state-owned printing company has directed newspaper publishers to censor any content that may draw government prosecution under the country’s anti-terrorism law or face cancellation of their printing contracts, according to local journalists and news reports. [...]
Ethiopia allots 4 million hct. of land for investors
William Davidson (Bloomberg) Ethiopia has made more than 4 million hectares (9.9 million acres) of “fertile and unutilized” land available for agriculture companies that meet government requirements, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said. About 300,000 hectares has been leased for commercial farming so far, he said at an Ethiopian investment forum today in the capital, Addis Ababa. [...]
Karaturi eyes Ethiopia export to S. South
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, May 9 (Reuters) – Indian-listed Karuturi Global, which has leased land in Ethiopia for commercial farming, plans to export cereals, sugar and edible oil to South Sudan and Kenya upon completing cultivation in 2014, its director said on Wednesday. The Horn of Africa country has earmarked some four million hectares [...]
Awramba Times launched online
By Genet Lakew Awramba Times (Washington DC) Ethiopia’s leading independent newspaper is back, this time online and from the United States. Editor Dawit Kebede, joined by supporters, officially launched the Awramba Times website on Saturday, May 5, 2012. Activists Tamagne Beyene and Masresha Tilahun, a representative from the Ethiopian Youth National Movement, were the invited [...]
Tension with Muslim community; gov’t fears Jihad
By Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s government has expelled two Arabs who flew in from the Middle East after the pair went to a mosque and tried to incite violence, an official said Saturday. The two men visited Addis Ababa’s Grand Anwar Mosque on Friday and disseminated materials and made inflammatory statements, said [...]
Justice for Sierra Leone! No Justice for Ethiopia?
After 420 days of trial (over nearly four years), 115 witness, over 50,000 pages of testimony, and 1,520 exhibits, Charles Taylor, warlord-turned-president of Liberia, was found guilty on 11 counts by the U.N. Special Court for Sierra Leone. Taylor was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity (including murder, rape, mutilating civilians, including cutting off their limbs, conscripting child soldiers, sexual slavery and other acts of terrorism)…
Reeyot Alemu: Young Heroine of Ethiopian Press Freedom
The past two weeks have been glorious days for Africans. Eskinder Nega, the heroic Ethiopian journalist was honored with Pen America’s Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. The award honors writers throughout the world who have fought courageously in the face of adversity for the right to freedom of expression. Charles Taylor, warlord-turned-Liberian-president, was convicted of 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the U.N. Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone. Yesterday Reeyot Alemu, the young Ethiopian journalist, became the winner of the International Women’s Media Foundation 2012 Courage in Journalism Award.
Reeyot, 31, is a teacher and columnist for the independent Ethiopian newsweekly Feteh. When she and her co-defendant Woubshet Taye were arrested in June 2011, they were accused of plotting to sabotage telephone and electricity lines and held incommunicado. In a June 17 column in Feteh, Reeyot criticized Zenawi’s harebrained public fundraising campaign for the so-called Grand Renaissance Dam on Abay River project. That column seemed to have gotten Zenawi’s goat.
PEN honors jailed Ethiopian journalist
An imprisoned Ethiopian journalist and blogger who could face the death penalty for advocating peaceful protests in his Horn of Africa homeland was honored Tuesday with PEN America’s “Freedom to Write” award. Eskinder Nega was arrested in 2011 under Ethiopia’s sweeping anti-terrorism laws, which PEN says criminalize any reporting deemed to “encourage” or “provide moral support” to groups and causes the government deems “terrorists.”
SaudiStar workers killed in raid
Saudi Star Pakistani Foreign Workers and Ethiopians Killed in Raid on Saudi Farm Compound—Believed Related to Land grabs Indigenous people fear collective retaliation by TPLF/EPRDF Security Forces as was done in the Ogaden after the killing of the Chinese On April 28, 2012 at about 5:00 PM, unknown assailants attacked workers at the Saudi Star [...]
Ethiopians could still go hungry
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Bloombers–A report forecasting increasing hunger in parts of Ethiopia in the next few decades makes agonizing reading for a proud people eager to see their nation’s reputation for human misery banished. A surging population – the current population of 90.9 million will double over 22 years at the current 3.2 percent growth [...]
Security kills four Ethiopian Muslims
Bloomberg–Four people were killed in southeastern Ethiopia when Muslim protesters attacked a police station following the arrest of a preacher, said State Minister of Communications Shimeles Kemal. The deaths occurred on April 27 in Asasa, in the Arsi Zone of Oromia region, after a crowd tried to free the imam, Shimeles said in a phone [...]
Ethiopia: A special tribute to my hero Eskinder Nega
On May 1, 2012, Eskinder Nega, Ethiopia’s foremost journalist and political prisoner, will be awarded the “Freedom to Write Award”, the highest honor given out by Pen America, one of the great international free press institutions that has been in continuous operation since 1922. The award honors writers throughout the world who have fought courageously in the face of adversity for the right to freedom of expression.
Isaias Afeworki says he is in great shape
Thirty days to the day, Eritrea’s dictator Isaias Afwerki re-appeared on state TV to counter rumors that he is seriously sick or dying.
Heavily made up and wearing an over-sized short-sleeved shirt, light blue pants and sandals, the relaxed-looked Eritrean president was animated in his condemnation of the myriad of enemies who “disseminate cheap fabrications.” He attributed their motive to “destitution, panic, frustration and consternation” at Eritrea’s rapid progress.
Ethiopia: Man burns himself alive in Addis
April 25 (ESAT News)–A man sets himself alight yesterday in central Addis Ababa. Eye-witnesses said that the man in his early 30s doused himself with petrol and burned himself at around 5 pm local time in front of the famous statue of Emperor Menelik. Some people who were around the shocking incident tried to put [...]
Press freedom heroes condemn Zenawi
VIENNA – Twenty international journalists who have been recognised as World Press Freedom Heroes by the Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) have condemned the Ethiopian government’s decision to jail Eskinder Nega and other journalists on terrorism charges, and called for their immediate release. Eskinder Nega, an online writer and critic of the current Ethiopian government, [...]
Eritrea says its president not dead
Reuters– Eritrea has sought to quash speculation about President Isaias Afewerki’s health, saying he was “fit as a fiddle” and lambasting the United States for spreading “lies” over his condition.
Rumours have been rife in the past few years that Isaias, 66 and in power since 1993 after leading his country to independence from Ethiopia, was in poor health and required regular trips abroad for treatment.
Green Justice or Ethnic Injustice?
By Prof. Al Mariam–Last week, dictator Meles Zenawi hectored his rubberstamp parliament in Ethiopia about the forced expulsion (or as some have described it “ethnic cleansing”) of Amharas from southern Ethiopia and zapped his critics for their irresponsibility in reporting and publicizing it. Zenawi denied any expulsion had taken place, but explained that some squatters (he described them as “sefaris from North Gojam”) had to be removed from their homesteads in the south purely out of environmental conservation concerns for the area’s forestlands.
Media control in Ethiopia
Democracy sits firmly upon principles of freedom,justice, social inclusion and participation in civil society.Where these qualities of fairness are absent so too is democracy, for the word is not the thing, to speak of democratic values is easy enough, to dismantle repressive methods and State practices that deny there expression is quite another.
Eritrea denies abduction of goldminers
Bloomberg–Eritrea’s government denied accusations by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi that it was responsible for abducting more than 100 gold miners in northwestern Ethiopia. The incident, which took place “recently,” was one of a series that prompted a counter-offensive by Ethiopian forces on March 15, when they attacked three military bases inside Eritrea used by rebels [...]
Zenawi accused Eritrea of kidnapping
Ethiopian Prime Minster Meles Zenawi has accused rival neighbour Eritrea of kidnapping a hundred people in the country’s north, claims dismissed by Asmara as a lie.
Addressing parliament in the capital Tuesday, Meles charged the government of Eritrea with kidnapping “some 100 Ethiopian youth engaged in gold exploration in northwest part of Ethiopia,” according to the state Ethiopian News Agency .
PEN America honors Eskinder Nega with top journalism award
New York City—PEN American Center today named Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger in Ethiopia, as the recipient of its 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. Nega, a leading advocate for press freedom and freedom of expression in Ethiopia, was arrested on September 14, 2011, and is currently being tried under the country’s sweeping anti-terror legislation, which criminalizes any reporting deemed to “encourage” or “provide moral support” to groups and causes which the government considers to be “terrorist.”
UN security official on trial for terrorism
An Ethiopian national working for the United Nations in the restive Ogaden region is being tried on terrorism charges for allegedly having links with an outlawed rebel group. The defendant was arrested last year after helping to negotiate the release of two kidnapped U.N. aid workers. U.N. security officer Abdirahman Sheikh Hassan appeared briefly in an Addis Ababa courtroom Monday. His case was continued until May 15.
Maitre Artiste Afewerk Tekle dies at 80
Ethiopia’s renowned and acclaimed painter the most honorable Maitre Artiste World Laureate Afewerk Tekle has died late last night at the age of 80 at Kadisco Hospital, Capital learnt.
The country’s much-admired artist died due to a severe illness after receiving treatment in the capital Addis Ababa, a close family, who didn’t want to be named, told Capital on Wednesday morning. The artist’s passage and funeral plans are expected to be announced later in the day.
Ethiopian rebels attack Sudanese governor
A convoy carrying the governor of Sudan’s eastern state of Al-Qadarif across the shared borders with Ethiopia on Sunday was attacked by suspected members of the Ethiopian gang known as Shifta, Sudan Tribune has learned. Karam Allah Abbas, governor of Sudan’s eastern state of Al-QadarifThe attack took place as the convoy of the governor, Karam Allah Abbas, was crossing Um Dabalo area in Abu Sanda Sudanese locality bordering Ethiopia.
Gambellans outraged over cold blood killing
April 09, 2012 (AM) – Meles Zenwai’s defense forces have shot to death an Anuak student in Gambella town without provocation, our sources say. There are also reports that bullets are being heard throughout the city of Gambella town since sun down on Thursday night. Student, Tido Kul Oman, who was shot to death by [...]
Girmay of Askallukan asks for acquittal
By Abdi Tsegaye (AF) The hearing of the fraud charge on Girmay Gebremichael, deputy manager of Askallukan Trading Plc at the Federal High Court 16th Criminal Bench has been adjourned to May 3 after the court heard four testimonies, including that of Girmay himself, on Tuesday, April 3, 2012. Girmay was accused of swindling 1,200 [...]
When suicide is the only escape
For Alem Dechesa, death was the only way out. For thousands of voiceless Ethiopian domestic workers working in Lebanon, suicide is the only avenue for escaping a nihilistic existence. I witnessed the range of human rights abuses endured by Ethiopian maids – from both the perspective of a Lebanese insider and a human rights attorney – and found that Dechesa’s death was anything but a horrific aberration, but a common consequence of the modern-day slavery industry in Lebanon. Inside Story – The plight of domestic workers abroad. Dechesa took her life on March 14, after experiencing severe beatings, mental abuse and potentially more, from her employer.
UN urges Lebanon to investigate maid’s death
The UN special rapporteur on slavery has urged the Lebanese government to carry out a full investigation into the death of an Ethiopian domestic worker. Alem Dechasa, 33, killed herself on 14 March, a few days after she was filmed being beaten by men and dragged into a car in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Gulnara [...]
Saudi billlionaire to invest in cooking oil
Bloomberg–An Ethiopian company majority-owned by Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi plans to invest $600 million over two years to produce edible oil, its general manager said. Horizon Plantations Ethiopia leased a 20,000-hectare (49,400-acre) plot in the northwestern Benishangul-Gumuz region last month to grow groundnuts, as part of a government drive to boost commercial agriculture, Jemal Ahmed [...]
Ethiopia arrests UN worker for “terrorism”
By William Davison April 5 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia is prosecuting one of its nationals who works for the United Nations under the country’s anti-terrorism law for having links with a banned ethnic-Somali rebel group, Amnesty International said. Abdirahman Sheik Hassan, a UN security officer, was arrested in July after he helped to negotiate the release of two World Food [...]
Ethiopian man in Philadelphia in “serious condition” after attack
Philly Inquirer–A $10,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest of the man who attacked a Center City parking-lot attendant with a brick this week. The attendant, Asrat Mamo, was taken to the hospital Wednesday night in critical condition after he was found unconscious on the ground at the parking lot on [...]
Ethiopia’s resettlement plan falls short on development
GAMBELLA (AFP) When the Ethiopian government asked Thwol Othoy if he wanted to be resettled, he agreed, attracted by promises of a better life – a clinic, school for his children and land to farm. But he now struggles to feed his family. After moving from western Ethiopia to the tiny town of Abobo in [...]
Ethiopians protest against consulate in Lebanon
A crowd of Ethiopians gathered outside the Ethiopian Consulate in Badaro Sunday afternoon to protest its neglect of their community in Lebanon. Following a Sunday church service nearby, a few dozen women and one man walked to the consulate and demonstrated outside. The assembled expressed their frustration with consular officials’ perceived callousness, saying that when Ethiopians contact their consulate in Lebanon via telephone they are often ignored or hung up on.
Ethiopian terrorism trial hears journalist defendant
A dissident Ethiopian journalist on trial for terrorism has categorically denied the charges and warned the court that history would judge its verdict.
A three-judge panel listened Wednesday as journalist Eskinder Nega described himself as a prisoner of conscience and rejected accusations that he had conspired to overthrow the government through violence.
Eskinder is one of 24 defendants, including opposition politicians and several exiled journalists, charged with supporting Ginbot Seven, a political party the government has labelled a terrorist group. Lawyers say they could face the death penalty if convicted.
No way for Ethiopian refugees in Norway
Alemayehu G Mariam Ethiopians are having a very hard time. Inside their own country, they are victimized by dictatorship, famine and pestilence. Thousands of Ethiopians who have fled political persecution and economic privation caused by systemic and massive corruption and poor governance are facing unspeakable victimization in various parts of North Africa, the Middle East [...]
Ethio-Eritrean forum slated for Saturday
(PR) A team of Ethiopian and Eritrean professionals continue to press on for a harmonious relationship between their two communities who share deep historical, cultural and societal ties. The Fourth Annual Friendship Conference is slated for Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Masonic Center located at 2500 Masonic Drive in San Jose, California. The conference [...]
Meles and the decontruction of Ethiopia
My customary readers may wonder why my political writings increasingly focus on psychological analyses to the detriment of socioeconomic forces. Is it because in my mind psychological factors prevail over socioeconomic conditions? The answer is no unless certain circumstances lend importance to the personality of political leaders.
Ethiopia launches more raids against Eritrea
(Al Jazeera) Ethiopian troops have carried out more attacks on what they say are rebel bases inside neighbouring Eritrea, a government official said.
The official said the attacks on Saturday, a day after Eritrea called for UN action over a similar incursion earlier in the week, took place in Badme in the north of the Red Sea state.
Eritrea condemns aggression
The Eritrean government said Friday that the attack on its military outposts by neighboring Ethiopia was meant to divert attention from a border dispute between the two countries. Ethiopia said Thursday it carried out a ground assault on the outposts because Eritrea was training “subversive groups” that carried out attacks inside Ethiopia. No details about [...]
Maltreated maid in Lebanon kills herself
BEIRUT — An Ethiopian housemaid in Lebanon committed suicide on Wednesday, Ethiopia’s consul general said, a week after video footage of her being dragged along the streets by a man and forced into a car sparked national outrage. “I went to the hospital today and they said that she hanged herself at 6 o’clock this morning,” [...]
Al Amoudi gold find may double production
(Bloomberg) National Mining Corp., a closely held company owned by Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi, said it found gold deposits in southern Ethiopia that may produce at least 10 metric tons a year, almost doubling national output. Exploration conducted over 15 years shows the Okote site in Ethiopia’s Oromia region has more than 550 tons of [...]
Ethiopia exports 45k maids per month to Saudi Arabia
Editor’s note: At a time when so many Ethiopian housemaids have been facing abuse, rape and unimaginable misery as a result of the modern slave trade, the Ethiopian government is exporting 45,000 housemaids to Saudi Arabia. The following story that appeared on Saudi Gazette is very disturbing. JEDDAH – Ethiopia is facilitating procedures to send [...]
Ethiopia carries out attacks against Eritrea
Ethiopian forces entered archrival Eritrea on Thursday and carried out what a government spokesman described as “a successful attack” against military posts. Shimeles Kemal said Ethiopia launched the attack because Eritrea was training “subversive groups” that carried out attacks inside Ethiopia. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war from 1998 to 2000. Tensions have reignited between the countries in recent months.
Ethiopian charity law destroys human rights groups
Ethiopia’s ban on charities from working on human-rights issues if they receive more than 10 percent of their funds from abroad has had a devastating impact on advocacy groups in the country, Amnesty International said. Organizations closed, shifted focus or scaled down their activities because of the 2009 statute, which also forces charities to spend [...]
Lou Nuer tribesmen fleeing into Ethiopia
(UNHCR) This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 13 March 2012, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Thousands of Lou Nuer tribespeople from South Sudan are seeking refuge in western Ethiopia. Most are women, [...]
Gunmen kill 19, wound 8, in bus attack
An Ethiopian official says unknown gunmen in the country’s southwest have killed 19 people in an attack on a public bus.
The president of Ethiopia’s Gambella region said Tuesday that eight people were wounded. Omod Obang Olum said the victims were Ethiopian residents traveling in a public bus that got ambushed near a town called Bonga by attackers with machine guns.
Donald Payne: A Farewell to a Human Rights Champion
How does one say farewell to a great friend of Ethiopia and Africa? Representative Donald Payne, the dean of New Jersey’s House delegation and the first black congressman elected to represent New Jersey, died at age 77 from colon cancer on Tuesday.
IPI appeals to Ban Ki-Moon on Ethiopia
Alison Bethel McKenzie, Executive Director of International Press Institute, has appealed to Ban Ki-moon to press for the release of jailed journalists in Ethiopia and violations against freedom of expression. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon United Nations New York, NY 10017 USA 212-963-5012 fax: 212-963-7055 Email: ecu@un.org RE: Appeal for an End to Persecution of Journalists [...]
Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey dies
U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, the first black elected to represent New Jersey in Congress, died Tuesday. He was 77. Payne’s brother, William, said he died at St. Barnabas Hospital.
The 12-term member of the House had announced in February that he was undergoing treatment for colon cancer and would continue to represent his district.
He had held his congressional seat since 1988 and was elected to a 12th term in 2010. He represented the 10th District, which includes the city of Newark and parts of Essex, Hudson and Union counties.
Payne was a member of House committees on education and foreign affairs. He also had served as chairman of the House subcommittee on Africa, and had traveled many times to the continent on foreign affairs matters.
Ethiopia: From dictatorship to democracy
Mahatma Gandhi first formulated the iron law of history for dictators: “There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall – think of it, always.” Just in the past year we have seen Gandhi’s words come to pass as dictators fell like dominoes in the Arab Spring: Ben Ali in Tunisia got the boot after 24 years. Hosni Mubarak was thrown out and hauled into court after 32 years. Moamar Gadhafi in Libya was literally dragged out of the sewers, paraded in the streets and and executed with his own golden pistol. Ali Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years and went into exile after suffering disfiguring burns and shrapnel injuries. Bashir al-Assad is running a slaughter house in Syria, and he will surely face the same fate as his brother dictators.
Sub-Sahara Africa has also seen its share of fallen dictators. Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire was collared holed up in his palace and turned over to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity. Mamadou Tandja of Niger tried to cling to power by ignoring constitutional term limits, but Niger’s military ousted him. Tandja’s principal opponent was subsequently elected president.
Notice: Technical issues
Addis Voice is currently experiencing technical issues that have made the site inaccessible to some of our visitors. We are working to sort out the problems as soon as possible. We appreciate your patience. Admin
Ethiopia as a waste disposal
The embattled former tyrant president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh is going to settle in Ethiopia. Ethiopia will be his home in exile. Ethiopia was not his first choice. He wanted to settle in Oman his neighbor on the West. The Sultan of Oman was not receptive to the idea. His attempt to go to the UAR was politely rebuffed. Ethiopia is a refuge of last resort. We are being used as a dump.
Negotiations to free jailed journalists in Ethiopia near end
By Peter Heinlein (VOA) A senior European diplomat said Wednesday that negotiations for the release of two Swedish journalists imprisoned in Ethiopia are in the final stage. European member of parliament and former Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel expressed optimism that Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson could be released within days. “I expect [...]
A battle for land and water
A controversial resettlement program in Ethiopia is the latest battleground in the global race to secure prized farmland and water. Correspondent Cassandra Herrman reports as part of the Food for 9 Billion series, a NewsHour partnership with the Center for Investigative Reporting, Homelands Productions and Marketplace.
Jailed UDJ VP needs medical care
By William Davison Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) — An imprisoned Ethiopian opposition leader needs urgent medical attention 12 days after being assaulted in his cell, former President Negasso Gidada said. Andualem Aragie, head of public relations for the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, was kicked in the head and beaten by a fellow prisoner on [...]
Haile could miss olympic games
(AP) ETHIOPIAN Olympic great Haile Gebrselassie is in danger of missing the London Games after finishing fourth with a modest time in the Tokyo marathon won by Kenyan Michael Kipyego. Japan’s Arata Fujiwara was second in 2:07:48, followed by Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich in 2:07:50.Gebrselassie, 38, had set himself a target of two hours and five [...]
Al Amoudi to invest $3.4 billion
By William Davidson (Bloomberg) Derba Group, an amalgam of three Ethiopian companies owned by Saudi billionaire Mohammed al- Amoudi, said it plans to invest 59 billion birr ($3.4 billion) in seven industrial projects over the next five years. The company, formed last month, has already invested 12 billion birr of a planned 71 billion birr [...]
Yemen’s Saleh to Seek Exile in Ethiopia
By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen February 27, 2012 (AP) Aides to Ali Abdullah Saleh said Monday that the ousted Yemeni president plans to go into exile in Ethiopia, as pressures mounted on him to depart the country for fear of sparking a new cycle of violence. Saleh’s presence in Yemen is a major [...]
Political prisoners inside Ethiopia’s gulags
The “Gulag” prison system in the old Soviet Union was infamous for warehousing and persecuting dissidents and opponetns. The gulags were used effectively to weed out and neutralize opposition to the Soviet state. They were the quintessential tools of Soviet state terrorism. Some called them “meat-grinders” because of the extremely harsh and inhumane conditions.
Africa’s Hall of Shame in Addis Ababa
By Fekade Shewaken–The debate on whether Emperor Hailesilassie’s statue deserves to stand along with that of Kwame Nkrumah in front of the newly inaugurated AU headquarters in Addis Ababa built by the government of China as a “gift” to the AU misses a lot of big points. In my view, and I am sure in the views of many observers of Africa, the entire building itself is one giant statue of shame for Africa.
Baidoa captured from al-Shabaab fighters
(Reuters/ AFP )The strategic Somali city of Baidoa was captured from al-Shabaab insurgents by Somali troops. Truckloads of Ethiopian and Somali troops on Wednesday captured the strategic Somali city of Baidoa from al-Qaeda-allied al-Shabaab insurgents, who vowed to avenge their biggest loss in several months. The blow to the insurgency coincided with the U.N. Security [...]
Survival uncovers shocking human rights abuses in Ethiopia
Survival International has uncovered shocking new evidence of human rights abuses against tribes in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley, as government efforts to develop lucrative sugar cane plantations in the region intensify. Bulldozers are flattening land near a UNESCO World Heritage Site, destroying villages.
Sibhat Gebregziabher passes away
The famous Ethiopian author Sibhat Gebregziabher died on Monday, Feb 20th 2012, at the age of 84 in Addis Ababa. Sibhat was born in 1928 in the historical town of Adwa, Northern Ethiopia. He published numerous works of fiction and non-fiction in French and Amharic. He was also known for his short stories and controversial [...]
Lebanon joins Eritrea to condemn Ethiopia’s jamming practice
(Inewp) The Ethiopian government, in its desperate attempt to jam the increasingly popular Eritrean Television from being viewed in Ethiopia and the region, has instead knocked a number of other satellite TV operators out from the service of Arabsat and Nilesat networks. Lebanon, the latest victim country, is now openly condemning the jamming practice of [...]
US groups to picket for release of Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia
By Luiza Oleszczuk , Christian Post Reporter The Ethiopian community in Washington, D.C. and Christian supporters of a group of Ethiopian Christians detained in Saudi Arabia plan to hold a protest in front of the Saudi embassy next week. The supporters call for the release of a group of 35 Ethiopian Christians detained on Dec. [...]
Ogaden Somalis say army kills 16
Ethiopian rebels said the country’s army killed 16 civilians when they opened fire on a gathering of residents at a town in the southeastern Ogaden region.
At least 20 people were killed in the Feb. 12 attack at the Gunagado district in Degahbur, about 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Addis Ababa, the Ogaden National Liberation Front said in an e-mailed statement today. Residents were meeting to discuss the killing of an elder and the district commissioner the night before, it said.
ESAT is ours, declare supporters in Atlanta
Atlanta–”ESAT is ours and we are for ESAT” was the favorite slogan at the fundraiser that Ethiopians and Ethio-Americans held on Saturday February 4, at Jade Event Hall. When guest speakers artist and activist Tamagne Beyene, artist Shambel Belayneh, Journalist Dawit Kebede and activist Teklemichael Abebe arrived, the crowd welcomed them with a standing ovation. [...]
Ethiopia’s tribes cry for help
The Lower Omo Valley in south-western Ethiopia is a vast and rugged region of mountains and valleys, inhabited largely by nomadic agro-pastoralist tribes numbering some 200,000 people. Many live a simple existence, living in straw thatched huts and have little contact with the outside world. But the Ethiopian government’s new found appetite for large-scale sugar production threatens the very existence of many of these tribes.
Saudis pressed to release Ethiopian Christians
WASHINGTON (BP) — America’s congressionally approved watchdog for global religious liberty has called on Saudi Arabia to release 35 Ethiopian Christians arrested during a prayer meeting and imprisoned for nearly two months. Saudi police raided a private home in Jeddah Dec. 15 and arrested the 29 women and six men gathered to pray, according to International Christian Concern reported.
Ethiopian PM defends anti-terror law
By Peter Henlein (VOA) Ethiopia has launched a vigorous defense of an anti-terrorism law that has been used to imprison journalists and opposition politicians. The law’s critics call it an effective tool for silencing dissent. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Wednesday lashed out at human rights and press freedom groups that have criticized implementation of [...]
Zenawi says may pardon jailed detainees
(Reuters) Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday Ethiopia could pardon politicians and journalists arrested under a 2009 anti-terrorism law, but dismissed opposition criticism he was using the law to clamp down on dissent. Rights groups say the government has used the law to crack down on its opponents, saying 150 opposition politicians and supporters have been detained under its provisions in the past three years.
African Beggars Union Hall?
By Prof. Alenayehu G. Mariam–The new African Union (AU) headquarters was inaugurated last week. It was “China’s gift to Africa.” China picked the entire USD$200 million tab for the building, fixtures and furniture. The China State Construction Engineering Corporation constructed the building using nearly all Chinese workers. Meles Zenawi, the dictator in Ethiopia, waxed poetic as he blessed the new building and consecrated the “continuing prosperous partnership” between Africa and China:
UN condemns Ethiopia’s anti-terror law
(United Nations) A group of independent United Nations human rights experts today spoke out against the ongoing use of anti-terrorism laws to curb freedom of expression in Ethiopia, where several journalists were recently given prison sentences under such legislation.
African Dictators: Can’t Run, Can’t Hide!
Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–The International Criminal Court (ICC) is on the chase; and over the past few months, things have taken a slow turn for the worse for African dictators and human rights violators. They are finding out that they can’t run and they can’t hide. Laurent “Cling-to-power-at-any-cost” Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire was snatched from his palatial hiding place in April 2011 after he defiantly refused to give up power to Alassane Ouattara in a presidential election certified by international observers in December 2010.
Ethiopians in New York gather at Columbia
As part of the continuing effort to bring democracy to Ethiopia by ending the divisive and ethno-centric dictatorial rule of Meles Zenawi, Ethiopians residing in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state area held a historic political discussion on January 28, 2012 at Columbia University. The forum brought together Diaspora community members, including students, [...]
Ethiopians Christians arrested at prayer in Saudi
Beirut (Reuters) – Thirty five Ethiopian Christians are awaiting deportation from Saudi Arabia for “illicit mingling,” after police arrested them when they raided a private prayer gathering in Jeddah in mid-December, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. Of those arrested, 29 were women. They were subjected to arbitrary body cavity searches in custody, three of [...]
What’s Meles Got to Hide?
IN a filthy Ethiopian prison that is overridden with lice, fleas and huge rats, two Swedes are serving an 11-year prison sentence for committing journalism. Martin Schibbye, 31, and Johan Persson, 29, share a narrow bed, one man’s head beside the other’s feet. Schibbye once woke up to find a rat mussing his hair.
The prison is a violent, disease-ridden place, with inmates fighting and coughing blood, according to Schibbye’s wife, Linnea Schibbye Steiner, who last met with her husband in December. It is hot in the daytime and freezing cold at night, and the two Swedes are allowed no mail or phone calls, she said.
ARDUF blames regime hostage crisis
By William Davidson (Bloomberg) An Ethiopian rebel group said the country’s government is blocking the release of two German hostages the fighters are holding. Communications Minister Bereket Simon denied the allegation. The two Germans and two Ethiopians were abducted during a Jan. 17 attack on a group of tourists on the edge of Erta Ale [...]
Records tumble as Ethiopians dominate
DUBAI: Ayele Abshero and his Ethiopian colleagues turned the marathon tide substantially Friday in a sizzling Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon which rewrote the record books. Abshero, just turned 21, ran the fastest winning debut in history, taking the title in an event record time of 2:04:23 — the fourth fastest in history — while the [...]
Journalists, politicians get jail sentences in Ethiopia
An Ethiopian judge on Thursday handed down prison sentences ranging from 14 years to life to three journalists and two politicians. The five were arrested last year and charged last week under Ethiopia’s controversial anti-terrorism laws. Ethiopian officials had said they were involved in planning attacks on infrastructure, telecommunications and power lines.
Eskinder Nega risks death penalty
New York, January 25, 2012 (CPJ) Jailed Ethiopian dissident blogger Eskinder Nega will stand trial in March for all of the terrorism accusations initially advanced by prosecutors, a federal high court judge ruled yesterday, local sources said. If convicted on all charges, he could face the death penalty. Judge Endeshaw Adane of the third criminal [...]
14 years in jail for Reeyot and Wubishet
An Ethiopian judge sentenced three journalists, an opposition politician and another person to prison terms ranging from 14 years to life in jail for terrorism-related crimes. Elias Kifle, who was convicted in absentia and runs the U.S.-based Ethiopian Review website, received a life sentence, said Federal High Court Judge Endeshaw Adane. Woubshet Taye, former deputy editor of the now-closed Awramba Times and Reeyot Alemu, a columnist for Fitih newspaper was were sentenced each to 14 years by the court in the capital, Addis Ababa, today.
Ethiopia lifts ban on 35 athletes, including Bekele
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Ethiopia has lifted its suspension of 35 athletes, including double Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele, an athletics official said on Tuesday after imposing a ban last week in a row over a training camp. The Ethiopian Athletics Federation imposed the measure on Thursday after Bekele, Olympic women’s [...]
Journalists are not terrorists
Paris (RwB) Reporters Without Borders (RwB) has just visited Ethiopia, where two Swedish journalists, Kontinent news agency reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson, were sentenced to 11 years in prison on 29 December on charges of entering the country illegally and supporting terrorism.
During the visit, from 9 to 12 January, the two Swedish journalists decided to request a presidential pardon instead of appealing against their conviction. “In Ethiopia, there is a long tradition of pardons and we have chosen to leave it to this tradition,” they said, announcing their decision on 10 January in Addis Ababa’s Kality prison.
Crimes against the mind
By Prof. Al Mariam–If a person were to maliciously burn or vandalize another’s house, it would be regarded as a serious property crime under the laws of any nation. If one were to walk into a bookstore and steal thousands of books and give them away to any passerby, that would also be a major property crime. How about taking a copyrighted book, scanning it and making it available to anyone in digital form online? Is that a serious criminal act?
Ethiopians protest racism in Israel
Covering the shabby concrete storefronts in this small Israeli town are graffiti messages expressing the anger some Ethiopians feel over what they see as racism. An unemployed Ethiopian immigrant waiting at the bus terminal says he has little hope of finding a job. In a predominantly Ethiopian neighborhood named for Zionist forefather Theodor Herzl, residents complain that landlords use racist deals to keep them out of apartment blocks where white Israelis live.
Yemeni president leaves for US
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s president left his battered nation on Sunday, his spokesman said, after delivering a farewell speech in which he asked for forgiveness and said it was time to hand over power. But in a sign that Ali Abdullah Saleh’s role as a power broker in Yemeni affairs may be far from [...]
Terror convictions an affront to free speech
The Ethiopian authorities must immediately release four government critics and a former opposition supporter who have been found guilty of terrorism charges on Thursday, Amnesty International said today. Journalists Reyot Alemu and Woubshet Taye, opposition party leader Zerihun Gebre-Egziabher and former opposition supporter Hirut Kifle, were found guilty on terror and money laundering charges. Journalist Elias Kifle, now based in the US, was also found guilty in absentia.
Ethiopia suspends Kenenisa Bekele
BRUSSELS — Olympic distance-running great Kenenisa Bekele has been suspended by the Ethiopian federation for not reporting to a training camp in a move that could affect whether he competes at the London Games. Bekele, winner of the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the Beijing Olympics, was among 35 Ethiopian athletes who were originally suspended [...]
Ethiopia: Journalists, politician found guilty
By LUC VAN KEMENADE Associated Press An Ethiopian court on Thursday found three journalists, a politician and a politician’s assistant guilty of conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, in a case that drew rebukes from rights groups who fear the country’s anti-terrorism law is being used to suppress dissent. The five were charged under Ethiopia’s [...]
Ethiopia says slain tourists from Europe
(Reuters) – Two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were killed by gunmen in an attack on tourists in the remote Afar region of northern Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government said on Wednesday.
Government spokesman Bereket Simon said a Hungarian and an Italian were wounded while two Germans and two Ethiopians had been kidnapped in the Tuesday attack, that happened in an area prone to banditry and where separatist rebels have operated. Afar is a barren corner in the Horn of Africa country, and one of the earth’s harshest terrains. The highest average annual temperature ever recorded was in Afar’s Danakil Depression at 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius).
Five tourists killed in Afar region, state TV says
By Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Five foreign tourists were killed by unknown armed rebels in Ethiopia’s restive Afar region in the country’s north, Ethiopian state television reported on Tuesday. The Ethiopian Television, or ETV, cited the Ethiopian Ministry of Defense reporting a group of eight unidentified foreign nationals were attacked near the Eritrean [...]
Ethiopia Airlines rejects Lebanon report
(BBC) There were no survivors after the Boeing 737-800 crashed into the sea off Beirut on 25 January 2010 Continue reading the main story Related StoriesLebanon retrieves jet black boxEthiopia plane ‘flew wrong way’Beirut crash jet recorders found Ethiopian Airlines officials have bluntly rejected the findings of a Lebanese investigation into an air crash off [...]
Ethiopia forcibly resettled 70,000 people
Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia has forcibly moved tens of thousands of semi-nomadic people in the country’s west to barren villages and threatened, assaulted and arrested those who resisted, an international rights group said in a report Tuesday. The Human Rights Watch report said that Ethiopia last year resettled about 70,000 people in [...]
Gambela president admits role in ethnic killings
Peter Heinlein (VOA) The president of a volatile Ethiopian regional state has been fired from his party leadership position after reportedly admitting involvement in a 2003 ethnic massacre. The leadership of the southern Gambella region is coming under increasing scrutiny for corruption and abusing the rule of law. Two privately-owned Ethiopian newspapers are reporting Gambella Regional President Omod Obang Olum has been removed from his post as head of the ruling Gambella Peoples’ Democratic Movement. The GPDM is affiliated with the country’s ruling party, the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front.
Open letter to Ludger Schadomsky
By Abebe Gellaw–I read your open letter to Ethiomedia with a great deal of interest. I appreciate some of the points you have made referring to the nature and conduct of the regime in Ethiopia that has severely curtailed freedom of expression in contravention of the letters of its own constitution and international conventions.
No aid for repressive tyrants
Development Research Institute (DRI) We … call on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and America’s Western allies to publicly repudiate Ethiopia’s efforts to use terrorism laws to silence political dissent. We also urge the U.S. to ensure that our more than $600 million in aid to Ethiopia is not used to foster repression.
Swedish journalists seek “pardon”
Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa (VOA) Two Swedish journalists sentenced to prison in Ethiopia on terrorism charges have decided to seek clemency rather than file an appeal. Ethiopia’s federal high court is currently hearing three other terrorism trials involving journalists and opposition politicians. Journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson said Tuesday they would not appeal [...]
Ethiopia accused of EriTV broadcasts
Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — Eritrea’s government accused neighboring Ethiopia of jamming its satellite broadcasts and threatened to take legal action, the Information Ministry said.
Ethiopia has been warned by the Arab Satellite Communications Organization that the interference is illegal, the Asmara-based ministry said in a statement on its website.
Ethiopian Politicians on Trial for Terrorism
Peter Heinlein (VOA) Two politicians who had been rising stars in Ethiopia’s ethnic Oromo opposition movement have pleaded “not guilty” to terrorism charges in Addis Ababa on Monday. Bekele Gerba and Olbana Lelisa appeared in federal court to hear charges accusing them of conspiring to overthrow Ethiopia’s government by force. They also stand accused of [...]
Birtukan amplifies “power of the powerless”
Washington DC—Ethiopia’s “Aung San Suu Kyi”, Birtukan Mideksa, democracy activists, politicians, diplomats and advocates of freedom around the world gathered Friday at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to celebrate the enduring legacies of Václav Havel (1936-2011).
Africans Unite! Ethiopians Unite!
By Prof. Al Mariam–To some extent, they have succeeded in fraying the delicate fabric of Ethiopian society and ripping out the sinews out of the Ethiopian body politics. They have sown the seeds of ethnic hatred and watered it with violence, corruption and repression. They have destroyed the peace and harmony of the Ethiopian people and replaced it with the jangling discord of suspicion, distrust and fear
Herman Cohen says TPLF’s rule unsustainable
Washington DC (ESAT)–America’s top diplomat for Africa under George H.W. Bush has said that the hegemonic minority rule of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is difficult to sustain as Ethiopians are demanding freedom and democracy. Former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Cohen, played a key role in Ethiopia’s transition from the military junta of Mengistu Hailemariam
ALEJE endorses new OLF position
Press Release A Historic Decision that Brings People Together In its historic meeting held in Minneapolis, Minnesota [on Dec 30 and 31], the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) National Council, led by General Kemal Gelchu, made a significant decision that adds the much needed energy to the struggle of the Ethiopian people against the ethnic dictatorship [...]
The great Ethiopian land-grab
By René Lefort (Open Democracy)–Land in Ethiopia is being leased to agro-industry investors on very long terms and below market rates. The beneficiaries have good political connections. But then land has been the play-thing of centralising authoritarians throughout Ethiopia’s recent history.
OLF drops secession, embraces Ethiopian unity
Washington DC (ESAT)–The Oromo Liberation Front has announced its historic decision to drop its long-held secessionist agenda and to embrace the unity of Ethiopia under a genuine federal arrangement that must guarantee the rights, equality and liberty of all Ethiopians. In a historic press release, the OLF, led by Brigadier General Kemal Gelchu, issued at the conclusion of its extraordinary National Council plenary, held on December 30 and 31 in Minnesota, the front spelt out its new vision in an unprecedented clarity.
I am…, but who are you?
On the evening of September 14, 2011, I was sitting with my son just outside my front door and watching the daylight lose its glory to the unpleasantness of the darkness. As the night progressed, I called my son and said, “ …let’s go inside.” He never answered. He was in another world, eagerly waiting to see that lovely moment when day and night quietly brush shoulders as the sun peeks over the horizon.
Ethiopia irked with outside criticism
Dec 30 (Reuters) – Ethiopia accused international rights groups of double-standards on Friday, citing their criticism of its treatment of two Swedish journalists who were jailed this week for aiding rebels and entering the country illegally. Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson were sentenced to 11 years in prison on Tuesday for aiding and promoting the [...]
Ethiopia is abusing terrorism law: McLure
American Journalist Jason McLure worked in Ethiopia as a foreign correspondent for Bloomberg from 2007 to 2010. McLure left Ethiopia on his own volition after his difficult assignment in Ethiopia, where he, along was a translator, was even detained by security agents in Mekele for two days. He was investigating allegations of food aid misuse for political ends in Ethiopia. McLure has recently launched a global campaign to press for the release of famed journalist Eskinder Nega and other journalists unjustly detained. McLure, who is the coordinator of Free Eskinder Nega Global Committee, says that the Ethiopian government has been abusing the word “terrorism” and twisting the anti-terrorism law to silence dissent.
Swedish journalists sentenced to 11 years in prison
A court in Ethiopia on Tuesday sentenced two Swedish journalists to 11 years in prison on charges of supporting terrorism after the two illegally entered the country with an ethnic Somali rebel group in a case that has been criticized by media rights groups.
Global petition protest terrorism charges
Dec. 23, 2011 – A broad international group of journalists, writers and human rights activists today called for the Ethiopian government to unconditionally release journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega, imprisoned since Sept. 14 on terrorism charges that carry a maximum sentence of death. The petition’s signatories include Mark Hamrick, president of the 3,500-member National Press [...]
The Case of Eskinder Nega
On September 14, 2011, Eskinder Nega, an Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger, was arrested by the Ethiopian authorities shortly after publishing an online column calling for an end to torture in Ethiopian prisons, a halt to the imprisonment of dissidents, and respect for freedom of expression. The charges against him are punishable by death, and carry a minimum sentence of fifteen years in prison
CPJ condemns trial of Swedish journalists
New York–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns an Ethiopian court’s decision to convict two Swedish photojournalists today in what appears to be a politicized trial.
Judge Shemsu Sirgaga found photojournalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson guilty of supporting terrorism and entering the country illegally, local journalists told CPJ. The convictions could lead to a sentence of up to 18 years. They are expected to be sentenced on December 27.
The convictions come amid a crackdown on independent reporting in Ethiopia, whether by local or foreign reporters, in what local journalists suspect is linked to government fears of a civil uprising as witnessed in North Africa. Ethiopian authorities have charged 10 journalists with trumped-up terrorism charges since June 2011, CPJ research shows. With seven journalists in prison, the country holds the ignominious title of the second leading jailer of journalists in Africa, second only to its neighbor Eritrea.
Ethiopia: Journalists convicted under unfair law
Deeply Flawed Anti-Terrorism Act Should be Revoked (London) – An Ethiopian court’s conviction of two Swedish journalists on charges of supporting terrorism after an unfair trial demonstrates that the country’s anti-terrorism law is fundamentally flawed and being used to repress legitimate reporting, Human Rights Watch said today. In the absence of genuine evidence against the [...]
Pentagon official says Ethiopia needs to move on
Washington DC (ESAT)–Ambassador Vicki Huddleston, Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense for Africa in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense, has said that Ethiopians have to move beyond the aftermath of elections 2005, which she referred to as a tragic time. In an exclusive interview she gave to ESAT at the Pentagon, Ambassador Huddleston said that the aftermath of the 2005 elections left people feel excluded and bitter.
North Korea mourns dead ruler
(Reuters) – North Koreans poured into the streets on Monday to mourn the death of leader Kim Jong-il and state media hailed his untested son as the “Great Successor” of the reclusive state whose atomic weapons ambitions are a major threat to the region. Earlier, a tearful North Korean television announcer, dressed in black and [...]
Havel, leader of “Velvet Revolution,” dies
(Reuters) – Vaclav Havel, a dissident playwright jailed by Communists who became Czech president and a worldwide symbol of peace and freedom after leading the bloodless “Velvet Revolution,” died at 75 on Sunday. Havel at his country home in Hradecek, north of Prague, of a long respiratory illness after surviving operations for lung cancer….
Ethiopia using terror law to silence dissent
(VOA) Amnesty International says Ethiopian authorities have been using anti-terror laws as a pretext to arrest and silence politicians and journalists who criticize government policies. In a report released Friday, the human rights group said at least 114 opposition politicians and six journalists have been arrested since March.
Time names “The Protester” Person of the Year
(Reuters) – From the Arab Spring to the Occupy Wall Street movement, “The Protester” was named Time magazine’s 2011 Person of the Year on Wednesday. Time defines the Person of the Year as someone who, for better or for worse, influences the events of the year.
Opposition leader labels gov’t ‘dictatorship’
Peter Heinlein (VOA) | Addis Ababa The newly elected leader of Ethiopia’s largest opposition group says his party faces a monumental task in trying to unseat what he calls “dictators” bent on silencing dissent. The party held leadership elections even as some of its top officials are being tried on terrorism charges. Hundreds of regional [...]
Ethiopia: The art of bleeding a country dry
“The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current of illicit capital leakage”, wrote Economist Sarah Freitas who co-authored an upcoming report with Lead Economist Dev Kar of Global Financial Integrity (GFI).
As winter begins, an African Spring heats up
By John Lloyds (Reuters) The Arab Spring’s effects continue to ripple outward. As Tahrir Square fills once more, it gains new momentum. For months now, the autocrats of Africa have feared it would move south, infecting their youth in often-unemployed, restless areas. That fear has come to the ancient civilization of Ethiopia, the second-most populous state (after Nigeria) in Africa.
The journalist as terrorist: an Ethiopian story
The Ethiopian government led by prime minister Meles Zenawi uses charges of terrorism to silence and intimidate its domestic critics. The political technique is now being extended by accusing independent journalists of conspiracy. One of his targets, Abiye Teklemariam Megenta, responds.
Swedish journalists deny backing ONLF
Peter Heinlein (VOA) Two Swedish journalists have told an Ethiopian court they were upholding the highest traditions of their profession when they were arrested in the company of rebels in the restive Ogaden region. Ethiopia has accused the pair of supporting a terrorist group in a case which is attracting international attention. Journalists Martin Schibbye [...]
Azeb Mesfin: The woman from Gadarif
By Abebe Gellaw–Little is known about Azeb Mesfin Haile’s journey to the heart of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and by extension the pinnacle of power in Ethiopia. She rarely gives interviews unless it is about scripted matters such as her “humanitarian” work.
Ethiopia loses $3.26 billion in illicit capital outflow
Global Financial Integrity WASHINGTON, DC – Corruption, kickbacks and bribery are on the rise in Ethiopia, according to a forthcoming report from Global Financial Integrity, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization. According to the study, illicit financial flows out of the African nation nearly doubled to US$3.26 Billion in 2009 over the previous year, with [...]
Security Council imposes sanctions on Eritrea
(CNN) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday slapped additional sanctions on Eritrea for allegedly providing support to armed groups seeking to destabilize Somalia and other parts of the Horn of Africa. “This resolution underscores the international community’s condemnation of Eritrea’s destabilizing behavior … and its support for terrorism,” said Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to [...]
Awramba Times: More Powerful Than…
Awramba Times: More Powerful Than Ten Thousand Bayonets
“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets,” fretted Napoleon Bonaparte, dictator of France, as he summed up his determination to crush that country’s independent press. For dictator Meles Zenawi, Awramba Times, the tip of the spear of press freedom in Ethiopia, is more to be feared than ten thousand bayonets.
Yenesew Gebre: Fabrication versus the truth
By Abebe Gellaw–After the news about the first known politically motivated self-immolation in Ethiopian history spread across the globe like wild fire, the shock wave the rare tragedy caused has been unprecedented. As much as 29-year old Yenesew Gebre’s self-sacrifice created a sense of outrage among ordinary Ethiopians, the Meles regime turned no stone unturned to discredit a defenseless dead man, who publicly chose horrific death than being abused and dehumanized in his own country.
Birtukan backs new EU democracy initiative
By Abebe Gellaw Ethiopian pro-democracy icon Birtukan Mideksa has joined forces with prominent leaders around the world to endorse the European Endowment for Democracy (EED). In an endorsement petition sent to the European Union and member states, Birtukan enthusiastically supported EED, which is under formation with a view to promoting the struggle for democracy and [...]
Think tank deplores Ethiopia land grab deals
By Abebe Gellaw–The founding Executive Director of the Oakland Institute (OI), an independent policy think tank based in California, USA, has condemned cheap land giveaway deals that have been displacing indigenous communities from their ancestral land. In an exclusive interview with the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), Anuradha Mittal has said that the deals are illegal and should be voided.
Amnesty urges African nations to arrest Bush
LUSAKA — Amnesty International on Thursday urged Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia to arrest former US president George W. Bush for violating international torture laws, during his African tour this week. Bush is touring the countries through to Monday to promote efforts to fight cervical and breast cancers, and Amnesty said the three nations have an [...]
Ethiopia’s crackdown ‘a threat to democracy’
By Jenny Vaughan (AFP) ADDIS ABABA — A spate of arrests and terrorism charges leveled against opposition politicians and journalists in Ethiopia this year raises fears of a government slide away from democracy, analysts warn. “The sheer numbers of arrests and prosecutions this year indicate a systematic crackdown, a systematic dismantling of the last few [...]
Ethiopians up in arms against gay meeting
African Review Religious leaders on Tuesday denounced the holding of a gay rights meeting scheduled for Saturday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, a day ahead of an international Aids gathering. The meeting is being organised by the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR), an African gay rights lobby group, a day ahead [...]
Ethiopia: Dictatorship is growing and worsening
UDJ Press Release–What we know from common sense and what we learn from school is that people learn from their mistakes and that, as a result, past mistakes would not be repeated. However, what we see in practice and what is enigmatic is the fact that people do not learn from history.
Ethiopian journalists worry after editor flees
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, Nov 28 (Reuters) – The managing editor of one of Ethiopia’s few remaining independent Amharic-language newspapers publishing critical analysis of local politics said he left the country last week for fear of arrest, a U.S.-based press freedom group said. Dawit Kebede, managing editor of Awramba Times, spent two years behind [...]
Why is Ethiopia poor?
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–George Ayittey, the renowned Ghanaian economist and president of the Free Africa Foundation swears that “Africa is poor because she is not free”. Like Ayittey, Robert Guest, business editor for The Economist, in his book The Shackled Continent (2004), declares that “Africans are poor because they are poorly governed.”
ESAT Radio Daily Broadcast to Ethiopia
Monday Nov 28 2011 Sunday Nov 27 2011 Saturday Nov 26 2011 Friday Nov 25 2011 Wednesday Nov 23, 2011 Tuesday Nov 22, 2011 Monday Nov 21 2011 Sunday Nov 20 2011 Saturday Nov 19 2011 Friday Nov 18 2011 Thursday Nov 17 2011 Wednesday Nov 16 2011 Tuesday Nov 15 2011 (Special program on [...]
Ayittey says Ethiopia must end Zenawi’s apartheid
By Abebe Gellaw–The renowned Ghanaian economist Prof. George Ayittey, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of African dictators, has said that the politics of exclusion, which is reminiscent of Apartheid era South Africa, should come to an end in Ethiopia.
I am Eskinder Nega
Who am I? You know me. I am Eskinder Nega. I am predictable. I am direct and to the point. Both friends and enemies know me well. They know where I stand. I have drawn my line in the sand quite a while ago. That line is vivid for everyone to see including my tormentors. I am neither a mystery nor a puzzle.
US warns Ethiopia not to invade Somalia
The State Department’s top Africa policymaker on Tuesday warned Ethiopia not to invade Somalia, but the warning came too late, with Somalis claiming that Ethiopian troops were already rolling through their villages in trucks. The statement from Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, was a sign that Washington is growing increasingly wary…
Vicious propaganda against political dissent
By Messay Kebede (PhD) I am surprised that the Woyanne regime does not see how unfailingly the shameful propaganda machine unleashed to discredit Yenesew Gebre’s political message is bound to fall flat. The attempt to describe his self-immolation as the act of a mentally deranged person and the recourse to testimonies of alleged close relatives of him to back up the accusation…
Dawit Kebede joins Ethiopia’s exiled journalists
New York (CPJ)–Dawit Kebede, managing editor of Awramba Times, one of Ethiopia’s two remaining independent Amharic-language newspapers offering critical analysis of local politics, announced today that he was forced to leave the country after he received a tip last week about alleged government plans to re-imprison him. Kebede also said that the paper was unlikely [...]
Ethiopian tanks roll into Somalia
Jeffrey Gettleman (NYT) WITNESSES on the drought-stricken Ethiopia-Somalia border have reported that hundreds of Ethiopian troops with armoured personnel carriers, heavy artillery and tanks have crossed into Somalia, opening a new front in an intensifying international offensive against the Islamist al-Shabab militant group. Al-Shabab insurgents are already fighting Kenyan forces in southern Somalia and African [...]
Stop using anti-terrorism law to stifle dissent
Human Rights Watch (Nairobi) – The Ethiopian government should cease using its overly broad anti-terrorism law against journalists and peaceful political activists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today. On November 23, 2011, the trial of 24 people charged with terrorism offenses on November 10 will continue. Those charged include six journalists and two [...]
Ethiopia: Archbishop calls for worldwide prayers for Yenesew
(ESAT)–His Holiness Archbishop of the legitimate Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahodo Church has called on Ethiopians across the world to hold memorial services and prayers to commemorate the self-immolation of Yenesew Gebre, who died Monday after he set himself on fire last Friday.
Yenesew’s honoured at rights conference
By Teklemichael Abebe Toronto (Nov 15) The conference on human rights violations in Ethiopia at the University of Toronto started with a subdued mood when a student read to the audience the news story about the death of an Ethiopian teacher, Yenesew Gebre, who set himself on fire protesting the blatant human rights violation and [...]
Ethiopian man burns himself to death in protest
By Angus Stickler (Bureau of Investigative Journalism)–Events in Ethiopia have taken a disturbing turn following reports that a teacher in his late 20s burnt himself alive last week in protest against the ongoing brutal clampdown on dissent in the country. According to reports Yenesew Gebre made an impassioned plea at a protest gathering before dowsing himself in petrol and setting himself on fire.
Birtukan tells UN new Ethiopia won’t terrorize citizens
By Abebe Gellaw Paris (ESAT News)–Former judge and pro-democracy icon Birtukan Mideksa told the United Nations Human Rights Council here on Monday that Ethiopians would change the ruined relationship between the state and its citizens for the better. Speaking at an event marking the 20th anniversary of United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Birtukan [...]
More Ethiopian journalists flee
Two newspaper columnists known for sharp criticisms of Ethiopia’s government are reported to have fled into exile, just as other journalists being tried on charges of treason and espionage. Ethiopia’s journalist community was abuzz Tuesday with word that “Abe Tokichaw” has become the latest government critic to flee the country. The pen name, which in [...]
Ethiopian activist sets himself on fire
By Abebe Gellaw (ESAT)– A young Ethiopian activist and teacher, Yenesew Gebre, set himself on fire in Dawro, Waka, Southern Ethiopia, to protest against the injustice, corruption and atrocities the local community as well as the people of Ethiopia at large have been suffering under the brutal dictatorship of Meles Zenawi. The 29-year old Yenesew Gebre, who was a respected teacher, set himself alight on Friday, November 11, and died at Tercha Hospital on Monday, 14 November
Seattle forum holds successful meeting
By Kirubeal Bekele Seattle had its first Forum meeting last Saturday November 12, 2011. This meeting was highly anticipated mainly due to its unique nature of trying something new that has never been tried before. It brought three different political organizations that may have differences but are willing to sit together and if possible resolve [...]
Ethiopians: November is to Remember!
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it,” cautioned Albert Einstein. Because Germans who could have done something did not, on 9-10 November 1938, the Nazis killed nearly 100 innocent Jewish people and arrested and deported 30,000 others.
Thanks for the honor Prime Minister
Dear Prime Minister Ashebir Zenawi–First of all, I would like to thank you profusely for including me in the latest roll call of patriots and freedom fighters. I am extremely humbled for the honor. Though I have not done enough to deserve one of your highest medals of good citizenship and patriotism, I assure you that the honor will inspire me to do even more to accomplish what is expected of me more effectively and efficiently.
Landgrabbing in Ethiopia: Legal Lease or Stolen Soil?
By Philipp Hedemann ADDIS ABABA, Nov 12, 2011 (IPS/Street News Service) – Kneeling in the middle of a sugar cane field in blistering 40 degree heat, a young boy is digging up weeds while an Indian worker stands over him to make sure he does not miss any. Red is eight years old and earns [...]
Ethiopia charges six journalists with terrorism
New York, (CPJ)–A judge in Ethiopia’s federal high court charged six journalists with terrorism on Thursday under the country’s anti-terrorism law, bringing the number of journalists charged under the statute since June to 10, CPJ research found. Twenty-four people, including imprisoned dissident blogger Eskinder Nega and five other journalists critical of the government who work online and in exile, were charged, according to the court charge sheet obtained by CPJ.
Zenawi charges 24 with “terrorism”
By Peter Heinlein–Ethiopia has formally charged 24 people, including senior opposition politicians and an outspoken Internet journalist, with plotting terrorist acts to create public chaos. Eight of the defendants appeared in court to hear the charges, while the others are to be tried in absentia. Two leaders of Ethiopia’s Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, Andualem Arage and Natnael Mekonnen, stood alongside columnist Eskinder Nega in federal court Thursday to hear the charges against them. Most of the six charges involve alleged violations of an anti-terrorism law that has come in for harsh criticism from human rights and press freedom groups.
Activists urge Obama to stop aiding tyrant
Ethiopian-Americans, Ethiopians, and friends of Ethiopia living in the Washington area and as far as Atlanta and North Carolina gathered and lit candles at 6 PM on Sunday, November 06, 2011, in front of the White House denouncing politically-targeted arrest of many Ethiopians by tyrant Meles Zenawi under the guise of fighting terrorism. The vigil [...]
I am Eskinder Nega…
I’m Eskinder Nega – I am Voice of the Voiceless. I open my mouth for those who are left desolate and I seek justice to the poor and to the needy. Yes, I am Eskinder Nega! Don’t give me nicknames or tell me who I am- I am Eskinder Nega, master of my destiny! I have work to do, I don’t ride in a boat of wishful thinking; rather I swim in a sea of thoughtful ideas. I am the captain of my ship and I am navigating to a new Ethiopia where my fellow citizens are judged by the content of their character. I’m on a journey – my destination is liberty, equality, and justice.
Court criples human rights organization
High Court undermines the survival of human rights organization PARIS, France, November 4, 2011/African Press Organization (APO) PARIS, France, November 4, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), deplores the [...]
Judge backs gov’t case against Swedish reporters
By Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A judge in a trial against two Swedish journalists arrested in Ethiopia said Thursday he accepts the prosecution’s argument that the pair were supporting a terrorist organization. Judge Shemsu Sirgaga made the comments as the government’s prosecution team closed its case at a trial in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s [...]
ESAT shines at DC event
Washington DC (ESAT News)–The Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) held a successful fundraiser on Sunday, October 30, in the presence of guests of honor and members of the Ethiopian community in Washington Metropolitan Area and nearby states. During the course of the event ESAT officially announced the launch of ESAT Satellite Radio, which has started a 24-hour broadcast to Ethiopia.
Why Ethiopians must unite
In connection with the global concern about the rise of the world’s population to 7 billion on October 31, 2011 and the projection of 9 billion by 2050, James Eng, Chief Editor of MSNBC, one of America’s leading news organizations, asked me along with other global experts to share my views on whether this growth is “a cause for celebration or concern.”
ESAT launches 24hrs satellite radio service
Washington DC–The Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) is pleased to announce the launch of a satellite radio transmission to Ethiopia as part of its plan to boost its capacity and overcome the jamming efforts of the Meles regime. ESAT decided to deliver its radio transmissions via satellite after the regime started to interfere with its shortwave signals to Ethiopia. In the last few days, the Meles regime has launched intensive airwave piracy aimed at jamming our signals. It should be noted, however, that the shortwave radio broadcast will continue on alternating frequencies.
Arab Spring activists win rights award
Five Arab Spring activists, among them a Tunisian fruit seller who set himself to fire sparking revolutions that toppled tyrants, have won Europe’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize. Mohamed Bouazizi, the fruit vendor who died from his burns, won the prize along with Egyptian blogger Asmaa Mahfouz, former Libyan prisoner Ahmed al-Zubair Ahmed al-Sanusi and two [...]
Prof. Bisrat Amare: The man who tortured history
By Abebe Gellaw–There are new breed of historians in town that are endorsed by the TPLF to rewrite and narrate Ethiopian history. A “professor” from America is the late arrival to launch a book recently at Axum Hotel, Addis Ababa. The book, Finote Gedil, is not an ordinary book. TPLF’s singer Abebe Araya and Tirhas Tareke, among others, reportedly led the Whiskey-laced fanfare and drumbeating at the launch of this book that has been endorsed by TPLF veterans as part of their effort to re-write Ethiopian history and to glorify their victories.
US to recover over $70.8 mln corruption proceeds
WASHINGTON – The U.S. government has filed civil forfeiture complaints against approximately $70.8 million in real and personal property, which the government alleges is the proceeds of foreign corruption offenses and was laundered in the United States, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Immigration and Customs [...]
Ethiopia steps up terrorism allegations
(CPJ)–Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi last week accused journalists in the country of being “messengers” with “terrorist” groups, while a state newspaper accused the chief editor of an independent publication of having terrorist ties and called on security forces to “take action” against him. The Committee to Protect Journalists today said it condemns this campaign of intimidation against the private press.
Libyans declare liberation from tyranny
(Reuters) – Libya’s new rulers declared the country freed from Muammar Gaddafi’s 42 years of one-man rule Sunday, saying the “Pharaoh of the times” was in history’s garbage bin and a future of democracy and reconciliation beckoned. As thousands gathered in Benghazi to hear authorities announce “liberation,” Gaddafi’s rotting body remained unburied and on show in Misrata, a situation that may vex some Muslims for whom rapid burial of the dead is a religious duty. His son Saadi, now in Niger, said he was outraged by the murders of his father and brother Mo’tassim.
American scholar says TPLF domination poses threats to Ethiopia
Renowned American Professor Theodore Vestal, who has been keenly studying and following Ethiopian affairs since the early 1960s, said that the domination of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) poses a threat to greater Ethiopia. Prof Vestal also indicated that the government may implode if the current conditions get worse and the people say enough is enough.
Gaddafi is Africa’s latest “Big Man” to fall
Reuters) – Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi is just the latest name to be struck from the list of Africa’s so-called “Big Men”, the dwindling band of strongarm rulers who are finding it ever harder to keep their grip on power. But while the death of Gaddafi was at least partly the result of outside intervention, it is domestic pressure from Africa’s increasingly demanding city-dwellers that is forcing the pace of wider political change on the continent.
Fall of Gaddafi warning to dictators: Obama
(Reuters) – President Barack Obama hailed Muammar Gaddafi’s death on Thursday as a warning to authoritarian leaders across the Middle East that iron-fisted rule “inevitably comes to an end,” and as vindication for his cautious strategy toward Libya. Obama joined U.S. politicians and ordinary Americans in welcoming the demise of Gaddafi, who was for decades [...]
Gaddafi killed in gun battle: official
Al Jazeera–Abdul Hakim Belhaj, a NTC military chief, has confirmed that Muammar Gaddafi has died of his wounds after being captured near Sirte. Another NTC commander said that Moussa Ibrahim, former spokesman for Muammar Gaddafi’s fallen government, was captured near Sirte. Abdul Hakim Al Jalil, commander of the 11th brigade, also said he had seen [...]
IFJ calls for dismissal of terror charges
press release The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today urged the authorities to drop accusations of terrorist activities leveled at five journalists including two Swedish reporters whose trial was due to start yesterday in Addis Ababa but was adjourned until 20 October 2011. The arrests of the journalists have sparked widespread criticism from the IFJ [...]
Swedish journalists’ terror trial opens
It was standing room only Tuesday as a three-judge federal panel began hearing the case of Swedish journalists charged with terrorism by Ethiopian authorities after being arrested with members of an outlawed rebel group in the restive Ogaden region. Among those present were 18 Swedish journalists who flew in from Stockholm…
UN to consider new Eritrea sanctions
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council will begin Tuesday discussing a draft resolution on imposing new sanctions on Eritrea for what a UN report describes as destabilizing actions in East Africa. Neighbor and long-time rival Ethiopia has sought reinforced international sanctions since a UN panel in July said Eritrea was behind a plot [...]
Mubarak sons own assets worth $340 mln
(Reuters) – The sons of Egypt’s ousted President Hosni Mubarak own assets worth $340 million in Switzerland and might have been involved in money laundering, a justice official tasked with recouping ill-gotten gains from abroad said on Monday. Mubarak, toppled in a popular uprising in February, and his sons Gamal and Alaa are on trial [...]
Karaturistan, Ethiopia: The Fire Next Time?
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–“Karuturi’s First Corn Crop in Ethiopia Destroyed,” announced the headline. Karuturi Global Ltd., is the Indian multinational agro company that has been gobbling up large chunks of Ethiopia over the past few years. This time, Mother Nature gobbled up Karuturi. The company reported last week that its 30,000 acre corn crop in Gambella in western Ethopia was wiped out when the Baro and Alwero rivers overflowed their banks
Over 60 jailed for opposing to land grab
Observation by Keffyalew Gebremedhin It would be recalled that, based on reporting by the Amharic language The Ethiopian Reporter of 9 October 2011, I presented an observation/article on forest destruction in Ethiopia. It is entitled “Protected natural forestlands quietly turned into booties for political cadres”….Along with that article, this website also reproduced the original Amharic [...]
Prof. Mammo Muchie joins ASSAF
By Fekadu Fulas (PhD, RPH) Professor Mammo Muchie has been elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). He has been inducted along with other newly elected members on October 13, 2011 at the Academy’s annual ceremony in Pretoria. It is indeed uplifting news to learn of this remarkable honor bestowed upon an [...]
Man charged in U.S. for spying on protesters
By Jeremy Pelofsky WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Syrian-born U.S. citizen has been arrested and charged in Virginia with spying on anti-Syrian protesters in the United States and passing the details on to Damascus, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday. Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid, 47, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was accused of acting as an agent of [...]
Watchdog warns Ethiopia of genocide threats
By Abebe Gellaw–The Founding President of Genocide Watch, Dr Gregory Stanton, has warned that Ethiopia, which is high on the organization’s watch list, is facing a dangerous threat of genocide and mass killings as a result of the divide and rule policies of the minority rule of Meles Zenawi. Dr. Stanton referred the present system of governance, which is based on an exclusionary ideology, as one that resembles TPLF’s internal colonialism than a genuinely representative government.
Distorted monetary plan needs reform
Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia’s “highly distorted” monetary policy requires urgent reorganization because it is stunting growth and undermining macroeconomic stability, the International Monetary Fund said. The Horn of Africa country’s five-year economic-development plan that starts in the fiscal year beginning July 8, 2010, and targets annual growth of 11.2 percent is “very ambitious,” the [...]
Zenawi calls jailed journalists terror accomplices
Committee to Protect Journalists New York, October 11, 2011-Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s public accusations on Monday against two imprisoned Swedish journalists compromise the presumption of their innocence and predetermine the outcome of their case, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalists were arrested in Ethiopia in July and charged with terrorism for [...]
Ethiopian ruler faces protests
Oslo, Norway–A chorus of critics demonstrated outside the Oslo hotel where Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was attending an international energy conference this week. He brushed off the criticism, while Norwegian leaders say they took up some of it with him. “Norwegian and other countries’ organizations think they have a right to involve themselves in African countries’ politics,” Meles Zenawi told newspaper Aftenposten.
Candlelight Vigil in Washington DC
March4Freedom–Ethiopian-Americans, Ethiopians, and friends of Ethiopia residing in the Washington, DC metropolitan area are uniting together to hold a Candle Light Vigil outside the White House on October 9, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. The purpose of the Candle Light Vigil is to bring to the attention of the Obama Administration the recent wave of politically-targeted [...]
ESAT launches shortwave broadcast to Ethiopia
Press Release—The Ethiopian Satellite Television is pleased to announce the launch of a daily shortwave radio broadcast to Ethiopia. In the past few weeks, ESAT successfully transmitted test broadcasts. With a view to overcoming the illegal jamming and airwaves piracy that the Meles regime has continued with utmost intensity, ESAT’s management made a decision to transmit ESAT’s programs on multiple platforms. ESAT’s shortwave radio, which will have a significant reach to the people of Ethiopia, will be another addition to ESAT’s unwavering efforts to reverse the information blackout deliberately created by the Meles Zenawi regime.
“Bulldozer” regime jails tribespeople
Survival International Survival has received reports that around one hundred Ethiopian tribespeople have been arrested and jailed for opposing Ethiopia’s controversial Gibe III dam. Plans for the dam and irrigated land plantations nearby are gathering pace, along with rising repression and intimidation to any opposition. A policeman reportedly told one indigenous community that the government [...]
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dies at 56
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) – Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO who invented and masterfully marketed ever-sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, from the personal computer to the iPod and iPhone, has died. He was 56. Apple announced his death without giving a specific cause. “We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs [...]
Popular uprising in the spirit of mosaic Ethiopia
By Robele Ababya–Much effort and precious time are spent on the question of Ethiopia and Ethiopiawinet much of which is academic rather than substance for dealing with the current vicious erosion of the freedom and dignity of citizens and unbridled exploitation of life-sustaining national assets being committed by the ruthless minority TPLF tribal regime.
Arrests of journalists show intolerace
From the arrest of more than 100 Ethiopian opposition activists, journalists, and columnists, to the arrest of two Swedish journalists, Ethiopia’s government is showing its intolerance of dissent. By William Davison, Christian Science Monitor Correspondent Addis Ababa, Ethiopia The arrests of two Swedish journalists – captured by security forces in early July after a firefight [...]
TPLF found in global terrorism blacklist
By Abebe Gellaw–Criminal records rarely go unnoticed wherever they are meticulously archived and preserved. Let alone leaders that hold state power, ordinary people are even required to go through criminal background checks for jobs that require high level of trustworthiness. Today one of the most serious criminal offenses in the world is quite obviously terrorism.
Anti-terrorism law terrorizing Ethiopia
Let me begin with facts about terrorism and its definition and please bear with me with the following few paragraphs as you probably all know about it. However I would like to bring together and portray a few different perspectives of terrorism before I come down to Meles Zenawi’s (Prime Minister of the Ethiopian regime) terrorism outlook and law.
Prof Ted Vestal speaks on his new book
By Gebeyehu Adamou Prof Dr. Ted Vestal, Professor Emeritus at Oklahoma State University, who is widely Ethiopia for his unwavering stand for a free Ethiopia, made a presentation about his latest book, The Lion of Judah in the New World at a well-attended book event at Pratt Library in Baltimore on September 26, 2011. Prof. [...]
Free all political prisoners: Londerners
By Neguse Gamma London–Ethiopians in London hold a vigil and demonstration against the ongoing crimes being committed by the Ethiopian government which includes the rounding up of journalists and opposition political leaders. The protesters have strongly condemned the arrest of journalists, Eskinder Nega, Woubshet Taye, Reyot Alemu, Sileshi Hagos; senior opposition leaders of the Unity [...]
BBG pushing for less VOA poltical coverage
BBG Watch Recent developments suggest that the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which manages U.S government-funded international broadcasts, has chosen health reporting and English lessons as a partial substitute for political and human rights news to countries like China and Ethiopia. These countries are among those that block VOA news websites and jam shortwave radio [...]
Adopted Ethiopian girl starved to death
By Jeff Hodson Seattle Times staff reporter By Jeff HodsonSeattle Times staff reporter Hana Grace-Rose Williams came to Washington state from Ethiopia in 2008 with ringworm, cold sores, parasites and hepatitis B. But none of those things killed her. Instead, Skagit County authorities say, 13-year-old Hana died because her adoptive parents chronically starved her, abused [...]
I am Eskinder Nega…
I am Eskinder Nega. I am not one person. I am eighty million strong. I will let one of my voices speak for me because today I am locked up in Makelawi prison. Those who are in power in Ethiopia have tried to silence my voice. They want to shut me up by locking me up.They don’t want me to be heard. They are afraid of the truth I speak out.
Ethiopian media gagged by anti-terror laws
By Caelainn Barr (BIJ) The Ethiopian government is using sweeping anti-terror laws to crack-down on journalists critical of the regime. In the last three months six journalists have been imprisoned including two Swedish journalists according to the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists.
Meles is a terrorist: DC protesters
Washington DC–Hundreds of Ethiopian-Americans gathered outside the US State Department yesterday to voice their anger and concern over the unjust incarceration of journalists, activists and opposition party leaders. The protesters condemned Meles Zenawi for terrorizing, oppressing and abusing innocent civilians with arrogance and impunity.
Ethiopia:The Diplomacy of Defending Dictatorship
Alemayehu G. Mariam– In November 2006, in her farewell cable to her replacement Donald Yamamoto and the Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Fraser, former Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Vicky Huddleston warned: “It is time to stop hating Ethiopia.” In November 2007, in a N.Y. Times op-ed piece, Huddleston sternly admonished the U.S. Congress: “Do not turn on Ethiopia.”
I am Eskider Nega, too
I am Eskinder Nega. To be sure, I am the voice of Eskinder Nega. It is impossible to scare, arrest, muzzle or jail the voices of truth. I can claim that I, the voice of Eskinder Nega, am as free as the birds in the sky and free to speak out to those terrorized by the truth.So many people across the globe who have heard of Eskinder’s plight may think that he is a totally helpless prisoner.
Gov’t crackdown intensifies following investigation
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism–Evidence has emerged that the Ethiopian government has launched a renewed crackdown on opposition members, less than two months after a joint investigation by the Bureau and Newsnight revealed allegations of torture, repression and the political manipulation of foreign aid
US sets up drone base in Ethiopia
Daily Nation–The United States is building a base in Ethiopia from which drones will be flown over Somalia, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The Pentagon has also begun flying armed drones from a base in the Seychelles, the the newspaper added. These Seychelles-based MQ-9 Reaper drones, known as “hunter-killers,” can supplement strikes on targets [...]
BBC exposes 20 years of mass arrest, killings and rape
Another damning BBC investigation has exposed gross human rights violations. BBC reported that Ethiopians suffered 20 years of mass arrest, extrajudicial killings and rape. BBC used Wikileaks cables to corroborate its report on aid misuse, illegal detentions and killings. Wikileaks cables have revealed that US diplomats have been silently documenting atrocities being committed by the Meles regime.
Ethiopians stranded in Yemen (VOA)
Joe DeCapuala More than three thousand Ethiopian migrants – who risked their lives leaving the Horn of Africa – find themselves stranded in Yemen, near the Saudi Arabian border. The migrants want to return home, but the International Organization for Migration said it has no money to evacuate them. Lives at risk The trip to [...]
Gigi calls for end to oppression
The renowned Ethiopian artiste Gigi Shibabaw has called on the people of Ethiopia to say enough to repressions and oppressions. In a powerful poem the iconic figure read on ESAT, Gigi expressed her anger and frustration with the tyranny of the Meles regime. The famed artiste urged her fellow citizens to rise up and defend their rights and freedom. Gigi dedicated her poem to her fellow citizens that have been jailed, tortured and killed in cold blood by the TPLF regime, which she condemned as as racist
No honor among dictators
By Prof. Al Mariam–The old saying is that there is no honor among thieves. Is it also true that there is no honor among dictators? Perhaps that is a distinction without a difference. But Meles Zenawi, the dictator in Ethiopia and Omar Bashir, the dictator of Sudan seemed to be good longtime friends.
Eritreans flee forced conscription
SAPA/AFP–”I didn’t want to be a soldier,” he says with a shy smile, revealing a mouthful of crooked teeth. Getting out, however, was a harder challenge. He is one of thousands of youngsters risking death to sneak across Eritrea’s heavily militarized border every month into neighbouring Sudan and Ethiopia. Most, like Ablel, are running from [...]
I am Eskinder Nega!
I am Eskinder Nega. Actually, I am the voice of Eskinder Nega. Eskinder Nega is today the prisoner of Meles Zenaiwi in Ethiopia. Though Eskinder Nega is locked up, his voice echoes and reverberates in the cries and whispers of millions of his fellow Ethiopians who speak his language of freedom. I am but one of the millions of voices of Eskinder Nega.
Ethiopia: Crackdown on dissent intensifies
Human Rights Watch Six More Activists Arrested under Abusive Anti-Terrorism Law (London) – The Ethiopian government should end its widening crackdown against opposition politicians and dissidents, Human Rights Watch said today. In the past week, three well-known critics of the government – actor Debebe Eshetu, journalist Eskinder Nega, and opposition party leader Andualem Aragie – [...]
Ethiopia detains two more journalists (CPJ)
Ethiopia detains two more journalists on vague terrorism accusations New York, September 16, 2011—Authorities in Ethiopia arrested two independent journalists this week on accusations of involvement in a terrorism plot, bringing the total number of journalists imprisoned since June under the country’s far-reaching antiterrorism legislation to six, CPJ research shows.On September 9, Ethiopian security forces [...]
Eritrea says Amnesty plotting unrest
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Eritrea, the Red Sea state often criticised for alleged human rights abuses, has accused rights group Amnesty International of plotting to incite popular unrest, similar to uprisings seen in the Middle East. Amnesty International denied the charges as “completely unfounded and ludicrous”. In a “top secret” [...]
Human Rights Watch honors two Ethiopian journalists
By H. Daniel New York—Forty-eight writers from 24 countries have received Human Rights Watch’s Hellman/Hammett award recognizing writers who demonstrate courage and conviction in the face of political persecution, the group said in a press release it issued yesterday. Exiled Ethiopian journalists Abebe Gellaw and former Addis Neger editor Zerihun Tesfaye are among the 2011 [...]
Shewaye Molla arrives in Malta for treatment
Times of Malta Shewaye Molla, the Ethiopian nanny who suffered major burns which were left untreated when Hannibal Gaddafi’s wife Aline threw boiling water over her, arrived in Malta at 5.30 p.m. Ms Mullar arrived in Malta on a Medavia charter plane funded by the Maltese government. The flight left from Misurata. Coming down the [...]
15 athletes disappear at All Africa Games
MAPUTO — Mozambican authorities are searching for 15 Ethiopian athletes who disappeared after competing at the 10th All Africa Games, a spokesman for the organising committee said Thursday. The group competing in boxing, athletics and taekwondo went missing on Monday and left some of their possessions in the athletes’ village outside the Mozambican capital Maputo. [...]
Ethiopian journalist ID’d in Wikileaks flees
New York, September 14, 2011–U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed last month by WikiLeaks cited an Ethiopian journalist by name and referred to his unnamed government source, forcing the journalist to flee the country after police interrogated him over the source’s identity, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Critics detained in Ethiopian anti-terror sweep
By Peter Heinlein (VOA) Two fierce critics of Ethiopia’s ruling party have joined a growing list of government opponents detained in recent days under a new anti-terrorism law. The latest to be arrested are a journalist and a rising star in opposition politics. Ethiopian federal police detained five people Wednesday in an ongoing roundup of [...]
Ethiopian gov’t jails two young fiery critics
By Abebe Gellaw–The Vice President of Unity for Democracy and Justice Party Andulalem Andargie and journalist Enskinder Nega have reportedly been detained by security agents in Addis Ababa. Andulam was picked up today late afternoon at UDJ’s headquarters while Eskinder was reportedly arrested at the same time but at a different location. The two fiery critics of the Meles regime had been vocal about the right of the Ethiopian people to live in freedom.
Missing a large chunk of Ethiopian territory?
The past few weeks have been tough going for dictator Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia. Secret cables released by Wikileaks provided stunning revelations on Zenawi’s secret world. The U.S. believes Zenawi’s security forces staged a bomb explosion in 2008 and blamed an opposition group for committing terrorism. Zenawi made a thinly-veiled solicitation to the Americans to “remove the Bashir regime” in the Sudan.
Police arrest actor Debebe Eshetu
Ethiopian authorities arrested actor Debebe Eshetu on allegations he has links to the banned Ginbot 7 group, said Shimeles Kemal, minister of state in the Communications Ministry. After being “closely” monitored, Debebe was detained yesterday by federal police and intelligence officials, Shimeles said in a phone interview today from Addis Ababa, the capital. He is being held at the Maekalawi prison and will be brought before court within 48 hours of his arrest, Shimeles said. The court may grant a further 28 days for investigation before charges are brought under the country’s anti-terror laws.
Swedish journalists charged with ‘terrorism’
Two Swedish journalists who illegally crossed into Ethiopia’s Somali Region with rebels in July have been charged with promoting terrorism, an official said on Wednesday.
Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye entered the province from neighbouring Somalia with a team of fighters from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). They were subsequently wounded in a security operation which killed 15 rebels.
Ethiopians honor flag in San Jose
San Jose, California – To celebrate the Ethiopian New Year and to honor the Ethiopian flag, leaders and members of the Ethiopian Americans Council (EAC) are encouraging all Ethiopians, Ethiopian-Americans, and their friends and families to join them at the Seventh Annual Ceremonial Ethiopian Flag Raising at New City Hall of San Jose on Thursday, [...]
TPLF and the leaks from America
While former regional Vice President of Tigray Abadi Zemo has taken over the CEO position at EFFORT, Seeye argued that Azeb’s ascendance to the EFFORT Vice Chairmanship reflects an increasing consolidation of influence within the party and control over resources by Meles and Azeb.
Meles tells US removing Al Bashir best option
Sudan Tribune Washington — The Ethiopian Prime minister Meles Zenawi told the U.S. administration that toppling the governmentled by Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir would be the ideal scenario for Washington, according to leaked diplomatic cable. The January 30, 2009 note released by Wikileaks, an anti-secrecy website, detailed discussions that took place between Zenawi and [...]
Wikileaks: Tigryan dominance in the army
Cable Created: 2008-05-14 13:05 SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: PURGED AIR FORCE COMMANDER SAYS MILITARY SUFFERS FROM ETHNIC DIVISION Ambassador Donald Yamamoto SUMMARY. Alemshet Degiffe, an Oromo Major-General purged in 2006 while serving as commander of the Ethiopian Air Force, told the Ambassador on May 12 that the Ethiopian military suffers from ethnic division and Tigrayan dominance. Alemshet [...]
Wikileaks: Kuma Demeksa is party-hack
Party-hack anointed mayor of Addis Cable dated May 22, 2008 Author: Former US Ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto Following its landslide victory in the April 2008 local elections, the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) appointed Defense Minister Kuma Demeksa, an opportunistic 50-year old party loyalist, as mayor of Addis Ababa. In a conference [...]
More Oromos arested for “terrorism”
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — An Ethiopian official says the government is holding 29 people in the capital and other parts of the country on suspicion of terrorism. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said Monday that police have “solid evidence” that the suspects were in involved in terrorism activities. He says they are linked to the Oromo [...]
US sees growing tyranny in Ethiopia
US diplomats have repeatedly expressed their frustration with Meles Zenawi and have filed reports that accurately depict the oppressive nature of the regime. Gross human rights violations, oppression, TPLF’s ethnic domination policies, extrajudicial killings, narrowing political space, economic mismanagement, land grab, among many others, have been consistent themes that surface in the diplomatic cables that have been published by Wikileaks
Ogaden rebels attack TPLF solidiers
(AP) ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopian rebels said Thursday they killed 25 soldiers protecting a Chinese oil exploration company called PetroTrans.
It was not possible to verify the claims made by the rebels.
Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s minister of communication, said he hadn’t heard of any skirmishes. Ethiopian authorities usually deny claims made by the Ogaden National Liberation Front, or ONLF, which is listed as a terrorist organization in Ethiopia.
CPJ concerned over detained journalists
CPJ concerned about detained Ethiopian journalists New York, (CPJ)–The Committee to Protect Journalists holds Ethiopia responsible for the well-being of two journalists detained w ithout charge or legal access since June under the country’s far-reaching anti-terrorism law. Police arrested Woubshet Taye, deputy editor of the weekly Awramba Times, and ReeyotAlemu, columnist for the weekly Feteh, [...]
Group urges regime to release opposition leaders
Human Rights Watch (London) – The Ethiopian government should immediately release two ethnic Oromo political opposition leaders detained on what appear to be politically motivated charges, Human Rights Watch said today. Journalists told Human Rights Watch that as many as 20 other Oromos who were picked up in Addis Ababa and the Oromia region over [...]
Libyan rebels round up black Africans
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Rebel forces and armed civilians are rounding up thousands of black Libyans and migrants from sub-Sahara Africa, accusing them of fighting for ousted strongman Moammar Gadhafi and holding them in makeshift jails across the capital. Virtually all of the detainees say they are innocent migrant workers, and in most cases there is no evidence that they are lying. But that is not stopping the rebels from placing the men in facilities like the Gate of the Sea sports club, where about 200 detainees — all black — clustered on a soccer field this week, bunching against a high wall to avoid the scorching sun.
Dissidents detained after meeting with Amnesty
Two Ethiopian opposition leaders have been arrested after meeting an Amnesty International delegation, which was afterwards expelled from the country, the organization said today. One of the men was accused of terror-related offences, while the charges against the other man are not known. “We are extremely concerned that the arrests of the two men occurred [...]
Two prominent politicians detained
By Peter Heinlein–Two prominent Ethiopian opposition politicians have been detained, at least one of them on terrorism-related charges. But opposition leaders are questioning the charges, saying the detentions appear politically motivated. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal says senior opposition figure Bekele Gerba was detained Saturday, charged with having ties to the newly-outlawed Oromo Liberation Front, or OLF, which is fighting for independence for Oromos, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.
Burned Gaddafi nanny gets treatment
Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — The badly burned former nanny of two of Moammar Gadhafi’s grandchildren is receiving medical treatment Tuesday in the burns unit at a Tripoli hospital. Shwygar Mullah told CNN she was burned by the wife of Gadhafi’s son Hannibal, who poured boiling water on her for failing to keep a child quiet. She is being treated for an infection with antibiotics and her burns are dressed.
CNN first met her on Sunday when visiting the luxurious former home of Hannibal Gadhafi.
As the CNN crew was about to leave, one of the staff told us there was a nanny who worked for Hannibal Gadhafi who might speak to us. He said she’d been burned by Hannibal’s wife, Aline.
At first we thought she was wearing a hat and something over her face. Then the awful realization dawned that her entire scalp and face were covered in red wounds and scabs, a mosaic of injuries that rendered her face into a grotesque patchwork.
Even though the burns were inflicted three months ago, she was clearly still in considerable pain. But she told us her story calmly.
She’d been the nanny to Hannibal’s little son and daughter.
The 30-year-old came to Libya from her native Ethiopia a year ago. At first things seemed okay, but then six months into her employment she said she was burned by Aline.
Three months later the same thing happened again, this time much more seriously.
In soft tones, she explained how Aline lost her temper when her daughter wouldn’t stop crying and Mullah refused to beat the child.
“She took me to a bathroom. She tied my hands behind my back, and tied my feet. She taped my mouth, and she started pouring the boiling water on my head like this,” she said, imitating the vessel of scalding hot water being poured over her head.
She peeled back the garment draped carefully over her body. Her chest, torso and legs are all mottled with scars — some old, some still red, raw and weeping. As she spoke, clear liquid oozed from one nasty open wound on her head.
After one attack, “There were maggots coming out of my head, because she had hidden me and no one had seen me,” Mullah said. Eventually, a guard found her and took her to a hospital, where she received some treatment. But when Aline Gadhafi found out about the kind actions of her co-worker, he was threatened with imprisonment if he dared to help her again.
Ethiopian faces horror at Gaddafi house
Even though the burns were inflicted three months ago, she was clearly still in considerable pain. But she told us her story calmly. She’d been the nanny to Hannibal’s little son and daughter. The 30-year-old came to Libya from her native Ethiopia a year ago. At first things seemed OK, but then six months into her employment she said she was burned by Aline.
Jeilan truimphs as Kenenisa limps out
By Luke Phillips (AFP) DAEGU, South Korea (AFP)— Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan produced an amazing home-stretch sprint to trump British favourite Mo Farah at the line of an enthralling men’s 10,000m at the world championships on Sunday. Jeilan was a shock winner after defending champion Kenenisa Bekele, bidding for a fifth consecutive title and unbeaten over [...]
African rulers angry at fall of Gaddafi
Nairobi (AFP)THE toppling of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi by rebels has left the African Union sidelined, members divided and anger high at a Western-led bombing campaign, analysts say. The AU stands in a contradictory position: several African states have individually acknowledged the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), but the pan-African bloc has shirked from recognition [...]
Special forces hunt for Gaddafi
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libyan rebels said they were sending in special forces units in their hunt for fugitive strongman Muammar Gaddafi, whose supporters are now pinned down in pockets of resistance in the capital, Tripoli. The rebel leadership announced it was planning to move from the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution to topple [...]
Ethiopian media hit by anti-terrorism law
By Argaw Ashine–Ethiopia’s tightly-controlled media is not particularly known for sticking its neck out on controversial issues, but a new law recently passed by an overwhelmingly government-controlled parliament has had top executives wringing their hands over its potential ramifications. The law expressly bans any form of communication with groups designated as terrorist organisations, including reporting even a press release or interviewing their members.
Rebels overrun Gaddafi compound
(Reuters) – Triumphant rebels seized Muammar Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli on Tuesday after a fierce battle with a loyalist rearguard but there was no word on the fate of the Libyan leader who vowed again to fight “to the end.” Reuters journalists watched rebel fighters stream through the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya headquarters compound, firing in the air in celebration after hours of heavy clashes. But it was unclear whether the “Brother Leader” or his sons were still somewhere in the complex’s maze of buildings and bunkers.
Gaddafi teeters on collapse, but son free
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The son and heir apparent of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, Seif al-Islam, resurfaced free and defiant early Tuesday a day after rebels claimed to have captured him, boasting in a bizarre reappearance that his father’s loyalists still control parts of Tripoli and would crush the rebellion
Church appeals for help to avoid foreclosure
San Jose–Mekane Rama Saint Gabriel Cathedral in San Jose, California, is in dire need of financial assistance to prevent the church from foreclosure. Mekane Rama Saint Gabriel Cathedral was established in 1986 by few Ethiopians who wanted to have a place to worship and fulfill their spiritual needs. In the last 25 years the cathedral [...]
Most of Libyan capital under rebels
(Reuters) – Libyan government tanks and snipers put up scattered, last-ditch resistance in Tripoli on Monday after rebels swept into the heart of the capital, cheered on by crowds hailing the end of Muammar Gaddafi’s 42 years in power. The 69-year-old leader, urging civilians to take up arms against rebel “rats”, said in an audio [...]
Libyan rebels sweep into Tripoli
TRIPOLI (AFP)– Libyan rebels surged into Tripoli Sunday in a final drive to oust Moammar Gadhafi, seizing swathes of the capital including symbolic Green Square and arresting the strongman’s son, Seif al-Islam. Thousands of residents poured onto the streets to welcome the rebels, congregating at the site which they renamed Martyrs Square near the water front in the centre of Tripoli.
Starving children facing death
(AP) More than 300,000 children in the Horn of Africa are malnourished “and in imminent risk of dying” because of drought and famine, the head of the UN children’s agency said yesterday. The United Nations says tens of thousands of people already have died in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti and has warned that the famine hasn’t peaked. More than 12 million people in the region need food aid, according to the UN.
Ethiopia’s famine dwarfs Somalia’s in scale
By Luc Van Kemenade, Telegraph SHEBEDINO, Ethiopia — Malnourished children are flocking into feeding centers in this forested corner of southern Ethiopia after a drought in East Africa extended into this normally fertile region. While the famine in southern Somalia has grabbed headlines, southern Ethiopia is teetering on the brink of a food crisis. The [...]
US, allies urge Syrian dictator to step down
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama called directly Thursday for Syrian President Bashar Assad to resign, saying the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters makes the heir to a long Middle East family dictatorship unfit to lead. It was the administration’s first explicit demand for Assad to step down and was accompanied by an executive order freezing all Syrian government assets in the U.S. and targeting the country’s lucrative energy sector.
Journalists face more time in jail
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Aug. 18 (UPI) — A pair of Swedish journalists could spend 28 days more in an Ethiopian lockup as officials investigate an incident that left them injured, officials said. Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson were hurt and arrested July 1 following a skirmish between Ethiopian government troops and the guerrilla organization Ogaden [...]
Eritrea condemns Ethiopia sanctions drive
By Patrick Worsnip–UNITED NATIONS, Aug 17 (Reuters) – Eritrea accused rival Ethiopia on Wednesday of a “frenzied campaign” to impose new U.N. Security Council sanctions on Asmara in a bid to topple the Eritrean government and secure access to the sea. Ethiopia dismissed the Eritrean charge as an attempt to divert attention from Asmara’s failure to abide by council resolutions.
Rising hunger in Ethiopia despite lush green
SHEBEDINO, Ethiopia (AP) — Malnourished children are flocking into feeding centers in this forested corner of southern Ethiopia after a drought in East Africa extended into this normally fertile region. While the famine in southern Somalia has grabbed headlines, southern Ethiopia is teetering on the brink of a food crisis. The Ethiopian government says 250,000 people need food aid amid what the U.N. says is the worst drought in 60 years.
China pledges 55 USD in famine aid
The Chinese government has pledged $55 million in food aid for Horn of Africa nations dealing with severe drought and famine. The official Xinhua news agency said Monday that Premier Wen Jiabao made the offer during talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Beijing. The pledge is in addition to nearly $8 million in [...]
Ethiopians starve as more refugees arrive
By Hayley Jarvis (SOS Children) The Horn of Africa’s food crisis has spotlighted Somalia and Kenya. But as it struggles to cope with tens of thousands of famine refugees, more than one in three people in Ethiopia are starving.About 118,000 Somali refugees are now seeking aid in camps in Ethiopia’s Liben region. Nearly half arrived [...]
Hosni Mubarak, sons back in court
CAIRO (AP) — The presiding judge in the trial of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has decided to stop live TV broadcasts of the upcoming proceedings. Judge Ahmed Rifaat also adjourned the trial until Sept. 5. He decided Monday to stop the broadcasts before the next hearing when he plans to summon witnesses. The [...]
Protesters crash Eritrean cultural festival
By Matt O’Brien OAKLAND — Activists crashed the West Coast’s largest Eritrean festival this weekend, turning an event meant to promote Eritrea into a heated debate about the East African nation’s government and future. As Eritrean-American children played a soccer tournament on a field outside Oakland Technical High School, adults clashed verbally and waved flags [...]
Starve the beast, feed the people
By Prof. Al Mariam–Americans fed up with uncontrolled deficit government spending are often heard invoking a familiar battle cry: “Starve the Beast!” In other words, no more taxpayer dollars for wasteful government spending. I say we stand up to the to Western donors and loaners who continue to support the criminal regime of Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia and declare: “Starve the Beast, Feed the People!”
Ethiopians want answers in girl’s death
(King5TV) Several members of the Ethiopian community want answers in the shocking death of a 13-year-old Skagit County girl who died of Hypothermia in her adoptive parents back yard. “We just want the truth,” said Mulumebet Retta, President of the Ethiopian Community Mutual Association in Seattle. Hana Grace-Rose Williams was found dead on [...]
Negotiation, nation building, and the naysayers
By Ephrem Madebo–”Moses! Moses!” called God. And Moses said, “Here I am.” The Biblical Moses, the only human being to have seen portion of the back of God and the only person to have talked directly to God was married to an Ethiopian woman. The name Ethiopia and the Ethiopian state are as old as the earth itself.
An Ethiopian perspective on UK’s riots
By Eskinder Nega–Had it transpired anywhere in the US, home to world-famous Uzi-brandishing street gangs, hardly any other person but victim and family would have paused to take notice. But fatal police shootings are still rare in the UK. They tend to raise many eyebrows.
Ethiopia and its self-inflicted wounds
By Yilma Bekele–Some of our independent Web sites have put me in a quandary. That is not a good place to be. A certain amount of certainty is a must for rational existence. There have to be stuff that we all have to take for granted. Some things like a mother’s love for her child or the fact of gravity are not open for discussion.
Music group appoints Ethiopia Habtemariam
NEW YORK /PRNewswire/ — In what stands as the first in a number of newappointments at Motown Records, Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company, has promoted Ethiopia Habtemariam to Senior Vice President of the storied label. Moreover, Motown will now make use of Island Def Jam’s award-winning suite of sales, marketing and [...]
Ethiopian food prices up nearly 50 percent
By Peter Heinlein—Ethiopians awoke Tuesday to news that food prices had increased nearly 50 percent over the past year. They didn’t need to be told. Even middle-class Ethiopians are finding it more difficult to feed their families. Ethiopia’s annual inflation rate jumped to nearly 40 percent in July. The Central Statistics Agency says food prices, which comprise more than half the Consumer Price Index, were up 47.4 percent from a year ago.
Ethiopia’s “green drought”
SHEBEDINO, Ethiopia (AFP) — Shundure Tekamo faces a tough choice — stay with her severely malnourished son in hospital, or return home in the desperate search for food for her five other children. “I cannot think of anything, because I want only to save my child,” she said, standing by the bedside of her baby [...]
Cameron vows to crackdown on riots (Reuters)
(Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday “a fight back is under way” to restore law and order to Britain’s streets but rioting, looting and arson by gangs of youths spread from London to other cities overnight. Youths fought running battles with police in the northern cities of Manchester and Liverpool as well [...]
Meles using aid as weapon of oppression
BBC Newsnight–A joint undercover investigation by BBC Newsnight and the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has uncovered evidence that the Ethiopian government is using billions of dollars of development aid as a tool for political oppression. Posing as tourists the team of journalists travelled to the southern region of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia:Aid, human rights abuses (BIJ)
By Angus Stickler and Caelainn Barr–An undercover investigation by the Bureau and BBC Newsnight reveals that as areas of Ethiopia fall victim to drought and famine, whole communities are being denied basic food, seed and fertilizer for failing to support Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The investigation has also gathered evidence of ongoing ethnic cleansing, mass detentions, the widespread use of torture and extra-judicial killings by Ethiopian government forces.
UN asked to impose sanctions on Eritrea
(Bloomberg) — Eritrea, one of the world’s poorest nations whose citizens earn just over a $1 a day, may face tougher United Nations sanctions targeting the mining and remittances that keep its economy afloat. Neighboring Ethiopia and Djibouti are urging the 15-member UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Eritrea’s mining and outlaw a 2 [...]
Ethiopians in Diaspora: A divided community
The Ethiopian community in Seattle Washington state has been growing quickly since the 1980s, and now the Puget Sound region is home to thousands of Ethiopians. Anna Boiko–Weyrauch Kuow of Radio explains how politics back home continue to influence the local Ethiopian community, sometimes splitting them apart. First, some background. Ethiopia has experienced political turmoil for almost 40 years, and many Ethiopians have left the country and resettled in the United States.
Ethiopia’s emergency food reserve near zero
Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa The head of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) in Ethiopia says the country’s emergency food stocks are almost completely exhausted, with drought conditions expected to worsen before they improve. There are also growing concerns about food shortages in Ethiopia’s reclusive neighbor, Eritrea. WFP’s Ethiopia Country Director Abdou Dieng says [...]
Birtukan awarded democracy fellowship
By Abebe Gellaw–The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has awarded its most prestigious fellowship to Birtukan Mideksa in recognition of her commitment to the advancement of freedom and her potential to bring about democratic change in Ethiopia, Addis Voice has learnt.
Mubarak pleads not guilty in bed (Reuters)
By Sarah Mikhail and Dina Zayed CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak, accused of corruption and involvement in killing protesters, went on trial on Wednesday, delighting those who overthrew him and ringing an alarm bell for other autocrats around the Arab world. In a scene that Egyptians would have found unthinkable just eight months ago, [...]
US urges global action on Horn of Africa famine
WASHINGTON — The famine caused by the worst drought in over half a century in the Horn of Africa will likely eclipse the 1980s famine in Ethiopia, which claimed nearly a million lives, a US senator said Wednesday. But in spite of the dire warnings and images of starving children coming out of the region, [...]
Ethiopia says eyes gas production in six years
* Chinese firm to spend $4 bln By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, Aug 3 (Reuters) – Ethiopia, which has seen a surge in requests for exploration rights, hopes to produce gas from its huge and under-developed reserves in its Somali Region in six years time, an official said on Wednesday. Eleven companies have now been [...]
Ethiopia gambles on resettlement (CSM)
By William Davison (CSM) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia In Ethiopia’s rain-starved eastern badlands, livestock is the sole asset for most. Swaddled in robes, pastoralist families traverse huge tracts searching for water and pasture for their herds, uprooting camps as they go. When seasonal rains fail, life becomes a battle for survival. As aid agencies scramble to [...]
Hosni Mubarak faces trial for killings
(Reuters) – In his last address to the nation as president, Hosni Mubarak vowed he would never leave his homeland and would die on its soil. His decision not to flee Egypt may carry a heavy price. Wednesday, Mubarak is to be tried for conspiring to kill protesters who drove him from office on February 11 after 30 years at the helm. If convicted, he could face the death penalty, though few expect that outcome even if some protesters wish it. As a visible example of the change that has swept Egypt, the court has been set up in a Cairo Police Academy that once bore his name in big concrete letters, which have since torn down.
Nightmare at Deutsche Welle (Mesay Mekonnen)
By Mesay Mekonnen–I became a keen listener to Deutsche Welle Amharic Service when I was a teenager. It may be due to this fact that I was very excited to eventually get a chance to work for this reputable broadcaster. Some people may wonder why I have then decided to tell about my terrible experience at Deutsche Welle Amharic Service and the problems it is facing as a result of serious mismanagement and systematic censorship.
Punjab farmers to grow multiple crops in Ethiopia
Vijay C Roy / New Delhi/ Chandigarh Karuturi Global Ltd, the largest rose producer in the world, has acquired about 7,70,000 acres of land in Ethiopia for cultivation of cereal crops. If everything goes as planned, the enterprising farmers of Punjab would be seen managing large farms in Ethiopia innear future. Karuturi Global Ltd, the [...]
Germany hands over World Cup swindler (ER)
Tamiru Tsigie (Reporter) The main perpetrator in the 2010 FIFA world cup scam, Girmay Gebremichael, owner and managing director of Askallukan Trading PLC, was handed over to Ethiopia yesterday after remaining in the custody of the German police since November, 2010. Following the first World Cup that was hosted in Africa, Girmay conned some 1,200 [...]
Ethiopia land lease risks displacement, hunger
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopia’s leasing of vast swathes of arable land to foreign and state-owned firms risks adding to the millions of people already requiring food aid in the drought-struck region, a US based think-tank warned on Friday.
Some 200,000 people are at risk of being displaced from land-grabbing, with at least 350,000 hectares of land leased since 2008 in south-west Ethiopia alone, according to the Oakland Institute.
Ethiopian billionaire wins libel action in UK
BBC–Ethiopian-born billionaire, Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi, has won £175,000 in libel damages over allegations he had hunted his daughter down so she could be stoned to death. Al-Amoudi was born in Ethiopia, but now spends his time at homes in central London, Surrey and Saudi Arabia. The article was published on the online news website Ethiopian Review. [...]
VOA Director writes to Addis Voice
By Steve Redisch–I’ve been asked to react to the accuracy of the reporting about the situation involving VOA’s Horn of Africa service, so I decided now is a good time to clear up some misconceptions that have evolved over the past few weeks.
Voice of America’s Horn of Africa service will not be shying away from reporting on Ethiopian politics. Freedom House rates the Ethiopian media as “not free,” and our audiences there can rely on VOA to provide accurate, objective and comprehensive news and information about their government. VOA will provide an array of voices and opinions to allow Ethiopians to make their own decisions about what to believe and who to trust. That is our job and the job of a free media.
Group criticizes Ethiopia over land grab (VOA)
By Joe DeCapua VOA–A human rights group has accused the Ethiopian government of leasing some of its most productive farmland to foreign companies. Survival International said the Omo River region is the traditional homeland of some 90-thousand indigenous people. The group said Malaysian, Italian and Korean companies are buying leases; and that large areas are [...]
Deutsche Welle Amharic faces damning allegations
By Abebe Gellaw–Ethiopian journalist and broadcaster Mesay Mekonnen has alleged that Deutsche Welle Amharic is poorly managed and accused the head of recklessly putting him and his family in great hardship. “The section’s head and editor-in-chief, Ludger Schadomsky, is very arbitrary, insensitive and authoritarian.
Eritrea behind AU summit attack plot: UN
By David Clarke NAIROBI, (Reuters) – Eritrea was behind a plot to attack an African Union summit in Ethiopia in January and is bankrolling al Qaeda-linked Somali rebels through its embassy in Kenya, according to a UN report. A U.N. Monitoring Group report on Somalia and Eritrea said the Red Sea state’s intelligence personnel were [...]
UN calls for suspension of Gibe III dam (DN)
By ARGAW ASHINE, Daily NATION The United Nations has added its voice to the barrage of criticism on Ethiopia’s massive Gibe III hydropower project, calling for work to be suspended until the negative impacts of the dam have been determined. The World Heritage Committee, which establishes sites to be listed as being of special cultural [...]
VOA ”no censorship” campaign scores victory
Washington DC–Hours after hundreds of protesters demanded top executives of Voice of America (VOA) and Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to stop censoring and putting undue pressures on the Horn of Africa section, VOA Acting Director and Executive Editor, Steve Redisch, gathered the section’s staffers and told them to continue their work without any restrictions or self-censorship.
In the brief meeting, Mr. Redisch said that he felt sorry for not meeting them sooner and thanked the section’s staffers for the “marvelous” job they have been doing. He also expressed VOA’s trust on them and their professionalism, informed sources told Addis Voice.
“I have no problems with your shows,” Redisch was quoted as saying. He told them to perform their duty as they used to before regardless of the complaints of the government of Ethiopia. He said that VOA had never asked anyone to give less priority and airtime to political coverage.
Gov’t gives land to foreigners as Ethiopians starve
Survival International (press release) A Survival investigation has uncovered alarming evidence that some of Ethiopia’s most productive farmland is being stolen from local tribes and leased to foreign companies to grow and export food – while thousands of its citizens starve during the devastating drought. Vast blocks of fertile land in the Omo River area [...]
“VOA no censorship!” chant protesters
Washington DC–Hundreds of Ethiopian Americans and supporters of press freedom held a protest rally at Voice of America headquarters. The protesters demanded VOA and the Broadcasting Board of Governors to make sure that the Horn of Africa section operates freely without any undue pressures and censorship.
UN urges ‘massive’ action on Horn of Africa drought
SAPA, AFP (Nairobi) The United Nations on Monday urged a “massive” effort to save millions of people in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, as France said donor countries would meet in Nairobi this week to step up aid pledges. “The catastrophic situation demands massive and urgent international aid,” Jacques Diouf, head of the UN Food and [...]
Ethiopia: Terrorism Law Undercuts Free Speech
(New York, July 25, 2011) – The Ethiopian government should stop using a restrictive and vague counterterrorism law to repress free speech and due process rights, Human Rights Watch said today. An Ethiopian court ruled the week of July 17, 2011, that under this law, two Ethiopian journalists will remain imprisoned for another 28 days.
Voice of America: Do Not Censor the Voiceless!
Alemayehu G. Mariam–The record will show that I have been an unapologetic defender of the Voice of America. A couple of weeks ago, I defended the VOA as the Voice of the Voiceless. When Zenawi lambasted the VOA for being the flipside of the VOI (Voice of Interhamwe-Rwanda), I rose to its defense. When Zenawi jammed the broadcasts of the VOA to Ethiopia in 2010, I defended the right of the VOA to broadcast to Ethiopians and the right of Ethiopians to receive VOA broadcasts. I am the #1 fan of the VOA.
VOA boss bans note-taking at staff meeting
By Abebe Gellaw–The controversy over censorship and maladministration at the Voice of America (VOA) took a bizarre twist yesterday as the Director of Africa Division, Gwen Dillard, forbid staffers from taking notes at a meeting she held with employees at VOA Horn of Africa section, reliable sources told Addis Voice. Ms. Dillard, who was visibly nervous during the meeting, told a roomful of journalists and support staffers that she decided to take the measure as she “was quoted verbatim” in an Addis Voice investigative report, VOA censorship chief revealed.
Terrorists? A look at two jailed Ethiopian journalists
By Tom Rhodes/CPJ East Africa Consultant–At the end of June, Ethiopia’s Anti-Terror Task Force arrested nine people on charges of attempting to “destroy electrical and telecommunication infrastructures” with support from Ethiopia’s arch-enemy, Eritrea. Held under Ethiopia’s far-reaching antiterrorism law, only four of the suspects’ names have so far been revealed and two of them happen to be journalists.
Abi Mariam among the ‘Very best in youth’
By Natasha Lindstrom, Daily Press | APPLE VALLEY • Abigail Mariam was in eighth grade when she was bit by the service bug. Her uncle took her on a trip with his yoga group to serve peanut butter sandwiches to the homeless hanging around the former Forrest Park on Seventh Street in Victorville. After experiencing [...]
Meles Zenawi’s VOA blacklist unveiled
By Abebe Gellaw
In Ethiopia freedom of expression was declared 20 years ago, when the military junta of Mengistu Hailemariam crumbled and Meles Zenewi came to power singing and preaching about liberty and democracy. After two decades in power, Meles Zenawi does not even tolerate the opinion of others including those he has forced into exile. He wants to be the only person in the country to speak his mind with arrogance and impunity.
VOA censorship chief revealed
By Abebe Gellaw—In response to a recent Addis Voice investigative report, VOA embroiled in fresh censorship row, Voice of America issued a very brief statement Thursday explaining why VOA skipped coverage of a high profile public meeting held at the Sheraton in Arlington, Virginia. The event was jointly organized by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Ginbot 7 and the Alliance for Liberty Equality and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE).
Millions at risk of cholera in Ethiopia (Reuters)
Five million people are at risk of cholera in drought-hit Ethiopia. Acute watery diarrhoea has broken out in crowded, unsanitary conditions, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported yesterday. Cholera, an acute intestinal infection, causes watery diarrhoea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given, according to the United [...]
UNHCHR grills Ethiopia on anti-terror law (CPJ)
By Mohammed Keita This week, the Human Rights Committee of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights reviewed Ethiopia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including its press freedom record. Peppered with questions about an indefensible record of abuse–jailing the second largest number of journalists in Africa and leading the continent [...]
VOA embroiled in fresh censorship row
By Abebe Gellaw–The Voice of America (VOA) has faced fresh controversy over its decision not to air news coverage on a high profile public meeting held Sunday at the Sheraton National Hotel, in Arlington, Virginia. Despite the fact that VOA Horn of Africa section, including the Amharic service, had sent reporters to cover the public event that was focused on the future of Ethiopia, the decision to censor a report on the event was made by senior VOA bosses, informed sources told Addis Voice.
Jointly organized by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy and the Alliance for Liberty Equality and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE), the well-attended meeting held discussions on current political situations and the future direction of the struggle to create a new Ethiopia that is founded on justice, equality, democracy and respect for human rights.
Ginbot 7 chairman, Dr. Birhanu Nega, Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) Executive Committee Member, Dr. Nuro Dedefo, and Harper College Economics Professor Getachew Begashaw had taken turns to emphasize on the need to embark on efforts to unify Ethiopians of all stripes in the struggle for freedom, justice and dignity.
VOA’s unusual move to cut out an important event, where OLF publicly declared the need to work hand in glove with other Ethiopian freedom forces for the first time, has outraged many Ethiopians.
Mr. Neamin Zeleke, one of the key organizers of the meeting and Secretary of ALEJE, which a coalition of Ginbot 7, Afar People’s Party and Ethiopian Unity and Justice Movement, told Addis Voice that VOA has appeared to succumb to the pressures of dictators in Ethiopia who are known to be allergic to the truth.
“I am not only outraged but also found the action fundamentally contrary to the Constitution of the United States,” he said. Neamin noted that the conference was a historic milestone that should have been properly covered by VOA, which was seen as a reputable broadcaster among many Ethiopians. He added that VOA must adhere to its own missions, principles and tenets regardless of any pressures from tyrants such as Bereket Simon that want to muffle every little voice in Ethiopia.
ALEJE public meeting said successful (PR)
A Public Meeting organized jointly by Alliance Liberty, Equality, and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE) and Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) on Sunday, July 10, 2011 at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, VA was a resounding success. During the meeting, Dr. Berhanu Nega, Chairman of Ginbot 7 and ALEJE, Dr. Nuro Dedefo, Executive Committee member and [...]
Fairfax County shields cops when public complains (WE)
By Leah Fabel | Washington Examiner Staff Writer Fairfax County provides its police with some of the most sweeping protections in the nation, using secrecy to shield officers from public complaints. But a vocal group of residents say that while cops benefit, the public is usually left in the dark. And that darkness can be [...]
VOA quietly reinstates Horn of Africa chief
By Abebe Gellaw–The Voice of America (VOA) has reversed its decision to suspend its Horn of Africa chief, David Arnold. After Addis Voice published a disturbing story on censorship and questionable actions taken against Mr. Arnold for comments he made recently in a June 23rd VOA report, VOA bosses held a series of crisis meetings and decided to reinstate him, sources disclosed.
Al Amouddi strikes gold again (AR)
(African Report) Midroc Gold Mine (MGOLD), a member of the MIDROC Ethiopia Technology Group, owned by an Ethiopian-Saudi tycoon, Sheik Mohammed Hussien Ali Al-Amudi’s, said the deposits were found by local experts. The 33,000 kg gold deposit was found in Benshangul Gumuz regional estate, where a MGOLD production mill will be set up early next [...]
US official: Ethiopia underestimating drought need
By LUC VAN KEMENADE Addis Ababa (Bloomberg) A U.S. official said Monday he fears Ethiopian officials may be underestimating the country’s needs in its drought crisis, even as the government announced that 4.5 million Ethiopians need food aid, 40 percent more than last year. The U.S. government aid arm is looking for ways to help [...]
Ethiopia: Apocalypse Now or in 40 Years?
By Prof. Al Mariam–In October, 2009, I wrote a weekly commentary titled, “Famine and the Noisome Beast in Ethiopia”:
It is hard to talk about Ethiopia these days in non-apocalyptic terms. Millions of Ethiopians are facing their old enemy again for the third time in nearly forty years. The Black Horseman of famine is stalking that ancient land. A year ago, Meles Zenawi’s regime denied there was any famine. Only ‘minor problems’ of spot shortages of food which will ‘be soon brought under control,’ it said dismissively.
South Sudan celebrates ‘new beginning’ (Al Jazeera)
Juba, South Sudan – After decades of war, fought at the cost of millions of lives, and before a crowd of tens of thousands of Sudanese and foreign dignitaries, the world’s newest nation was born in Juba. To rapturous cries and tears of joy, South Sudan on Saturday became the 193rd country recognised by the [...]
Horn of Africa crisis overwhelms aid efforts
Dollo Ado, Ethiopia (Angop) With dust devils blowing across the desert amid one of the worst droughts in living memory, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on Thursday led a small mission to this parched and remote area of south-eastern Ethiopia where a deepening struggle is under way to help thousands of newly arriving [...]
UN unable to deal with Somali-Ethiopia refugees as deaths triple average
The United Nations is unable to deal with the number of refugees fleeing to Ethiopia from Somalia because of conflict and drought, the High Commissioner for Refugees said. “We are looking for better international support,” Antonio Guterres told reporters today in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “There are more people arriving than there’s capacity to [...]
VOA “Censored” after Fallout with Ethiopian Gov’t
By Abebe Gellaw–The Voice of America (VOA) has been accused of censoring itself and suspending its Horn of Africa Chief, David Arnold, over fallout with the Ethiopian government. The suspension of Mr. Arnold was directly related to his comments in a news report that was broadcast on VOA Amharic service on June 23rd, informed sources told Addis Voice. Mr. Arnold was part of a seven-member delegation headed by three Board of Broadcasting Governors (BBG), Susan McCue, Dana Perino, and Michael Meehan, who met officials in Ethiopia, Nigeria and Southern Sudan from June 21 to June 28. BBG, an agency of the US government, oversees all of its civilian international broadcasts in 59 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 165 million people across the world.
Ethiopia detains two Swedish journalists (CPJ)
New York, July 5, 2011—Two Swedish journalists reporting on the activities of armed separatists operating in an oil-rich province of eastern Ethiopia have been detained without charge since Thursday in the Horn of Africa nation, according to news reports and goveranment officials. Ethiopian security forces arrested photojournalist Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye, contributors to [...]
Oxfam launches largest aid appeal in Africa (KNA)
Oxfam has launched its largest ever appeal in Africa in response to a massive food crisis facing more than 12 million people across Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. The agency needs £50 million (KHS650 million) to reach 3 million people in horrible need of clean water, food and basic sanitation. “This is the worst food crisis [...]
Birtukan Mideksa urges compatriots to stand in unison
Ethiopia’s freedom icon Birtukan Mideksa heartedly thanked her fellow Ethiopians here on Sunday for their unreserved support during her incarceration and urged them to unify in celebration of the greatness of their country regardless of the fact that it is neither a land of freedom nor justice.
In a remark she made at the conclusion of the Ethiopian Heritage Festival held at George Washington University from July 1 to July 3, Birtukan said that despite all the difficulties facing Ethiopia we need to unify to celebrate the rich heritage and greatness of our country.
Britain to feed 1.3 million Ethiopians for three months (AHN)
The British coalition government promised on Sunday to feed 1.3 million Ethiopians for the next three months. International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced the allocation of a $57 billion (GBP 38 billion) budget for Britain’s World Food Program to help the famine-hit African nation cope with its driest season. The Horn of Africa, where Ethiopia [...]
Two Swedish journalists arrested, wounded (AP)
By LUC VAN KEMENADE, Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopian troops killed 15 rebels in the country’s restive east and arrested two Swedish journalists who were with them, an Ethiopian official said Monday. Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were lightly wounded in last week’s clash between troops and rebels from the Ogaden National [...]
Ethiopia: Educating a dictator
By Prof. Al Mariam–Last week, a visiting delegation of the VOA Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) in Ethiopia was served an ultimatum by dictator Meles Zenawi: If the VOA wants the electronic jamming of its broadcasts to Ethiopia stopped, it must silence and banish from its microphones the voices of specific individuals in the Ethiopian Diaspora and some within Ethiopia. The delegation told Zenawi that the VOA is voice of the voiceless, not the silencer of the already voiceless.
One more uniting opportunity for Ethiopia going down the drain
By Fekade Shewakena–Think about this for a minute. There is a maddening paradox in Ethiopia. There is an abundance of river waters and harvestable rain in Ethiopia that is more than sufficient to feed all Ethiopians. Yet, the country is home to famine, widespread hunger, severe malnutrition and perennial dependence on international food handout. Believe it or not, there is no country in the world which is rich in agricultural resources and obscenely poor and hungry at the same time as Ethiopia.
Ethiopia accuses two jailed journalists of terrorism plot (CPJ)
New York, June 29, 2011 (CPJ)—The Ethiopian government today publicly today accused an editor and a columnist of involvement in a terrorism plot, according to news reports and local journalists. Woubshet Taye, deputy editor of the leading Awramba Times newspaper and Reeyot Alemu, columnist for the weekly Feteh, have been held incommunicado under Ethiopia’s far-reaching [...]
Two journalists, 7 others face terrorism charges
By William Davidson (Bloomberg) Ethiopian officials arrested nine people, including two journalists, on charges of terrorism, said Shimeles Kemal, state minister for communications. They are accused of “organizing a terrorist structure to destroy, demolish and sabotage essential power and telecommunications infrastructure,” he said by phone today from Addis Ababa, the capital. The arrests took place [...]
On the Democratization Process
By Messay Kebede–This is not a response to the numerous reactions generated by my previous article titled “Meles’s Political Dilemma and the Developmental State: Dead-Ends and Exit” Some of the reactions raised serious and legitimate questions; others emanated from misunderstandings of the actual contents of the article; still others drifted more toward acrimony and malicious insinuations than a civilized exchange of ideas.
Worst drought in 60 years hitting Horn of Africa-UN
GENEVA, June 28 (Reuters) – The worst drought in 60 years in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations said on Tuesday. More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, it said.
Journalist Reeyot Alemu held under “terrorism” law
New York, June 23, 2011 (CPJ)–Ethiopian authorities have been holding a newspaper columnist incommunicado since Tuesday, local journalists told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Reeyot Alemu, a regular contributor to the independent weekly Feteh, was expected to spend the next four weeks in preventive detention under what appears to be Ethiopia’s sweeping anti-terrorism law.
Servant leadership: A leadership style whose time has come
The Challenge to Leadership A crisis in leadership is brewing worldwide. Nations and organizations are becoming increasingly difficult to lead and manage. The ever changing social, political and economic environment is agitating followers to raise a new set of demands which is posing a serious challenge to traditional forms of leadership. A case in point [...]
Ethiopia: No to “Grand Coalition”
By Eskinder Nega–There is bitter irony to the story of the large Ethiopian Diaspora in the US. No more is it only large in sheer numbers but it’s also progressively more and more successful, impishly enticing the nation’s best and brightest to leave their native land. Two cases illustrate this unfolding saga of immigrants’ hard work and reward as they lay claim to their share of the fabled American dream.
EFJA condemns Chinese involvement in jamming (EFJA)
Press Release (EFJA) The Ethiopian Free Press Journalists’ Association (EFJA) has demanded that China put an end to its complicity in jamming the Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) and other reputable broadcasters such as the Voice of America and Deutsche Welle Amharic Services. ESAT, which recently resumed transmissions to Ethiopia after nearly two months of interruption, [...]
Ethiopian youth movement at the gate of an uprising
By Robele Ababya–The purpose of this article is to briefly highlight that the Ethiopian youths have borne the brunt of the setbacks in the past revolutions and that they are duty bound for the sake of their future to play a central role in the inevitable uprising in Ethiopia and succeed in engendering a strong, democratic and prosperous country that is equal to all its citizens under the rule of law.
Yonathan Meleku due in court (ABC 7)
The Military reservist whose suspicious behavior closed down roads around the Pentagon last week is expected to appear in court today. Yonathan Melaku will face a Loudoun County judge Thursday on two unrelated larceny charges. This comes one day after sources said that “strong evidence” connects the 22-year-old to a series of mysterious shootings at [...]
Food becomes unaffordable in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — When Ethiopia’s government imposed price controls in January to combat the spiraling cost of staples like meat, cooking oil and bread, butcher Wabe Habse had a long line of customers, but could barely make a profit. Now, after price controls were dropped earlier this month, Wabe is still not making money.
“The meat market has collapsed,” said Wabe, who raised his prices nearly two-fold and saw his customers abandon him. “I am not sure how we are going to survive.”
Ethiopian journalist illegally detained since Sunday (CPJ)
New York, June 21, 2011 (CPJ)–The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Ethiopian authorities today to immediately release journalist Woubshet Taye, at left, who has been held since Sunday. Police picked up Taye, deputy editor of the leading independent weekly Awramba Times, at his home in the capital, Addis Ababa, at 3 p.m. and confiscated [...]
Syrian ruler promises reform (AP)
By ZEINA KARAM The Associated Press BEIRUT — Syria’s embattled president said Monday his regime would consider political reforms, including ending his Baath Party’s monopoly on power. But Bashar Assad gave no sign he might step down, the key demand of nationwide protests. The opposition immediately dismissed Assad’s speech, saying it lacked any clear move [...]
Ethiopia: The Fakeonomics of Meles Zenawi
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam—There is the economics of Adam Smith, the intellectual father of capitalism. There is Levitt & Dubner’s freakonomics of weird stuff. Then there is the fakeonomics (economics by gimmickry) of Meles Zenawi, the dictator in Ethiopia and author of the five-year “Growth and Transformation Plan” (GTP). Zenawi forecasts a “not unimaginable” 14.9 percent economic growth for Ethiopia over the next five years after devaluing the currency by 20 percent, slapping price controls on many food items
Clinton supports Syrian protesters ( State Dep’t)
In an op-ed in the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemns the violent crackdown in Syria and calls for a transition to democracy. The full text of the Secretary’s op-ed follows. “There Is No Going Back in Syria” By Hillary Clinton As the violent crackdown in Syria continues, President Assad has [...]
Messay Kebede and his “Manifesto”
By Tecola W. Hagos
June 18, 2011
In our troubled times, the written word is a powerful tool. I am referring to the recent article by Professor Messay Kebede titled “Meles’s Political Dilemma and the Developmental State: Dead-Ends and Exit” that has been posted in most Ethiopian Websites on 15th June 2011, which has started a tsunami of controversial ideas. I found also some well written pieces in response to the article by Messay Kebede, which comments and criticisms I read with great interest, such as the pieces by Said Hassan [“A Rejoinder of Professor Messay’s article: ‘Meles’s Political Dilemma…’”], Abiye Teklemariam [“Mind the Jump: A Brief Response to Prof. Messay Kebede”] et cetera.
Eritrea denies backing Oromo rebels (Bloomberg)
Eritrea denied providing support to an Ethiopian rebel group that had 14 members jailed earlier this month for a plot to bomb an African Union summit. Ethiopia’s government said on June 9 that members of the Oromo Liberation Front who received sentences ranging from nine years to life for attempting to attack the January summit [...]
Homage to Hillary Clinton’s message to dictators
By Eskinder Nega (Addis Ababa) The list of distinguished American Secretaries of State is a long one. James Madison acceded to the Presidency after serving as the nation’s fifth Secretary of State in the early years of the nineteenth century. His track records on both counts were remarkable. Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, was the lonely visionary who saw wisdom in the acquisition of Alaska from Russia. America’s longest serving Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, received a Nobel Peace Prize for his eleven grueling years in Franklin D Roosevelt’s administration.
ESAT accuses China of complicity in jamming signals
ESAT News Release –The Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT), which resumed transmissions to Ethiopia last week after nearly two months of interruption, has urged the government of the People’s Republic of China to desist from providing technology, training and technical assistance to the regime in Ethiopia to enable it to jam shortwave radio and satellite transmissions to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: Accelerating inflation threatens livelihoods
By Kefyalew Gebremedhin–In this piece, I am making a few observations that are prompted by Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Foreign Minister (FM) Hailemariam Dessalegn’s implicit denial that the current double-digit inflation that continues to trash livelihoods and Ethiopia’s economic growth prospects would have no impacts on the five-year plan underway and the project to harness the Nile River. His conclusion was, therefore, “So I think we can perform on the ambitious plans that are in place”, despite inflation accelerating to a new high of 34.7 percent in May, up from 29.5 percent in April (Bloomberg, Ethiopian Economic Growth to Beat IMF Forecast, Deputy Prime Minister; www.businessweek.com).
Ex-ambassador accused of plagiarism
Shanti Aboobaker (The Mercury , South Africa) CAPE TOWN academic Colin Darch has accused the former Ethiopian ambassador to South Africa, Tesfaye Habisso, of plagiarizing an article that Darch presented at a conference in 1976. The Oxford-educated academic is a senior librarian at UCT’s African Studies library. Despite several attempts to reach Habisso via e-mail [...]
Over 100 Oromos to face terrorism changes (Bloomber)
Addis Ababa–Ethiopia is “highly likely” to charge another 121 Oromo rebels with terrorist offences after 14 people were sentenced yesterday over their involvement in a plot to bomb an African Union summit, a government spokesman said. The Supreme Court yesterday jailed four of the accused for life, while six received 25-year prison terms, one got [...]
Clinton Chastises China on Internet, African ‘New Colonialism’
By Flavia Krause-Jackson (Bloomberg) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sharpening her criticism of China, said the world’s second-biggest economy was doing everything to “stifle the Internet” and displaying traits of “new colonialism” in Africa. Asked today during the recording of a television program in Lusaka, Zambia about whether China was a role model for [...]
Saudi Arabia wants 30,000 laborers from Ethiopia
NAIF MASRAHI (Saudi Gazette) JEDDAH: The Kingdom has requested around 30,000 laborers including housemaids, drivers and technical staff from Ethiopia, said Hallemariam Dessalegn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in an interview Sunday with Saudi Gazette at the Jeddah Conference Palace. He said that his country [...]
George Ayittey’s War on African Dictatorships
By Prof. Al Mariam George Ayittey, the distinguished Ghanaian economist, and arguably one of the “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” (a person of ideas who stands for things far larger than one’s academic discipline) worldwide who “are shaping the tenor of our time” has been at war with Africa’s tin pot dictators and their lackeys for at least two decades. In 1996, he told African intellectuals exactly what he thought of them: “Hordes of politicians, lecturers, professionals, lawyers, and doctors sell themselves off into prostitution and voluntary bondage to serve the dictates of military vagabonds with half their intelligence.
Ethiopia buys 200 T-72 tanks from Ukraine (Guy Martin)
By Guy Martin (Defence Web) Ethiopia has ordered more than 200 T-72 tanks worth over US$100 million from Ukraine in one of the largest contracts signed by the Ukrainian arms exporter in more than 15 years. Ukrspecexport SC, the state controlled arms export, signed the contract with the Defence Ministry of Ethiopia yesterday, reports the [...]
Open Letter to Hillary Clinton from Ethiopia
By Eskinder Nega
Dear Secretary Clinton, Unlike the almost annoyingly fussy, routinely dead-beat and robotically mechanical welcome of the government, I extend to you the simple, warm welcome of Ethiopia’s oppressed tens of millions: Welcome to our ramshackle of a city, the embodiment of four wasted decades and barely over a century old, though, as Henry Kissinger usually likes to point out, the history of the Ethiopian state is older than even that of China.
Ethiopia’s investment plan unsustainable: World Bank
By William Davison (Bloomberg) Ethiopia’s dependence on foreign capital to finance budget deficits and a five-year investment plan is unsustainable, said Ken Ohashi, the World Bank’s country director for the Horn of Africa nation. The government plans to borrow at least 398.4 billion Ethiopian birr ($23.6 billion) from home and abroad to fund the five-year [...]
ESAT Interview: Abraha Belai and Teklemichael Abebe
EPRDF, Tesfaye Habisso and the 99.6 percent plagiarism
By Abebe Gellaw–It is extremely unlikely for identical twins, let alone an Ethiopian ‘diplomat’ and a British born South African scholar who have never met in their entire lives, to write a 15-page long academic paper in exactly the same way, using the same language, words, sentences, paragraphs, data, titles…commas and full-stops. It may be a miracle but the impossible has happened. A couple of days ago, someone sent out an email that suggested that Mr. Tesfaye Habisso, former high-ranking official and Ethiopian Ambassador to Uganda and South Africa under the Meles regime, may have committed plagiarism
Rebels destroy ruling party stores in Gonder
By Ethiomedia.com —GONDAR – Rebels who sneaked into the piazza area of the historic city of Gondar on May 4 set off a huge fire that burned down 11 stores belonging to the ruling party of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The chain of businesses destroyed include stores of electronics, mobile phones, goods, a laundry mat, and a bar, according to a report released to Ethiomedia by the rebel group Ethiopian Unity and Freedom Force (EUFF).
Paul Henze’s coversations with Meles Zenawi
The Washington Post reported this past week that Paul B. Henze, a former CIA and National Security Council specialist in psychological operations died on May 19 at a rehabilitation center in Culpeper, Va.
Mr. Henze was known among Ethiopians as a close confidant of Meles Zenawi and the top guns of the TPLF. The following is a revealing conversation between Meles Zenawi and Mr. Henze, which was held in April 1990. As the extract from the lengthy conversation appears to reveal the dictator’s ethnocentric hatemongering design that has made the future of Ethiopia more uncertain than ever before, we have found it a good read worth sharing.
Understanding the absence of Ethiopia’s “day of rage”
By Eskinder Nega
VOA’s stringer in Addis, Peter Heinlein, a veteran of cold-war stints as a high-profile American correspondent behind the iron curtain, expressed the paradox best. “Protesters Absent as Ethiopia Marks Anniversary of Meles Rule” read the title of his May 28th dispatch from Addis. “Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have turned out in Addis Ababa’s main square to mark PM Meles Zenawi’s 20th anniversary in power.
In defence of the Voice of America
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–Meles Zenawi seems to have a morbid fascination with genocide. Whenever the going gets tough — bad news, tightening election campaigns, stiffening political opposition — he whips out the specter of Rwandan-style “interhamwe” (which in Kinyarwanda or Rwanda means “those who stand, work, fight, attack together”) in Ethiopia to change the subject. Predictably, as recent news of his rebel group’s use of famine aid money in 1984 for weapons purchases received massive international coverage….
VOA Amharic walking a tight rope
Hindessa Abdul–Voice of America’s relationship with the Ethiopian authorities has been a rocky one. For over a decade, after the TPLF (Tigray People Liberation Front) ascension to power VOA was hardly a major source of news for many Ethiopians. It was all good and nobody bothered the Washington D.C. based broadcaster. Jamming and filtering were not even in the vocabularies of the authorities in Addis.
Hope Springs Eternal in Africa
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–Two historic events are unfolding before our eyes in Africa today. The new president of Cote d’Ivoire, AlassaneOuattara, is asking the International Criminal Court (ICC) to conduct an investigation into gross human rights violations in his country. In a letter to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Ouattara wrote: “It appears the Ivorian justice system, at the moment, is not best placed to consider the most serious crimes committed over the recent months, and that any attempts to bring to justice those who are most responsible would risk running into all kinds of difficulties.”
Ethiopians under 20 years of Meles Zenawi rule (VOA)
By Peter Heinlein (VOA) Meskel Square is empty on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the bloodless coup that brought a band of Marxist Tigrayan rebels to power in Ethiopia. Only a few workers are here setting up the sound system and stage. In a few hours, throngs of government supporters will pour into [...]
Ethiopia rebels say they take town, free UN staff
* ONLF rebels fighting for secession * U.N. staff had been missing since ambush on May 13 By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA, May 26 (Reuters) – Rebels in Ethiopia’s Somali Region said on Thursday they had seized a town from government troops and freed two U.N. workers who had been missing since an ambush on [...]
Karuturi and the quest of Africa (FE)
Financial Express, Addis Ababa: A chance meeting with Ram Karuturi, chairman and managing director of Karuturi Global Ltd, in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa brought home the sheer scale of ambition that Indian entrepreneurs are nurturing in the African continent. Karuturi is the largest producer and exporter of roses in the world, and he [...]
Jailed journalist: ‘I will never hesitate from criticizing’
(CNN) — Sharing a communal cell with 350 other prisoners, Ethiopian journalist Dawit Kebede spent 21 months in a crammed jail, losing his freedom for speaking his mind. That was his penalty for writing an editorial criticizing the Ethiopian government after the post-election violence that rocked the country in 2005. But while many of his colleagues left the country after they gained their freedom, Kebede decided to stay. He became the editor of one of Ethiopia’s only independent newspapers, with his commitment to his trade earning him an International Press Freedom award from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). “It’s my belief that getting outside or preferring exile and living under such repressive situations are the same form, because as far as I go in exercising my professional duty abroad, that doesn’t replace the ultimate freedom that I need in my entire life,” says Kebede.
Activists claim cut power in Western Ethiopia (Bloomber)
Ethiopian political activists opposed to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s rule said they sabotaged power lines in the west of the country as part of a campaign against the government. The Tinsae Ethiopian Patriots Union said it cut electricity cables in Awi Zone on May 20, causing outages in towns including Asosa, 477 kilometers (296 miles) [...]
Ethiopia’s human rights record scrutinized
By Tristan McConnel (GlobalPost) NAIROBI, Kenya — It has proven notoriously tricky for Africa’s rebel armies to transform themselves into democratic governments and Ethiopia offers perhaps the clearest case study on the continent of how and why this transition so rarely happens. Ethiopia, under rebel fighter turned political leader Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, attracts huge donor support for its aid programs and no-holds-barred criticism for its human rights record. In May 2010 the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition won all but two of the seats in the 547-member national parliament, a 99.6 percent landslide.
Ethiopia rebel group alleges mass killing by gov’t
By MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED Associated Press An Ethiopian rebel group said Thursday that the army and a police unit killed at least three dozen civilians in a crackdown in an ethnically Somali region of Ethiopia. A government official called the allegations baseless. Abdirahman Mahdi, the spokesman for the Ogaden National Liberation Front, accused Ethiopian security [...]
Ethiopia’s stolen 8.4 billion dollars and EPRDF
Eskinder Nega from Addis Ababa—The folks at Global Financial Integrity may not know this, but their report on illicit financial flows is threatening to steal the thunder from an important milestone for the EPRDF, Ethiopia’s repressive ruling party, which will be celebrating its 20th year in power on the 28th of this month. And more than a harmless opportunity to gloat is slipping away. GFI’s report poses real danger of generating mistrust between EPRDF’s senior leadership.
What Osama bin Laden’s death mean to Ethiopia
Obama is a voracious reader. He has read expansively and intensely. Not even his tacky detractor, The Donald, as he likes to be called, who personally and unabashedly prefers a sizzling tabloid to a weighty hardcover, would dare to question him on this count. But The Donald could credibly claim that however impressive Obama’s reading list may have been before the late 2000s, he hardly read books on foreign policy. Ironically, Obama, whose nativity is questioned by a shockingly large number of Americans, instinctively militated to the original isolationist sentiments of the nation’s founding fathers. In fact, so strong was this isolationist predisposition that he famously declined to hypothetically consider the possibility of deploying troops in Iraq to prevent genocide. Genocides have happened elsewhere in the world without America intervening, he reasoned.
This was the Obama that attained the Presidency with a respectable plurality in 2008.But a retreat to the familiar shores of continental America, as had once happened in 1918, when the US tragically refused to join and lead the League of Nations after the First World War, is hardly a possibility in the age of nuclear armed Pakistan.
TPLF hijacks World Press Freedom event
Officials in Ethiopia hijacked a local UNESCO-sponsored World Press Freedom Day event, installing government-backed journalists as speakers and nixing independent journalists slated to speak. There was no discussion, as originally planned, of this year’s global theme on new media and the Internet at the Tuesday forum, according to local sources and news reports.
The program for the event at Addis Ababa’s Hilton Hotel had called for the veteran editor of the bilingual weekly Reporter, Amare Aregawi, to deliver a presentation on UNESCO’s 2011 global theme for World Press Freedom Day.
Bin Laden death could be game changer (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The demise of Osama bin Laden complicates what was already a tough call for President Barack Obama: how to wind down the nearly decade-old war in Afghanistan. Now the symbolic reason for staying in the fight — to get al-Qaida’s leader and avenge 9/11 — has been undercut. Momentum had been building [...]
A few smart moves to ousting the Zenawi regime (Robele Ababya)
By Robele Ababya, o3 May 2005 Outburst of joy in the USA over the killing of Bin Laden The truth will always catch up with criminals. The death of Osama Bin Laden is a case in point. He paid with his life for his beastly role in masterminding and ordering the gruesome mass murder of [...]
EFPJA cites int’l support as key to press freedom
EFPJA Press Release It has been six years since EFJA was illegally suspended by Ethiopia’s dictatorial government and prevented from carrying out its activities; EFJA’s office was robbed and closed by the government. Almost all members of the association have gone into exile to avoid danger, and a few brave members who remain in the [...]
Meles freezes Nile treaty ratification
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia has agreed to delay ratification of a treaty that strips Egypt of rights to the lion’s share of the Nile river’s waters until it has elected a new government, officials said on Tuesday.
Egypt has been at odds with upriver nations over changes to colonial-era treaties that gave it veto power over dam projects. Six Nile basin countries, including Ethiopia, have now signed the deal, effectively stripping Egypt of its veto.
Ethiopia: We Went, We Saw, We Got Chased Out…
By Alemayehu G. Mariam—Following the Battle of Zela in 47 B.C. (present day Zile, Turkey), Julius Caesar claimed victory by declaring: “I came; I saw; I conquered.” In 2011, Caesar Meles Zenawi, the dictator-in-chief in Ethiopia, scattered his top henchmen throughout the U.S. and Europe to declare victory in the propaganda war on Diaspora Ethiopians. But there was no victory to be had, only ignominious defeat at the hands of Zenawi’s tenacious, resolute and dogged opponents. No victory dances; only a speedy shuffle back to the capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses) to deliver the message: “We went; We saw; We got chased the hell out of Dodge!”
Meles regime’s usefulness eclipses its repressiveness
By Shanon Field–Ethiopia is one of the largest recipients of development aid, receiving over US$3.3bn annually. Ethiopia is perceived by Western leaders as a largely Christian country bordering two unstable Islamic states, Sudan and Somalia, and viewed as a crucial ally in the “war on terror”.
Ethiopia’s President Meles Zenawi has charmed Western leaders so successfully that he has seen foreign aid more than double in the past six years, while his regime has become increasingly repressive.
Zenawi presided over what were regarded as fraudulent elections in both 2005 and 2010, and in an attempt to maintain his regime’s grip on power, detained tens of thousands of opposition supporters, imprisoned opposition leaders and executed demonstrators. The US State Department acknowledged in its human rights reports the “numerous credible reports of unlawful detention of opposition candidates in Ethiopia, and the politically motivated killings committed by the security forces”. Despite this, Ethiopia remains a top US client state in the East African region and has not been subjected to official public criticism for the ruthlessness with which it deals with its detractors.
TPLF regime has no response to US charges (Peter Heinlien)
By Peter Heinlein (VOA) Ethiopia has ended its practice of formally responding to the annual U.S. human rights report, as it has done the past two years. A statement said the government views the Congressionally-mandated report with contempt, and has no plans to answer the charges. The most recent State Department report paints a troubling [...]
Exporting segregation to America
By Yilma Bekele–Being an Ethiopian has always been difficult. The bad news is, it is not going to get any easier. Two weeks ago I found out it can be taken away too. It has come to a point where names and looks plus attitude can determine who is and who is not an Ethiopian. Welcome to Kilil in America. The Ethiopian government reps. held a town hall meeting in a city not far from where I live. There were over a hundred of us protesting outside and two hundred plus were inside listening to the marketing. It was an out of this world experience. San Jose and other cities where the salesmen went were transformed in a new and positive manner.
Renting a read from ‘newspaper landlords’
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (CNN) — Garum Tesfaye is one of Addis Ababa’s “newspaper landlords,” a group of entrepreneurs in the Ethiopian capital who rent out papers to people too poor to buy them. Surrounded by worn-out copies of old newspapers, stacks of gossip magazines and the crisp print of the latest news, Tesfaye sits attentively, [...]
The end game of African dictators
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire arrested! Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in intensive care! Moamar Gadhafi of Libya under siege! Omar al-Bashir of the Sudan, a fugitive from justice. Ben Ali of Tunisia out of Africa! Meles Zenawi, sleepless in Ethiopia.
These are heady days on the African continent. These are days of joy. Africa’s thugdoms are crumbling like clumps of dirt underfoot. These are days of grief and tribulation. After one-half century of independence, Africa continues to sink deeper into a quagmire of dictatorship, corruption and extreme violence.
Meles Zenawi savors fiasco number one
By Ephrem Madebo–I didn’t really want to go to Saturday’s Growth and Transformation meeting here in the Nation’s capital because I was already disgusted by its hysteria and exaggeration. Though I badly wanted to confront the high profile gluttons form Addis Ababa, the little doubt that abruptly crossed my mind made me look hopeless and nervous. But, I quickly woke up from the hallucination and asked myself . . . to hell Ephrem!…. Isn’t it the moment of most profound doubt that gives birth to new certainties? I answered my own question – yes, it is. It is true that hopelessness is the very soil that nourishes human hope; and one could never find sense in life without first experiencing its absurdity. Well, that is exactly why I drove to Washington, DC – to experience the absurdity and to be certain.
Besides, the soccer game I played that Saturday morning [in which my team lost] rekindled my energy. I hate losing twice in a row, so I went to the meeting to win. As I drove from Suburban Virginia to Washington, DC, a voice from across the seas and from across generations kept on asking me…who are you…. who are you? I was neither puzzled nor terrified by the voice because I knew exactly whose voice was talking to me. It was the voice of selfless heroes who shielded me from Zenawi’s bullet and redeemed my freedom. So, as I drove across the Potomac River, I turned off my iPhone, focused on the traffic in front of me and gave my full attention to the voice. Here is what the voice said: “please don’t give up! Remember when hopelessness is hurting you; it’s the fixtures and the fittings that finish you off. Defeat is often temporary – giving up is what makes it permanent… don’t give up!”
I work in DC, but I really hate driving in DC, especially on those streets where the speed limit is under 35 mph. But, on Saturday April 9, it really didn’t matter how slowly I was driving so long as I was going to Howard University. Hence, I accelerated my Japanese made car, and as I approached to the entrance of Cramton Auditorium, I saw a large number of gluttons that are bleeding my country.
Inflation rises by 25 percent in Ethiopia (Reuters)
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s annual inflation rate surged to 25.0 percent in March, from 16.5 percent a month earlier, as food and fuel prices rallied, the statistics agency said on Friday. “This increase in the general consumer price index is attributed to the rise observed in the indices of food 25.5 percent … house [...]
Deutsche Welle: Ethiopian service jammed again
Press Release Press Release New example of an evident blockade of critical international media. Deutsche Welle (DW) has condemned the latest case of jamming of its Amharic service for Ethiopia. Germany’s international broadcast has appealed to the Ethiopian administration to ensure that an undisturbed shortwave signal remain available for listeners in the region. The latest [...]
Ethiopia: The Art of War by Mass Distraction
By Prof. Al Mariam–Naturally the common people don’t want war. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along… Voice or no voice [democratic or non-democratic government], the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
Meles regime denies jamming Deutsche Welle (Reuters)
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia denied on Sunday it was jamming Deutsche Welle’s (DW) local Amharic language radio shows, after the state-funded German broadcaster appealed for its signal to be restored. Deutsche Welle issued a statement at the weekend saying its broadcasts in Amharic, the predominant language in Ethiopia, had been blocked [...]
Meles two ‘charge’ 121 with ‘terrorism’
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s government on Thursday said it was preparing to charge more than 100 prisoners with terrorism and dismissed calls by a rights groups to release them immediately. The government said it had arrested 121 people in March and accused them of being members of the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebel [...]
HRW condemns fresh mass arrest in Ethiopia
Human Rights Watch (London) – The Government of Ethiopia should immediately release members of the ethnic Oromo political opposition detained without charge after mass arrests, Human Rights Watch said today. In March 2011, Ethiopian authorities carried out several waves of apparently politically motivated mass arrests of more than 200 ethnic Oromo Ethiopians. On March 30, [...]
Zenawi threatens Ethiopian opposition
Peter Heinlein (VOA)
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi issued a blunt warning to opposition groups he says are trying to organize a people’s revolution. Mr. Meles on Tuesday accused the largest opposition coalition of serving as a cover for an outlawed rebel group. In a nationally televised session of parliament, Mr. Meles had harsh words for the domestic opposition and for external forces he said are trying to destabilize Ethiopia.
US Ambassador Booth’s nonsensical diplomacy
Samson B–In latest edition of the Awramba Times, the paper went extra length to interview the current ambassador of the United States to Ethiopia, Mr Donald Booth. As the paper witnessed, it was the Ambassador’s first interview to the local press after a full year self-imposed censorship. As I read the introduction, I felt a positive urge to read through the interview expecting a profound analysis of the current Ethiopian situation.
Ivory coast dictator holed up in bunker
(AP) Surrounded by troops backing Ivory Coast’s democratically elected leader, strongman Laurent Gbagbo huddled Tuesday with his family in a bunker and played his final hand, trying to wrest last-ditch concessions as he negotiated the terms of his surrender. Down the hill from his luxurious compound, dozens of Gbagbo’s soldiers were seen entering a church [...]
The shell game of African Democracy
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–If the Ivory Coast, one of the most prosperous African countries, can be considered a template for political change on the continent, democracy can replace dictatorship only by means of a civil war. For the past 5 months, Laurent Gbagbo, the loser of the November 2010 Ivory Coast presidential race has been holed up in his palace defiantly clinging to power. He claims to have won the election by order of his handpicked “Constitutional Council”, even though the Ivorian Electoral Commission declared his challenger Alassane Ouattara the winner.
Ivory coast holding breath for final battle (AP)
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Residents barricaded themselves inside their homes Sunday, blanketing windows and pushing furniture against doors as this country on Africa’s western coast tensely awaited the final battle between the two men who claim the presidency. Fighters backing the internationally recognized president, Alassane Ouattara, amassed at a tollbooth on the city’s northern [...]
Another nail in the coffin of the private press
By Hindessa Abdul–A couple of years back Berhanena Selam Printing Press (BSPP) found itself to be the top most censor of the Ethiopian private press. The 90 year old publishing house at Arat Kilo actually never begged for it. But that’s what happened. When the government cracked down on the private press following the 2005 general elections, some still refused to budge. So the government designed a plan telling the printing press they have a responsibility on the contents of the printed materials. That way BSPP found itself to be the chief censor at the time. In the eyes of the printing press officials, most of the contents of what was left of the private press were politically sensitive. The only articles that were safe to print were obituaries.
As a result, sports and romantic periodicals were the only publications that adorned
Meet Meles Zenawi: The world’s poorest ruler
By Eskinder Nega, Here I am, in my small living room on a beautiful tenish Thursday morning, comfortably settled in front of the solitary window. In my hand, I hold a transcript our first lady’s (sorry, President Girma, she insists on the title) undated, and, to my knowledge, unaired TV interview. I gather this is the loyal troops’ rejoinder to the recent news from Spain about an alleged shopping spree in Europe by first lady Azeb Mesfin, wife to Ethiopia’s PM Meles Zenawi; MP; Politburo member of the TPLF and EPRDF; board member of one of the largest business conglomerates in the country , EFFORT; and Czar of the anti-HIV/Aids campaign.
Zenawi exports his “Divide & Conquer” policy
By Ephrem Madebo–In the last 20 years, the divide and rule political, economic, ethnic, and military strategy of the TPLF regime has affected the life of millions of Ethiopians, and has reduced our mother land into a land where one’s place in society is determined by his/her ethnic identity; or to say it more accurately; in Zenawi’s Ethiopia, individual identify is determined by group identity. Zenawi’s toxic divide and rule strategy has ruined families, diminished our sense of national pride, forced young female Ethiopians to seek “slavery” in the Middle East
US says Syria must meet quest for freedom (Reuters)
(Reuters) – The United States on Tuesday urged Syria to make more progress on political reforms but U.S. lawmakers did not appear keen to intervene militarily in another Middle Eastern country. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should meet the needs and aspirations of his citizens, the U.S. State Department’s spokesman Mark Toner said. More than 60 [...]
Poor Azeb Mesfin and her grand new palace
By Abebe Gellaw–Earlier this year, Edwardo Molano, Africa correspondent of the Spanish newspaper, ABC Internacional, filed a report, “Unlimited extravagance of African First Ladies”, that focused on some of the continent’s notoriously corrupt and greedy wives of dictators that have been stealing from poor starving nations.
Meles belittles role of Africa private-sector
Peter Heinlein (VOA) Ethiopia’s prime minister says Africa needs a new development plan in which the state replaces the private sector as the main engine of growth. The shadow of recent uprisings hung over a conference of African finance ministers, where officials talked about ways to satisfy Africa’s growing population of restless youth. In his [...]
Ethiopia: Country For Sale!
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–Supposing someone offered you the following land deal, would you take it or walk away believing it is too good to be true? For £150 a week (USD$245), you can lease more than 2,500 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of virgin, fertile land – an area the size of Dorset, England – for 50 years, plus generous tax breaks.
Ethiopians, Eritreans hold friendship conference in San Jose
By Pete Carey–San Jose may seem like an out-of-the-way place for an international friendship conference. But on Saturday, Ethiopians and Eritreans from as far away as Europe and South Africa met to find ways to bring the two peoples together. The occasion was the third annual Ethiopian and Eritrean Friendship Conference, held this year at the Masonic Center in South San Jose.
Meles Zenawi’s threat against Eritrea
By Eskendir Nega–Much to the amusement of Addis’ increasingly politically astute public,peace-dove-on-Eritrea-Meles-Zenawi has abruptly vanished from the public arena. In place of this familiar persona has come the new war-drumming-on- Eritrea-Meles-Zenawi. Speaking to journalists at his last press conference, Meles accused, for the umpteeth time, the Eritrean government of attempts to sabotage the latest AU leader’s summit in Addis.
Yemen’s Saleh offers handover to ‘safe hands’
Saana (AFP) President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he would only hand over power to “safe hands,” in a defiant speech to massed supporters on Friday, after talks with a top defector failed to defuse Yemen’s crisis. “We will stand firm … steadfast in the face of all challenges,” Saleh, wearing a suit and sunglasses and [...]
Ethiopia’s religious divide flares up in violence
ASENDABO, Ethiopia (Reuters) – The hollow chants of “Allahu Akbar!” reverberating from a distance seemed innocuous at first for Abera Gutema, who ventured home quietly from his shop just a short distance away. Moments later, a large, angry mob of machete-wielding Muslim youths descended on his family’s dwelling and chased him out, before burning and looting his property.
Meles regime accused of detaining activists to deter uprising (Peter Heinlein)
By Peter Heinlien (VOA) Ethiopia has detained dozens of political activists as part of what opposition groups say is a crackdown aimed at preventing a North African or Middle Eastern style popular uprising. Our correspondent in Addis Ababa says the crackdown is focused on the politically sensitive Oromia region, home to more than one third [...]
Al Amoudi expands his share of Ethiopia
Saudi Star Agricultural Development Plc, a food company owned by billionaire Sheikh Mohammed al- Amoudi, said it plans to invest $2.5 billion by 2020 developing a rice-farming project in Ethiopia. The company, based in Addis Ababa, leased 10,000 hectares (24,711 acres) in Ethiopia’s western Gambella region for 60 years at a cost of 158 birr ($9.42) per hectare annually, Chief Executive Officer Haile Assegide said in an interview on March 18. It plans to rent an additional 290,000 hectares from the government, he said.
Embattled Yemeni ruler warns of “civil war”
Sanaa, March 22 (DPA) Yemen’s embattled President Ali Abdullah Saleh Tuesday urged army defectors to reconsider, warning of a ‘civil war’ and a possible coup amid growing anger at his 32-year-old rule. ‘Those who want to climb up to power through coups should know that this is out of the question. The homeland will not be stable, there will be a civil war, a bloody war. They should carefully consider this,’ said Saleh.
Ethiopia at the center of global land grab
By John Vidal (The Guardian) It’s the deal of the century: £150 a week to lease more than 2,500 sq km (1,000 sq miles) of virgin, fertile land – an area the size of Dorset – for 50 years. Bangalore-based food company Karuturi Global says it had not even seen the land when it was [...]
Meles unveils plans to oust Eritrean counterpart
By Peter Heinlein (VOA) Ethiopia has announced a change in its foreign policy to actively advocate the overthrow of the government in neighboring Eritrea. In a series of interviews during the past week, Ethiopian officials have told of a switch in policy on Eritrea from defensive to proactive. News agencies quoted Ethiopean Prime Minister Meles [...]
Ethiopian journalists face more threats (RWB)
Press Release Reporters Without Borders is alarmed by the steadily worsening climate of harassment and intimidation that the Ethiopian authorities have imposed on the media, especially the private media. “By taking legal action against news media that criticize its policies or simply dare to ask awkward questions, the government is trying to suffocate them,” Reporters [...]
Broken contract, broken faith, broken country
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–It is not clear what Zenawi means in his repeated use of the word “contract” to describe the relationship between the people of Ethiopia and his party, and how that “contract” became an ironclad deal for five years. The terms of the “contract” and the circumstances that constitute breach are also unclear. But the word “contract” has special significance for those in the legal profession and students of political theory.
አውራምባ ታይምስ (3ኛ አመት፣ ቁ. 159)
Awramba Times Issue #159
Western powers attack Libyan targets
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Western forces hit targets along the Libyan coast on Saturday, using strikes from air and sea to force Muammar Gaddafi’s troops to cease fire and end attacks on civilians. Libyan state television said 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded in the allied air strikes. It also said there had been a fresh wave of strikes on Tripoli early on Sunday.
Libya declares ceasefire after threat of attack
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Muammar Gaddafi’s government said it was declaring a unilateral ceasefire in its offensive to crush Libya’s revolt, as Western warplanes prepared to attack his forces. But government troops pounded the rebel-held western city of Misrata on Friday, killing at least 25 people including children, a doctor there told Reuters. Residents said there [...]
Ethiopia’s rebels issue famine alert (BNO)
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (BNO NEWS) — Ethiopia’s rebel group, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), on Thursday warned of a “severe drought” in the region, which could develop into famine, African Online News reported. “The draught has now reached a stage where both people and animals are dying,” the ONLF said in a statement. “The [...]
Battle for Benghazi looms large
TRIPOLI (Reuters) – The battle for control of rebel capital Benghazi looked just hours away on Thursday after the Libyan army told people to leave opposition-held locations and arms storage areas, but residents said the city was quiet. Benghazi residents poured scorn on the army announcement, one of several recent reports on Libyan television that have not been borne out. It said on Tuesday that pro-Gaddafi masses were rallying in the city, which residents said never happened.
Meles Zenawi and his never-ending threats
By Yilma Bekele–The people’s uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been the talk of Ethiopians both at home and the Diaspora for the last month and half. We are surprised by the sudden fall of the tyrants of Tunisia and Egypt. We are watching with keen interest the volatile situation in Libya and Yemen.
Japan races to avert nuclear disaster (Reuters)
By Taiga Uranaka and Ki Joon Kwon FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Japanese engineers raced to prevent a meltdown at a stricken nuclear plant on Tuesday, as rescuers scrambled to help millions left without food, water or heating by a devastating earthquake and tsunami. A second explosion rocked the Fukushima nuclear complex on Monday and rapidly [...]
Yemen protest escalates, 44 injured
SANAA (AFP) — At least 44 protesters were wounded when police opened fire on Monday to disperse demonstrations in Yemen, a strategic US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda, officials said. The violence came after eight people were killed in weekend clashes with security forces, sparking condemnation and calls for restraint from the United Nations [...]
አውራምባ ታይምስ (፫ኛ አመት ቁ። ፩፭፰)
For best view read in fulls screen mode and zoom in as needed
The moral hazard of U.S. policy in Africa
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–The concept of ‘moral hazard’ in politics may be used to explain a situation in which a government is insulated and immunized from the consequences of its risky, reckless and incompetent behavior. For instance, a regime that is heavily dependent on the safety net of foreign aid, sustained infusion of multilateral loans
Libyan rebels seek help as Gaddafi attacks
AFP Rebels battling Muammar Gaddafi have appealed for arms and medical aid, as the European Union insisted he step down and US President Barack Obama said the world was “tightening the noose” on the Libyan leader. Gaddafi is “a leader shooting at his own people”, EU president Herman Van Rompuy said at the close of [...]
Ethiopian detainees released in Mexico (SMNE)
Building a “New Ethiopia” is the only way to solve the Ethiopian refugee problem! Nineteen Ethiopians were finally released on Friday, February 25, 2010 from the Tapachula Detention Center in southeastern Chiapas, Mexico after being held for as long as five months; significantly beyond the 90 day international legal limit for such detentions; after which [...]
Yemeni president vows to reform
By Mohamed Sudam and Mohammed Ghobari SANAA (Reuters) – Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh, hoping to defuse increasingly violent protests against his 32-year rule, said Thursday he would draw up a new constitution to create a parliamentary system of government. An opposition spokesman swiftly rejected the proposal, and called for the continuation of anti-government rallies, which [...]
Civilians killed in Southern Ethiopia protest
By Ankober Zuta, Debre Birhan Blog A mass protest and civil disobidence has swept the Southern Ethiopian towns of Gamu Gofa and its vicinities since Monday 7 March 2011. As a result of the skirmishes,twelve unarmed civilians have reportedly been killed by security forces. The towns are surrounded by police and Defense Forces. Toady more [...]
Ethiopian entrepreneur named Young Global Leader (Tadias)
NewYork (Tadias) – Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, Founder and ManagingDirector of the eco-fashion footwear company SoleRebels, has been honored as one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders in 2011. The honor bestowed each year by the Forum recognizes and acknowledges outstanding young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society [...]
Over 100 arrested for burning churches
By Peter Heinlein (VOA) Police in Ethiopia have arrested 130 people described as religious extremists in connection with a series of church burnings in a Muslim-majority area. Tensions are simmering in a region where Muslims and Christians have lived side by side for generations. Several U.S.-based Christian websites say Muslim extremists burned dozens of churches [...]
Rebels reject talks, demand Kadhafi quits Libya
By Samer al-Atrush (AFP) BENGHAZI, Libya — Libyan rebels on Tuesday ruled out any mediation with Moamer Kadhafi and demanded that he leave the country, as the regime rubbished any suggestion that it had made an approach. Although it was unclear whether the issue of immunity for the man who has ruled Libya with an [...]
How to bring down Meles Zenawi
By Abebe Gellaw–The winds of change that has been rocking the Arab world have once again confirmed the fact that every tyranny is a house built on sand. Unlike rock solid democratic systems that are built on the consent of the people, evil tyrannical regimes are founded on brutality, oppression, corruption, domination, intimidation and abuse of power.
The Sun Also Rises
Prof. Al Mariam–”When the sun rises, it rises for everyone,” goes the old saying. The sun that rose over tyranny in North Africa will not set at the edge of the Sahel; it will shine southward on the African savannah and rainforest. The wind of change blowing across the Middle East will soon cut a wide swath clear to the Atlantic Coast of West Africa from the Red Sea.”
Gov’t to cut adoption by 90 percent
Ethiopia is cutting back by as much as 90 percent the number of inter-country adoptions it will allow, as part of an effort to clean up a system rife with fraud and corruption. Adoption agencies and children’s advocates are concerned the cutbacks will leave many Ethiopian orphans without the last-resort option of an adoptive home [...]
Libyan rebels repel repeated attacks
Rebels holding the Libyan city of Zawiyah said they repelled two attacks Saturday by forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi using tanks and artillery. In a second day of fierce fighting for control of the coastal town, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, government forces retreated to the outskirts early in the day but later mounted a counter-offensive.
Open letter to PM Meles Zenawi
By Eskinder Nega–Perhaps it is the jinx of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s unprecedented 12 years in office. He had after all controversially breached the unwritten code scrupulously respected by all Presidents after George Washington, America’s first President, who had refrained, on grounds of principle, from serving more than two terms.
Land grab in Africa: The case of Ethiopia
By Fikre Tolosaa–In the un-glorious past, European colonizers grabbed by force any African lands they had their eyes set on and did whatever they desired to do with the lands. Not only did they exploit the lands, but also the natives by paying them meagerly to till their own lost lands. Now it is a sort of neo-colonialism. The land-grabbers are not Europeans- they are Asians, and even richer Africans; and they don’t employ military force to secure the lands. They pay the African governments.
ESAT changes frequency (PR)
Press Release: 1st March 2011 Ethiopian Satellite Television, ESAT has changed the downlink parameters for the IntelSat 10 satellite broadcast we currently use for better positioning. Starting from the 1st of March 2011 the frequency change is as indicated below: – Frequency: 3805.5MHz – Symbol Rate: 6670Msyb The Satellite, Band and Position are still the same; the latest [...]
Tigray is part of the Ethiopian pro-democracy movement!
Press Release Beka! Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia The wind of change that is sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has reached at the doorsteps of Ethiopia. Ethiopians throughout the country and in the Diaspora have resolved to embrace the change, and through a sustained and determined peaceful struggle, will remove Meles [...]
People power revolt spreads to Oman (AP)
MUSCAT, Oman (AP) — Protesters set a supermarket ablaze and gathered in several sites in a seaside town in Oman on Monday in a third consecutive day of unrest that has included deadly clashes in the strategic Gulf nation. Security forces sealed off main roads to Sohar, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of the [...]
Awaramba Times (Vol. 3, No.156)
Awramba Times Issue_156
Libyan protesters form leadership (AFP)
LIBYAN (AFP) Protest leaders have established a transitional “national council” in cities seized from Muammar Gaddafi, as world leaders call on him to quit and protesters close in on Tripoli. The chaos engulfing the oil-rich North African state of 6.3 million has fanned fears that Gaddafi’s hold on power could descend into civil war as [...]
Protesters force out Tunisian PM
TUNIS (AFP)— Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi resigned Sunday and was replaced by Beji Caid Essebsi, a former minister, after anti-government protests left five people dead over the weekend. Security forces again clashed with protesters in Tunis demanding the removal of some ministers of Ghannouchi’s interim government before the premier announced his resignation.
“The acts of violence and looting, the unrest and the fires on Habib Bourguiba avenue in Tunis on Saturday 26 have left five people dead,” said a ministry statement quoted by TAP news agency.
Parts of Tripoli defy Gaddafi’s rule (Reuters)
By Maria Golovnina and Ahmed Jadallah TRIPOLI, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Poor neighborhoods of the Libyan capital Tripoli openly defied Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday as his grip on power after 41 years of rule looked increasingly tenuous in the face of nationwide revolt. Security forces had abandoned the working-class Tajoura district after five days of [...]
Some Reflections on the Current Popular Uprisings in the Arab World
By Messay Kebede
While events of historic proportions are occurring in the Arab world, the question that haunts Ethiopians is whether similar uprisings are possible in present-day Ethiopia, that is, whether the inspiring impact of events in Arab countries would be strong enough to provoke unrests and demonstrations in Ethiopia.
Crackdown nets 120 Ethiopian rebels
Daily Nation Some 120 Oromo Liberation Front rebels have been arrested in a crackdown in northern Kenya. The operation was launched three months ago by Kenyan and Ethiopian forces to mop up illegal arms and secure the border. Upper Eastern deputy provincial commissioner Wenslas Ong’wayo said the operation would continue following reports that some members [...]
Libya battles rage as rebels seize towns
BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched a fierce counter-attack on Thursday, fighting gun battles with rebels who have threatened the Libyan leader by seizing important towns close to the capital. The opposition were already in control of major centers in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Gaddafi’s power base.
Gaddafi vows to fight to bloody end
Al Jazeera–Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has vowed to fight on and die a “martyr”, calling on his supporters to take back the streets from protesters demanding his ouster, shouting and pounding his fist in a furious speech on state TV. Gaddafi, clad in brown robes and turban, spoke on Tuesday from a podium set [...]
Libyan uprising spreads to Tripoli (Al Jazeera)
Fear crumbles in Libya (CSM)
By Dan Murphey Cairo —(CSM) Saif al-Islam, a son of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, appeared on Libyan state television late last night with a simple mission: Restore the fear. He failed. Libya’s wave of democracy protests, which has gathered momentum even as Mr. Qaddafi’s troops have shot hundreds of people, swept into the capital of Tripoli [...]
Birtukan Mideksa quitting politics
By Peter Heinlein–Ethiopia’s best-known opposition leader has announced she is quitting politics, at least temporarily, and is going to the United States. Birtukan Mideksa’s departure will leave Ethiopia without a prominent female politician. Mideksa, the leader of Ethiopia’s Unity and Democracy for Justice Party, or UDJ, returned home from prison last October to wild celebrations in her Addis Ababa neighborhood.
Protest against Gaddafi spreading
Libyans protesting against Muammar Gaddafi’s rule appeared to control the streets of Benghazi on Sunday, even though the security forces have killed scores in the bloodiest of multiple revolts now rocking the Arab world. Witnesses said Libya’s second city was in chaos, with government buildings ransacked and troops and police forced to retreat to a fortified compound, from where they picked off demonstrators with sniper and heavy-weapons fire.
Scholar’s research inspires nonviolent protests
Larry Freund (VOA) The growing demands for political change in the Middle East are focusing new attention on Gene Sharp, a scholar in Boston, Massachusetts, who has spent his life researching non-violent protest and publishing how-to guides for people hoping to move their governments toward democracy. Eighty-three-year-old scholar’s works are widely recognized as the inspiration [...]
Bahrain protesters retake square
Al Jazeera and Agencies Thousands of protesters have reoccupied the symbolic centre of their anti-government uprising in the capital, Manama, after troops and riot police retreated from the Pearl roundabout in the centre of the city. The cheering protesters carrying Bahraini flags, flowers and signs that said “Peaceful, peaceful” marched to the square on Saturday. They [...]
Protest and “danger of ethnic conflict”
By Eskinder Nega—Up to Friday, February 4, 2010, Egypt’s people power revolution was by and large peaceful. But as dusk slowly overshadowed the designated “day of departure” for Mubarak with his steely determination to storm out the protests still intact, Egypt’s youth snapped with rage. Police stations were set ablaze, fire arms and ammunition seized, and hundreds of suspected criminals—not political prisoners– freed. Any police car within reach was torched.
Demonstrators, police clash in Djibouti (AFP)
(AFP) – DJIBOUTI — Djibouti police firing tear gas clashed Friday with demonstrators who turned out in their thousands in an unprecedented protest to demand the departure of President Ismael Omar Guelleh, an AFP reporter said. The protest by opposition supporters had started peacefully at around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT) but the demonstrators then decided to [...]
Amnesty condemns threats against journalist
Press Release / Amnesty International AI Index: AFR 25/001/2011 Amnesty International condemns threats made by the Ethiopian authorities against Eskinder Nega, a journalist and former Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience. Eskinder has been issued a warning to cease writing articles that the government considers to be inflammatory, or face imprisonment. Amnesty International is seriously concerned [...]
Land grab devastates Gambella region
By Obang Motho–Deforestation of 5,000 hectares of agricultural land leased to Verdanta Harvests of India could have an irreversible impact not only in Ethiopia, but also to downstream populations in Sudan and Egypt. The Ethiopian Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) is ignoring objections from Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, from the Environmental Protection Authority of Ethiopia (EPA) and from the indigenous Mazenger people of Gambella.
Bahrain protesters vow repeat of Egypt
MANAMA: Protesters demanding sweeping political reforms from Bahrain’s rulers held their ground yesterday in an Egyptian-style occupation of the capital’s landmark square, calling for a third day of demonstrations that have brought unprecedented pressure on a regime that is a strategic US ally. Security forces pulled back – apparently on orders to ease tensions – after clashes that left at least two people dead and dozens injured.
Zenawi’s price cap to be adjusted (Afrik)
Desalegn Sisay / Afrik News Ethiopia has been hit by an acute shortage of basic commodities following a recently imposed price ceiling. To study the cause of this shortage, the government, last week, met with local entrepreneurs. In a move to halt runaway prices of basic commodities and also curb a double digit inflation in [...]
WikiLeaks on the Ogaden conflict (P Chirchton)
By Peter Chirchton “United States Government’s perspective on counter-insurgency efforts in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region: The latest Wikileaks revelation” February 14, 2011 by Peter Chrichton The latest Wikileaks cable details the US Government’s 2007 position on the ongoing conflict in the Ogaden region, following the ONLF’s attack on an oil installation. The cable considers the Ethiopian Government’s rationale [...]
Ethiopians give up church refuge
By Nina Berglund / News from Norway The last of nearly 100 Ethiopian refugees who failed to qualify for asylum in Norway gave up their week-long occupation of the Oslo Cathedral (Domkirken) on Monday. Now they’ll await their fate at an asylum center in Oslo’s Torshov district. Remnants of the Ethiopian refugees’ protest action at the Oslo [...]
Rent a newspaper in Addis Ababa (M Selman)
By Mohammed Selman (Mail & Guardian) Despite an abundance of national and international newsmakers, Addis Ababa has relatively little in the way of newspapers — no dailies of note — or even newsstands to offer news consumers. But don’t be fooled. This is a city of voracious readers where even the poor are indulged. In fact, some [...]
Yemeni protesters clash with police
SANAA (Reuters) – Anti-government protesters clashed with police blocking them from marching to Yemen’s presidential palace in Sanaa on Sunday, witnesses said. The clashes occurred while President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the main opposition group were preparing for talks that the government hoped would help avert an Egyptian-style revolt in the Arabian Peninsula state, a vital U.S. ally against al Qaeda.
Ethiopia braces for oil shortage (Afrik)
Desalegn Sisay (Afrik) Fuel prices in Ethiopia will be raised in March following an increasing consumption of fuel and its consequent impact on the government’s fuel expenditure. A recent decision by its Sudanese suppliers could also affect fuel availability in Ethiopia. The Horn of Africa country spends an average annual 20 billion birr on the [...]
Federal police officials threaten Eskinder Nega
Prominent Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega was briefly detained and threatened by heavily armed members of the Federal Police. “As I was walking out of an internet café in the middle of Piassa today they picked me up and took me to the head office of the Federal Police. A Deputy Commissioner and his aide spoke to [...]
Egypt celebrates as Mubarak forced out
(Reuters) – Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt on Friday after 30 years of rule, handing power to the army and bowing to relentless pressure from a popular uprising after his military support evaporated.
Vice President Omar Suleiman said a military council would run the affairs of the Arab world’s most populous nation. A free and fair presidential election has been promised for September after a momentous 18 days that rocked Egypt.
A speaker made the announcement in Cairo’s central Tahrir Square where hundreds of thousands broke down in tears, celebrated and hugged each other chanting: “The people have brought down the regime.” Others shouted: “Allahu Akbar (God is greatest). Sobbing women in Tahrir (Liberation) Square ululated in jubilation.
“This is the greatest day of my life,” said opposition activist and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, welcoming a period of sharing of power between the army and the people. He told Reuters that running for president was not on his mind.
The 82-year-old Mubarak’s downfall after unprecedented mass protests was an historic victory for people power and was sure to rock autocrats throughout the Arab world and beyond.
President Barack Obama was informed in a meeting of Mubarak’s decision, one that changes the course of modern Egyptian history, and he watched television coverage from Cairo. The White House was to make a statement later.
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
Egypt’s powerful military gave guarantees earlier on Friday that promised democratic reforms would be carried out but angry protesters intensified an uprising against Mubarak, marching on the presidential palace and the state television tower.
It was an effort by the army to defuse the revolt but, in disregarding protesters’ key demand for Mubarak’s ouster now, it failed to calm the turmoil that has disrupted the economy and rattled the volatile Middle East.
The tumult over Mubarak’s refusal to resign had tested the loyalties of the armed forces, which had to choose whether to protect their supreme commander or ditch him.
The sharpening confrontation had raised fear of uncontrolled violence in Egypt, a linchpin U.S. ally in an oil-rich region where the chance of chaotic unrest spreading to other long stable but repressive states troubles the West.
Washington has called for a prompt democratic transition to restore stability in Egypt, a rare Arab state no longer hostile to Israel, guardian of the Suez Canal linking Europe and Asia and a major force against militant Islam in the region.
The army statement noted that Mubarak had handed powers to govern the country of 80 million people to his deputy the previous day — perhaps signaling that this should satisfy demonstrators, reformists and opposition figures.
“This is not our demand,” one protester retorted, after relaying the contents of the army statement to the crowd in Tahrir Square. “We have one demand, that Mubarak step down.” He has said he will stay until September elections.
Africans dream of Egypt-like revolt
By Rainer Chr. Hennig Student protests at Djibouti University were met with teargas Afrol News, 9 February – All over Africa, the dramatic events in Tunisia andEgypt are followed, with opposition groups and dissidents hoping the same could happen in their country. Mostly, these are only dreams, but some could come true. The first sub-Saharan [...]
Coup feared as Mubarak steps down
(Reuters) – Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak looked likely to step down on Thursday after more than two weeks of protests against his 30-year rule and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood said it looked like there had been a military coup. Egypt’s military announced it was moving to preserve the nation and aspirations of the people after a meeting of the Higher Army Council
Sheraton Addis to suspend operation (Reporter)
Reporter–The management of Sheraton Addis has told the hotel’s supervisors and operation managers that the hotel will suspend its operation on Valentine’s Day after 13 years of service. The hotel’s general manager, Jean-Pierre V. Manigoff, announced at an operation meeting he chaired on Thursday that the hotel will cease its service on February 15 unless [...]
“Day of departure” protest shakes Cairo
Al Jazeera and Agencies—Chants urging Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, to leave office are reverberating across Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered at the square, the focal point of protests in Egypt, for what they have termed the “Day of Departure” for the man who has been the country’s leader for the last 30 years.
Cairo chaos intensifies, violence spreads
Cairo–(AP)Protesters and regime supporters skirmished in a second day of rock-throwing battles at a central Cairo square while new lawlessness spread around the city. New looting and arson erupted, and gangs of thugs supporting President Hosni Mubarak attacked reporters, foreigners and rights workers while the army rounded up foreign journalists.
Mubarak thugs attack protesters
Automatic weapons fire pounds anti-government protest camp in Cairo’s Tahrir Square By Maggie Michael (CP) CAIRO — Automatic weapons fire pounded the anti-government protest camp in Cairo’s Tahrir Square before dawn on Thursday in a dramatic escalation of what appeared to be a well-orchestrated series of assaults on the demonstrators. At least three protesters were [...]
Cairo in chaos as Mubarak unleashes thugs
Cairo (AP) Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak charged into Cairo’s central square on horseback and camels brandishing whips while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against anti-government protesters trying to topple Egypt’s leader of 30 years. Three people died and 600 were injured in the uncontrolled violence.
Egyptians unite in “march of a million” (CBS)
(CBS) Tens of thousands gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Tuesday for a peaceful “march of a million people,” demanding for an eighth straight day that President Hosni Mubarak end his authoritian rule and step down. As the sun began to set at 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET), the square remained thick with [...]
America’s most embarrassing ally
By Joshua E. Keeting—Maintaining good relations with autocrats is an unfortunate but often necessary component of the delicate balancing act that is U.S. foreign policy. But as Washington learned once again this week, supporting an strongman for the sake of stability can present risks of its own. Among the eight most embarrassing US allies that include dictators in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Uganda and Ethiopia.
EU climate aid raises eye brows (UPI)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Jan. 31 (UPI) — The European community will give Ethiopia a $17.8 million grant to build a carbon-neutral economy, the European commissioner for development said. European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs met Monday with Ethiopian Finance Minister Sufian Ahmed to discuss a grant to implement the Global Climate Change Alliance in the [...]
After the Fall of African Dictatorships
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–What happens to Africa after the mud walls of dictatorship come tumbling down and the palaces of illusion behind those walls vanish? Will Africa be like Humpty Dumpty who “had a great fall” and could not be put back together by “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men”? What happens to the dictators?
Could the Northern wave reach East?
By Jawar Mohammed–After a sweeping nonviolent uprising forced Tunisia’s despotic ruler out of office, Ethiopian activists and pundits are speculating a renewed possibility of a similar revolution in Ethiopia. Factors that triggered the Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution”—hike in food price and costs of living, can also be observed in Ethiopia, and are fueling the optimism.
Birtukan to resign from UDJ leadership
By Desalegn Sisay—Birtukan Mideksa, a renowned former judge and leader of Ethiopia’s powerful opposition party, Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) has decided to step-down from her influential presidential position at UDJ, four months after she was pardoned and freed from a life person term.
Egypt protest enters third day (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Activists trying to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak extended protests against his 30-year rule into a third day on Thursday, playing cat-and-mouse with police and making a new call for protests seeking change. Prominent reform campaigner Mohamed ElBaradei, who lives in Vienna, was due to return to Egypt on Thursday. His arrival could [...]
Prominent reformist returns to Egypt
(VOA) A prominent Egyptian reform campaigner is set to return to the country, as anti-government activists plan a new massive rally in the capital. Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the U.N. nuclear agency, is expected to return to Egypt Thursday to join demonstrators protesting against President Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year-old rule. The activists have used [...]
Bread to the hungry, land to the tiller
By Abebe Gellaw–It is a proven fact that those who have been claiming to be leaders of Ethiopia’s quest for freedom, justice and dignity have failed time and again. In Ethiopia as well as in the Diaspora, the self-anointed leaders have only succeeded in being leaders without a cause for their little groups brandishing big names. The only time we see the “leaders”, or rather the organisers of defeat, scoring points is not against the ruling ethnic junt…
Price-fixing causes chaos in Ethiopia
By Peter Heinlein (VOA)–Price controls on many staple food items ordered by Ethiopia’s government early this month have reduced grocery bills for many low-income families. But now shopkeepers are upset and some basic items are disappearing from store shelves. Economists are concerned about the long-term effect of the government’s price-fixing strategy.
Human Rights Watch’s report on Ethiopia
The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) consolidated political control with a striking 99.6 percent victory in the May 2010 parliamentary elections. The polls were peaceful, but were preceded by months of intimidation of opposition party supporters and an extensive government campaign aimed at increasing support for the ruling party.
US volunteers to bring lifesaving equipment to Ethiopia
By Jack Broom Seattle Times staff reporter When Steve Sands walked into the overcrowded Black Lion Hospital in Ethiopia in late October, he knew it would be poorly equipped. Just how poorly, he hadn’t anticipated. “It was actually kind of scary,” says Sands, a Seattle-based clinical engineer. “Exposed wires. Equipment that looked like it was out [...]
As African tyrants fall
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–Mohandas Karmachand Gandhi (The Mahatma or Great Soul) is today revered as a historical figure who fought against colonialism, racism and injustice. But he was also one of the greatest modern revolutionary political thinkers and moral theorists. While Nicolo Machiavelli taught tyrants how to acquire power and keep it through brute force, deceit and divide and rule, Gandhi taught ordinary people simple sure-fire techniques to bring down dictatorships.
አውራምባ ታይምስ (፫ኛ አመት፣ ቁ ፩፭፩)
For best view click full screen
Aselefech wins Dubau Marathon (AB)
( Arabian Business) Aselefech Mergia Medessa of Ethiopia clocking 2:22:45 to took the women’s title and David Barmasai of Kenya put in a personal best effort of 2:07:18 to win the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon on Friday. “Before the start of the race, my focus was to finish in the top ten, but a win here [...]
Ben Ali’s “advise” to Meles Zenawi
By Eskinder Nega–Startled, Ben Ali instinctively flinched at the buzz of his cell phone. Trebesli, his wife, who is two decades younger than him, looked at him inquisitively as she walked in to the room briskly. He shrugged and picked up the cell phone from the table. Days have passed since anyone had called either one of them.
TPLF accused of fresh ethnic cleansing
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Government troops have executed civilians and conducted ethnic cleansing in Ethiopia’s Somali Region, a rebel group said on Friday. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said the bodies of a civil servant and a businessman were found dead in Kebridehar in eastern Ethiopia on January 17, a day [...]
Eritrea opens embassy in Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) – Eritrean ambassador to the African Union (AU), Girma Asmeron Tesfay, has presented his letters of credence to the continental body, AU Commission President Jean Ping African Union (AU) confirmed here Wednesday. Eritrea, which split from Ethiopia, has no diplomatic relations with Addis Ababa, the seat of the AU.
Southern Sudanese favor secession
(VOA) The Southern Sudanese diaspora in Ethiopia has voted almost unanimously in favor of the South’s separation from the North. It’s a small sampling of voters, but the result was an overwhelming 99 percent show of southern Sudan’s desire for independence. Of 7198 votes cast by southern Sudanese at three polling centers in Ethiopia, 7137 were for secession from the north, 26 were for unity, and another 36 were either invalid or unmarked.
Referendum for Sudan, Requiem for Africa
Prof. Al Mariam–It is the best of times in the Sudan. It is the worst of times in the Sudan. It is the happiest day in the Sudan. It is the saddest day in the Sudan. It is referendum for the Sudan. It is requiem for Africa.
South Sudan just finished voting in a referendum, part of a deal made in 2005 to end a civil war that dates back over one-half century. The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC) says the final results will be announced on February 14; but no one really believes there will be one united Sudan
Ethiopia inflation hits 15 per cent (VOA)
Peter Heinlein (VOA) Ethiopia’s annual inflation rate soared to 14.5 percente in December, partially due to steep increases in food prices following a currency devaluation. The government is hoping newly imposed price controls will ease consumer pressure. Ethiopia’s Central Statistical Agency Friday said inflation had jumped from 10.2 percent in November to 14.5 percent last [...]
Tunisian dictator flees popular uprising
(Reuters) Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali stepped aside on Friday after failing to quell the worst anti-government unrest in his two decades in power. As the prime minister stepped in until promised elections can be held, Ben Ali’s whereabouts were unclear. Al Jazeera television said he had left the country. The violence and rapid turn of events sent shockwaves across the Arab world, where similar authoritarian rulers are deeply entrenched.
Crackdown on price-cap violators
Reuters–Ethiopia has penalised retailers and suppliers in the capital who raised the prices of consumer goods such as bread by amounts higher than caps set in January, authorities said on Thursday. The Horn of Africa nation imposed price ceilings earlier this month on 17 imported and domestic commodities including rice and sugar in an attempt to ease inflationary pressures.
Zenawi’s Voodoo Economics: The Road to Nowhere
By Tibebe Samuel Ferenji–Whatever else can be said about Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, he certainly does not lack chutzpah (nerve). His latest pronouncement to curve the growing inflation in Ethiopia, must rank alongside Arthur Laffer’s famously misleading advice to the US former president Ronald Reagan that cutting income tax for the rich would actually increase tax revenue, a statement (rightly) dismissed by the then US Vice-President, George H W Bush, as Voodoo Economics.
The futility and damaging effects of the price caps
The government of Meles Zenawi announced that it was imposing price caps on select merchandize goods, the first round of the imposition affecting 18 food items as of January 6th, 2011. After gathering several hundred local merchants at the meeting hall of the PM Office, Messrs. Zenawi, Melaku Fanta who is the general director of Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority and State Minister of Trade,
For jubilant voters in S.Sudan, new country nears
JUBA, Sudan (AP) — Men and women walked to election stations in the middle of the night Sunday to create a new nation: Southern Sudan. Some broke out into spontaneous song in the long lines. And a veteran of Sudan’s two-decade civil war, a conflict that left 2 million people dead, choked back tears. “We [...]
ONLF claims 3000 troops killed in 2010 (AHN)
AHN–Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) on Sunday vowed that it will keep up its fight against the Ethiopian government. In an interview, Hussein Mohammed Nur, ONLF’s head of information, told a local radio station that the front held a meeting in Asmara to discuss the successes of the rebel group. Nur stated that the meeting [...]
Gov’t caps price of commodities (Reuters)
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia has moved to cap prices on several imported and domestic commodities in an effort to ease inflationary pressures, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced late on Thursday. The Horn of Africa nation’s annual inflation rate slowed to 10.2 percent in November from 10.6 percent the previous month, but retail prices of [...]
The politics of imagined genocide
By Eskinder Nega–The cries of “Shame on you!!!” by groups of protesters occasionally resonate outside the offices of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). A wide range of issues irk the protesters. Sometimes it would be the ACLU’s spirited defense of the First Amendment rights of the Ku Klux Klan. At other times, it would be the no less passionate defense of Neo-Nazis.
Ethiopians drowned off Yemen coast
BBC–Up to 80 African migrants are feared to have drowned off the southcoast of Yemen after their boats capsized, Yemeni officials say. The migrants, mostly from Ethiopia, were travelling in two boats which were hit by strong wind and waves, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Three Somali migrants were reportedly found alive while [...]
Ethiopia lives in LA hearts
By Kate Linthicum–Fassil Abebe drives in rush-hour traffic to a bustling stretch of Fairfax Avenue, where the smells of cumin and roasting coffee carry down the street. With handshakes and cries of “Salaam!” he greets a dozen men and women who have gathered in the back room of a friend’s restaurant to organize a fundraiser for Seifu Makonnen
Awramba Times (3rd Year, No. 148)
For best view click full screen
On the brawl over the Nile waters
By Prof. Seid Hassen–I lived in Egypt for about five and a half years (from late 1979 to the first few months of 1984) as a political refugee doing my undergraduate studies at the American University in Cairo. Just like any stateless Ethiopian who escaped the Derg’s murder, my 5 ½ years of stay in Egypt were filled with many ups and some downs.
Ethiopia: Derg guilty of genocide or politicide?
By Eskider Nega–Remarkably small and frail for his famed ferocity, imprisoned Major Melaku Tefera almost always stood in the proud poise of a solider half his age, utterly expressionless—the picture perfect stoic— as he listened attentively to multitude of witnesses’ account of his dreaded years at the helm of Begemder and Simen, one of Ethiopia’s twelve provinces in the 70’s.
Clooney, Google, UN team up to watch Sudan (AP)
WASHINGTON – A group founded by American actor George Clooney saidTuesday it has teamed up with Google, a U.N. agency and anti-genocide organizations to launch satellite surveillance of the border between north and south Sudan to try to prevent a new civil war after the south votes in a secession referendum next month. Clooney’s Not [...]
African farmers displaced as investors move in
By NEIL MacFARQUHAR New York Times SOUMOUNI, Mali — The half-dozen strangers who descended on this remote West African village brought its hand-to-mouth farmers alarming news: their humble fields, tilled from one generation to the next, were now controlled by Libya’s leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the farmers would all have to leave. “They told [...]
Ethiopian Groundhog Year 2010
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–In December 2008, I wrote a weekly column entitled “Groundhog Year in Prison Nation” summarizing some of my weekly columns for that year. I used the “groundhog year” analogy following the title of the motion picture “Groundhog Day” in which a hapless television weatherman is trapped in a time warp and finds himself repeating the same day over and over.
Awramba Times (3rd Year, No. 147)
For best veiw use full screen and zoon in
Ethiopia eying Berbera port (ERTA)
(ERTA) Ethiopia handles 90 per cent of its import-export trade via the port of Djibouti. Nevertheless, the nation has also been looking for other options too including the port of Berbera. eying The port of Berbera has capacity for over 800 thousand tons of cargo per year. However, the port is not operating with its full [...]
Gen. Kemal Gelchu not under arrest:OLF (ER)
(Ethiopian Review) A spokesman for the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), Ato Lencho Bati, told Ethiopian Review that the report about Gen. Kemal Gelchu being under a virtual house arrest is incorrect and that the general can travel any where he wishes. Ato Lencho has also said that OLF troops have not been immobilized and that [...]
Kenya accuses OLF of wreaking havoc
MOYALE, (IRIN) – The presence of an Ethiopian rebel group in northern Kenya, coupled with operations by security forces from both countries, has caused numerous casualties and displacement among local residents, who also complain of arbitrary arrests. “They are a menace,” Moyale District Commissioner David Rotich said of the secessionist Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
Ethiopian man gets 25 years for robbery
INDIANAPOLIS—Joseph H Hogsett, United States Attorney, announced today that Brook Abebe, 44, an Ethiopian citizen legally in the United States and living in Indianapolis, was sentenced to 25 years in prison by United States District Judge Sarah Evans Barker following Abebe’s guilty plea to armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, [...]
Ali Mohamed’s death ruled homicide (WP)
By Paul Duggan Washington Post Staff Writer The D.C. medical examiner’s office has ruled that the death of a man after a controversial incident outside the DC9 nightclub two months ago was a homicide, but it remains unclear whether a crime was committed during the fatal encounter. In a statement Tuesday, the medical examiner’s office said [...]
Ethiopian alliance against torture launched
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Global Alliance Against Torture in Ethiopia (GAATE) is formed in response to the call from some members of Meles Zenawi’s security forces, detailing the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of political prisoners at the infamous Maekelawi Interrogation Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We have read with horror, shame, and anger the [...]
New atrocities reported in Somali region
AHN–Ethiopian military forces have killed more than 20 civilians in the mainly ethnic Somali province of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia, a rebel official charged Wednesday. Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), one of the rebel groups in eastern Ethiopia, said many huts of the Somali nomadic people had been set on fire by Ethiopian forces. Hussein [...]
Rights group urges donors to probe aid money misuse
(New York) – Ethiopia’s international donors should independently investigate allegations that its government is using development aid for state repression, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the Development Assistance Group, a coordinating body of 26 foreign donor institutions for Ethiopia.
WikiLeaks: Isaisa Afeworki says Meles tried to kill him
(Daily Nation) Eritrean strongman Isaias Afeworki was nearly assassinated while on his way back to Asmara after a family holiday in Kenya, secret American diplomatic cables have revealed. The secret cables posted online by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks accuse Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, a one time ally of Afeworki in Addis Ababa’s struggle to overthrow [...]
Haile sets sights on political career (Reuters)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Haile Gebrselassie, back in full training after rescinding a premature decision to retire, is eyeing a political career when he finally hangs up his running shoes. “I want to do something for Ethiopia, for Africa, for myself, my family and my people. You know, what is the best [...]
Land grab fears for rural communities in Ethiopia
BBC–A controversial new farms policy has led to a political clampdown in a remote lowland region of Ethiopia, the BBC has been told. Opposition activists claim that a number of arrests and the killings of 10 local farmers are as a direct result of the new policy. “You cannot speak freely about the land issue now,” one local man told me on condition of anonymity.
The Anuak’s Forgotten Genocide
By Prof. Al Mariam–From December 2004 to at least January 2006, the ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Forces) attacked and abused Anuak civilians in Gambella region – wantonly killing, raping, beating, torturing, and harassing civilians in response to ongoing Anuak rebel attacks. These abuses left Anuak villagers fearful of leaving their homes at night, going to the fields and farms outside of town, or fetching water from the water pumps or streams.
Awramba Times, Vol. 3, No. 145
For best view click on full screen
Controversy over censored Wikileaks cable on Seye and Berhanu
By Eskinder Nega—The excision of entire passages from a leaked US embassy cable on Seye Abraha, a former Defense Minister turned opposition politician, and Berhanu Nega, a former mayor-elect turned leader of a clandestine opposition based in the US, has stirred bewilderment and disappointment here in Addis Ababa, the nation’s capital.
WikiLeaks and orphan Ethiopia
Yilma Bekele–Hopefully you have all heard or read about WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks is an international non-profit organization that publishes documents from anonymous news sources and leaks. It has been doing that since 2006. These past few days it has been publishing leaked US State Department diplomatic cables. The US is not amused.
WikiLeaks: “Eccentric” security chief worries about genocide charges against Meles
Getachew Assefa, the chief of Zenawi’s notorious security network infamous for killing and kidnapping Ethiopians with impunity, has expressed fears about VOA coverage of genocide. He expressed his worries to former US Ambassador Donald Yamamoto about VOA reports covering former State Department official Greg Stanton of Genocide Watch, who charged Prime Minister Meles of crimes against humanity as a result of Ethiopia’s incursion into Somalia in 2006. Getachew complained that VOA Amharic reporting was biased and not even handed.
Banana shortage hits Ethiopia’s capital (APA)
APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) For the pass few days, fruit houses in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa are short of bananas since banana farmer’s demands price increase, APA learns here on Tuesday. It is difficult to see a single banana in the capital, which is home to around five million people. “The shortage started last week [...]
Australia blames US for WikiLeaks dump
(ABC) Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd says the United States, not WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, is to blame for the release of secret diplomatic cables. Mr Rudd says the 39-year-old Australian cannot be held personally responsible for the release of more than 250,000 documents. He says the leaks raise questions about the adequacy of US security.
Thousands rally on martyrs week (PR)
Press Release Tens of Thousands of Ethiopians around the world participated in activities to remember the martyrs of November 2005 massacre. The world wide commemoration of the November 2005 massacre has ended with an event held in Toronto, Canada on Sunday December 5, 2010. Starting from Charlotte, North Carolina which organized the event on November 6, Ethiopians [...]
New book, DVD by Dr. Fikre Tolossa (PR)
A NEW BOOK AND MOVIE DVD BY DR. FIKRE TOLOSSA Press Release Dr. Fikre Tolossa has released his book, The Hidden and Untold History of the Jewish People and Ethiopians, and his feature film, Multicolored Flowers, both in print and electronically. Did you know that Melchizedek, builder and King of Jerusalem, the father of Ethiop, [...]
Awramba Times, Vol.3, No.144
For best view click full screen and zoom in
Askallukan owner arrested in Germany (T Tsige)
By Tamiru Tsige (Reporter) Girmay Gebremichael, the major shareholder and managing director ofAskallukan Trading P.L.C. who was suspected of defrauding 45 million birr from over 1,200 people in connection with the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday, it was learnt. Girmay, whose company run a promotional campaign announcing that it [...]
Egypt interferes in Sudan referendum (Al-Masry)
(Al-Masry Al Youm)—Egyptian officials have been pressuring the United States to delay a referendum on South Sudanese independence, a newly-leaked US Embassy cable has revealed. In the October 2009 cable, obtained today by Al-Masry Al Youm and not yet released by WikiLeaks, Egypt draws the United States’ attention to the “fatal implications” should South Sudan [...]
ESAT resumes trasmission to Ethiopia (PR)
The Ethiopian Satellite Television has announced that it has resumed trasmissions to Ethiopia. According to ESAT, it will be available on: Thaicom5 Satellite , C-Band at 78.5E, Transponder:6G, Downlink:3640H, Symbol:28066, FEC 3/4
France Telecom to manage EthioTelecom (APA)
Addis Ababe (APA) Ethiopia’s newly established telecom, Ethio Telecom, signed a management agreement on Thursday with France telecom. The Ethiopian government will be paying France telecom, mostly known for its Orange brand, €30 million to manage the new company for the coming two years, APA learns here. It is the first time in history that Ethiopia [...]
WikiLeaked cable confirms US secret Somalia operation
By David Axe–It was an off-hand compliment during a January 2007 dinner meeting between Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, plus staff, and then-U.S. Central Commander boss General John Abizaid. But Al Nayhan’s jocular praise, as reported in WikiLeaks’ leaked cables, is a rare admission that the United States played a central role.
Kenya PM applauds ‘useful’ Wikileaks
In stark departure from the tone that has characterised most reaction to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, Kenya’s prime minister said Wednesday the disclosure had been “useful”. The full content of the 1,821 cables released by the website concerning Kenya is not yet public but the German magazine Der Spiegel said one described the Kenya as a “swamp of flourishing corruption”.
Ethiopian gov’t relocates Somalis (Bloomberg)
Addis Ababa (Bloomberg) The Ethiopian government has relocated about 150,000 people in the eastern Somali region to more fertile areas in the past five months, the Minister for Federal Affairs said. Scattered households have been brought together into villages to raise their “quality of life,” Shiferaw Teklemariam said in an interview today in the capital, [...]
UN alarmed by torture in Ethiopia (CAT)
The UN Committee Against Torture alarmed by severe human rights violations in Ethiopia The human rights situation in Ethiopia is in decline. Despite the State party’s assurances that a wide range of criminal code provisions and other laws ensure that the country’s international and domestic obligations under the Convention Against Torture are met, in practice [...]
Wikileaks shows state secrets harder to keep
LONDON (Reuters) – The diplomatic cables so far released by WikiLeaks might embarrass U.S. diplomats but probably won’t shatter any international relationships. The key lesson so far seems to be just how much easier the information age has made it to steal vast quantities of data — and how much harder it is to keep secrets.
ONLF claims victory over TPLF army (Reuters)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Rebels in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region said on Friday they had killed 35 government troops in three days of fighting, a charge dismissed by the government. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) wants autonomy for the ethnic Somali-dominated province, which is drawing interest from foreign firms who think its [...]
Joliet couple adopt 6 kids from Ethiopia (CST)
By Monifa Thomas (Chicago Sun-Times) ‘ABUNDANT BLESSINGS’ | Adopted children include 2 with HIV Carolyn and Kiel Twietmeyer already had seven biological kids when theydecided to add to their family again — this time, by adopting a special needs child from India. The Joliet couple’s plan changed when they learned of the need for parents [...]
Mubarak rejects Zenawi’s allegations (Reuters)
CAIRO (Reuters) – President Hosni Mubarak said in remarks published on Thursday that Egypt’s ties with Ethiopia are friendly and dismissed an Ethiopian assertion that Cairo was backing rebel groups in the Horn of Africa nation. Egypt, Ethiopia and seven other countries through which the Nile River passes have been locked in more than a decade of contentious talks…
Former Chadian Dictator May Face Trial (IPS)
WASHINGTON, Nov 17, 2010 (IPS) – International donors meeting in Dakar next week are expected to finance the prosecution of former Chadian dictator Hissène Habré nearly two decades after his removal from power, according to a coalition of rights organisations.Legal proceedings against Habré – who is accused of thousands of political murders and brutal torture [...]
Journalists on the frontlines honored (CPJ)
New York, November 24, 2010–Outstanding journalists at the forefront of the battle for press freedom in Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela were honored Tuesday evening at the Committee to Protect Journalists’ 20th Annual International Press Freedom Awards benefit dinner. The event raised a record of nearly $1.5 million for CPJ’s work exposing press freedom violations, [...]
Egypt “amazed” by Zenawi remark (Reuters)
By Amena Bakr and Dina Zayed ABU DHABI/CAIRO, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Egypt said it was “amazed” by Ethiopia’s suggestion on Tuesday that Cairo might turn to military action in a row over the Nile waters, saying it did not want confrontation and was not backing rebels there. Egypt, Ethiopia and seven other countries through [...]
Ethiopian PM warns Egypt off Nile war (Reuters)
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Egypt could not win a war with Ethiopia over the River Nile and is also supporting rebel groups in an attempt to destabilise the Horn of Africa nation, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in an interview. Egypt, Ethiopia and seven other countries through which the river passes [...]
Al Bashir arrive in Ethiopia for summit (AFP)
Addis Ababa (AFP) Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir arrived on Monday evening in the Ethiopian capital for a summit on Sudan and Somalia, an AFP journalist reported. Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, arrived at the Sheraton hotel, the venue for the conference, surrounded [...]
Ethiopia gets first Boing 777 (T Tekle)
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle Addis Ababa — Ethiopian Airlines said on Sunday that it received the first delivery of a Boeing 777-200LR, making the horn nation the first African carrier to own and operate the ultra-long-range aircraft. In an attempt to realize their ambition of being continent’s leading air travel company and expand its fleet and [...]
Lidetu faces public wrath (Wondimu Mekonnen)
By Wondimu Mekonnen London– In the past, every time Lidetu Ayalew was invited to London, he was treated like a hero and spoilt prince. That did not make him a good man, but a dictator- in-waiting, arrogant who wouldn’t hesitate to humiliate elders. That soft spoken polite Lidetu came out sounding like Lt Col Mengistu Hailemariam [...]
Haile says appeals change his mind (Reuters)
By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Passionate appeals from the Ethiopian publicpersuaded marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie to change his mind about retiring, the athlete told reporters on Friday. The 37-year-old, regarded as the greatest distance runner of all time, announced he was quitting earlier this month after dropping out of the New [...]
Haile’s land troubles in Ethiopia (Eskinder Nega)
By Eskinder Nega Ask Haile Gebreselassie about his manager, Josephus (Jos) Hermens and his emotion is easily stirred. “He is not only my manager,” Haile likes to say of Herman. “We are more like a father and son team. We love and trust each other.” Herman, an Olympic 10,000m finalist in the ’70s, is broadly [...]
New York Times stands by Haile story (LR)
LetsRun.com received a response from the New York Times on Thursday to the accusations made on national television in Ethiopia by Haile Gebrselassie’s agent, Jos Hermens, and Haile Gebrselassie himself that the New York Times story on Gebrselassie’s un-retirement on Tuesday was full of fabrications. The New York Times stood by its story. Tom Connelly, [...]
US Embassy denies visa to Sisay Agena
The US Embassy in Addis has reportedly denied an entry visa to the United States to Sisay Agena, who was recently awarded the 2010 PEN Center US Freedom to Write Award. Despite the fact that Sisay had a compelling reason to travel to the US to collect his “Freedom to Write” award, the US Embassy in Ethiopia denied Sisay freedom to travel.
Upwardly Global honors Mariam Assefa (UG)
Deven Sharma and Mariam Assefa Recognized for Accomplishments at Upwardly Global’s Passport to Possibilities Awards Gala NEW YORK, Nov. 8, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Upwardly Global, an internationally recognized nonprofit organization with a mission to eliminate barriers to professional workplace entry for foreign-educated immigrants and refugees in the United States, announced today the names of two [...]
Haile spied, faces blackmail (NYT)
Jere Longman (NYT) Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, the distance-running star who stunninglyannounced his retirement after dropping out of the New York City Marathon on Nov. 7, said Monday that he had reconsidered and would continue racing. “Running is in my blood, and I decided to continue competing,” Gebrselassie wrote on his Twitter account. “My announcement [...]
Ethiopian editor released, son detained (IFEX)
(WiPC/IFEX) – The Writers in Prison Committee of PEN International (WiPC) protests the detention without charge of 17-year-old Akram Ezedin, acting editor of the privately owned Islamic weekly newspaper “Al-Quds”. Ezedin was arrested on 11 September 2010 following the release of his father, Ezedin Mohamed, editor of “Al-Quds”, who was jailed in January for criticizing [...]
Over 1000 Ethiopians stranded in Yemen
(IOM) The International Organisation on Migration is appealing for about US$ 1 mmillion dollars to help a group of 1,050 Ethiopian migrants stranded in northern Yemen and in a desperate condition. The migrants, part of a group of 2,000 Ethiopian irregular migrants registered and referred to IOM by UNHCR in the northern border town of Haradh, are stranded without food, water and shelter…
Gigi sings with hope for homecoming
By Steve Hochman, (Spinner) Don’t book your flights quite yet. But if you’re a world music fan (and given that you’re reading this, you probably are), there may be something happening in early January that you’d want to see. Of course, if it happens it will be in Addis Ababa. The singer known as Gigi [...]
Dictator calls EU election report “trash”
(Reuters) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has dismissed as “trash that deserves to be thrown in the garbage” a European Union (EU) report that criticised his overwhelming May election victory.
Meles’ ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allied parties won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament
Haile changes mind on retirement (SAPA)
DPA-SAPA–Marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie confirmedMonday he had changed his mind over retirement. A week after tearfully announcing he was hanging up his spikes, the 37-year-old Ethiopian distance runner posted a message on his Twitter account on Monday to announce a U-turn. “First I want to thank you for all your support and great [...]
Ethiopia: Profiles in journalistic courage
By Alemayehu G. Mariam–I often write about the trials and tribulations of Ethiopia’s independent journalists, sometimes in tones of lamentation, other times in wistful philosophical reflection. I have always defended the constitutional and human rights of Ethiopian citizens “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds…”
Biruktawit Tigabu gets Rolex Award (Rolex)
Tsehay Loves Learning co-founder Birktawi Tigabu has been awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprize, Young Laureates Program. The First of its kind, Tsehay Loves Learning is an innovative educational program broadcast on TV to children around Ethiopia in Amharic. The award provides $50,000 grant and international media exposure. Tsehay Loves Learning also received Prix Jeunesse [...]
Somali free British hostages (AFP)
ADADO, Somalia — A British couple captured by Somali pirates on their yacht near the Seychelles last year, Paul and Rachel Chandler, were freed Sunday after a 388-day kidnapping ordeal.An AFP correspondent said the Chandlers arrived in Adado, a central Somali town near the Ethiopian border, after the pirates handed them over to the forces [...]
Ethiopian refugees stranded in Yemen (PANA)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA)– The UN body assisting stranded international asylum seekers said on Friday it was assisting 2,000 Ethiopians caught up in a border war in Yemen to return home home safely. PANA reported from Addis Ababa on Saturday that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said several hundred illegal migrants were still stranded [...]
Meles calls EU election report “trash”
Business News Ethiopia Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zanawi named the final EuropeanUnion Election Observer Mission report released last week, “trash and useless, which deserve to be thrown to a garbage”. Responding to Ethiopian Television journalist on his way back from Seoul G 20 meeting, Meles said: “anybody who has access to paper and ink can scribble [...]
Suu Kyi determined to work for change
Freed democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi told her enthusiast supporters Sunday that she needs their help in her efforts to bring change to Myanmar. “I’m not going to be able to do it alone,” Suu Kyi said. “You’ve got to do it with me. One person alone can’t do anything as important as bringing change and democracy to a country.”
Aung San Suu Kyi freed at last
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — The Burmese military government freed its archrival,democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, on Saturday after her latest term of detention expired. Several thousand jubilant supporters streamed to her residence.A smiling Suu Kyi, wearing a traditional jacket and a flower in her hair, appeared at the gate of her compound as the crowd chanted, cheered and sang the national anthem.
Ethiopian author wins award (Fikre Tolossa)
By Dr Fikre Tolossa Ethiopian author, Getty Ambau, was chosen third among many candidtes who participated in an annual literary contest held by the Moonbeam Awards for this year, for his first novel entitled, DESTA AND KING SOLOMON’S COIN OF MAGIC AND FORTUNE. He will be awarded with a medal of achievement for it. The [...]
Haile G. Selassie: Retirement and politics
By Eskinder Nega—The first time Haile Gebreselassie burst onto the world-title scene was seventeen years ago, somewhere in mid-’93. Success landed him in the spotlight, and commentators were soon noting what they said (alluding to other Ethiopian athletes as well) was a discrepancy between how old he looked and his officially declared age — twenty years.
UK says EU election report fair, credible
Foreign Office Minister for Africa Henry Bellingham described the European Union Observers report “as fair, balanced and credible” following elections in Ethiopia on 23 May. “I welcome the final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission to Ethiopia. I believe it is fair, balanced and credible.
Haile reconsidering plan to retire (AP)
BRUSSELS (AP) — Ethiopian long-distance great Haile Gebrselassie is reassessing his sudden retirement, and his manager hopes he will run in the 2012 London Olympics. Jos Hermens told The Associated Press on Wednesday that a knee injury that forced Gebrselassie out of Sunday’s New York Marathon left him in an emotional state and led to [...]
Rebels claim killed 276 soldiers (Reuters)
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – An Ethiopian rebel group said on Tuesday it hadkilled 267 soldiers since the beginning of October, in its first such claim since the government signed a peace deal with one its factions last month. The Ethiopian government denied the claim. The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) wants more autonomy [...]
Ana Gomes dismayed over sham elections
Office of the MEP Ana Gomes BRUSSELS, November 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — Ethiopian general elections, held in May 2010, fell short of international standards, according to the assessment of the EU Election Observation Mission (EOM). “The electoral process fell short of international commitments for elections, notably regarding the transparency of the process and the lack [...]
Catherine Ashton’s declaration on behalf of EU
European Union Statement The European Union thanks the EU Electoral Observation Mission (EU EOM) for providing an impartial and independent evaluation of the electoral process in Ethiopia, and takes note of the assessment and recommendations issued in its final report. The European Union regrets that it has not been possible to agree on a presentation [...]
OLF calls for united front agaisnt TPLF
November 9, 2010, Sudan Tribune (LONDON) – The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) leadership has called for collective opposition to stop to what it termed it as “one man rule” of the Ethiopian government led by Meles Zenawi. Speaking at a workshop organized by the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE), in London, the head [...]
Elections heavily favor incumbent (Bloomberg)
By William Davison (Bloomberg) Ethiopia’s electoral playing field was “heavily” balanced in favor of the ruling party in a May vote in which Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and allied parties won all but two of the 547 seats in parliament, the European Union said. Local administrations that are almost entirely controlled by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic [...]
EU EOM releases final election report
Eskinder Nega from Addis Ababa–The much anticipated but much delayed final report by the EU Observers Mission to Ethiopia was released today in the Belgian capital, Brussels. While the final report was in line with the earlier preliminary report, the Mission is set to stir political waves by one of its recommendations…
Gebre Mariam wins NYC marathon (Reuters)
(Reuters) – Debutants stole the show at the New York City marathon Sunday as Ethiopian Gebre Gebremariam won the men’s race on his marathon debut and Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat took the women’s title in her first New York race. Gebremariam, the 2009 world cross country champion, ran with easy grace through the last hilly stretch [...]
Haile Gebre Selassie retires from athletics
Haile Gebreselassie, arguably the greatest distance runner in history, announced at the end of the New York Marathon that he is retiring . Haile has made history by breaking numerous records. He still holds the marathon world record. We wish his all the best. NEW YORK (AP) — World-record holder Haile Gebrselassie stunned the running [...]
Remember the November massacre
By Prof. Al Mariam–For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.
አውራምባ ታይምስ 3ኛ አመት. ቁ. 140
For best view click full screen and zoom in
Ethiopian maid poised for stardom
Ethiopian housemaid Mahlet is changing her name to Maha and cutting her first video clip after proving to her Iraqi boss that she can sing better than she can clean. Three years after she left her native Ethiopia to work as as a housemaid for prominent Kurdish musician Halcout Zahir, the 20-year-old woman is almost a household name in the northern autonomous region of Kurdistan.
If I were Birtukan Mideksa…
By Kuchiye—By any stretch of imagination, I cannot be Birtukan. Nonetheless, the rampant “what would she do next?” question tempted me to join the speculative frenzy which is pervasive in every household and dominated Ethiopian and international media. First, I don’t for a second believe she will quit politics. The Birtukan I perceive from afar will ponder over her options very carefully.
Prosecutors drop DC9 charges (AP)
WASHINGTON (AP)— Government prosecutors on Friday dismissed charges against five people who were accused of aggravated assault in the death of a man who threw a brick through a nightclub window. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. said the investigation into Ali Ahmed Mohammed’s death on Oct. 15 was ongoing and that while charges were [...]
Ethiopian activist honored for rights work (HRW)
Human Rights Watch (Press Release) Yoseph Mulugeta will receive the Human Rights Watch Alison Des ForgesAward for Extraordinary Activism in November 2010 for his relentless work defending civil society in Ethiopia. Mulugeta, the former secretary general of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO), a rights monitoring organization, fled the country in late 2009. He received [...]
Remembering the dark days of 2005
NEWS RELEASE The dark days of November 2005 It was 5 years ago on November 1, 2005, that the ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) under the leadership of Meles Zenawi unleashed a new form of terror on the people of Ethiopia. The repercussion of the terror campaign is still felt throughout Ethiopia and around [...]
Kenya, Ethiopia to wipe out OLF (KBC)
The Kenyan government in conjunction with Ethiopian authorities has launched an operation in Moyale County to flash out the Oromo Liberation Front militias following the killing of an administration Police officer on Tuesday. Two other security officers who were injured during the attack by the militia are undergoing treatment at the Forces Memorial hospital in Nairobi. [...]
EU observers to release final election report
Editor’s note: The European Union Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia was expected to release its final report in Addis Ababa. However, it turns out that Meles Zenawi refused to allow the observers to present their report in Ethiopia. Another shame to Ethiopia! PRESS RELEASE The European Union Election Observation Mission to Ethiopia will Present its Final [...]
Land grab conference rallies support
If at the end of a conference you see many of the participants and speakers embracing one another, laughing and exchanging personal contact information, an observer might judge the event a pleasant success. However, when such a reaction is between previously estranged or isolated Ethiopians—like Tigrayans, Oromo, Amhara, Sidamo, people from the Southern Nations, Muslims, Christians, separatists…
Rights report sparks fierce debate (P Heinlein)
By Peter Heinlein Addis Ababa (VOA) A U.S.-based human rights group has raised an uproar with a report arguing that development assistance to Ethiopia may be doing more harm than good by strengthening a repressive government. The report has sparked condemnation in some quarters, praise in others. The Human Rights Watch report issued last month [...]
Medrek on Dag’s attack on HRW report (PR)
MEDREK Press Release Human Rights Watch (HRW), an advocate of democratic and human rights, has officially issued a timely report supported by evidence saying that the aid donated by the International Community to feed and assist the poor in Ethiopia is being used for the purpose of repressing the democratic and human rights of the [...]
Haile Gebre Selassie rules out retiring (AP)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (SAPA/AP) – Fortunately for the New York City Marathon, Haile Gebrselassie won’t even talk about retirement. The 37-year-old Ethiopian – widely considered the greatest distance runner ever – has set a host of world records, won two Olympics golds and captured eight world titles in events ranging from the 1,500 metres right [...]
Brazil elects ex-guerrilla female president (AP)
SAO PAULO (AP) — A former Marxist guerrilla who was tortured and imprisoned during Brazil’s long dictatorship was elected Sunday as the first female president of Latin America’s biggest nation, a country in the midst of a rapid economic and political rise. A statement from the Supreme Electoral Court, which oversees elections, said governing party [...]
Ethiopian journalist jailed without charge (CPJ)
(CPJ)—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls upon authorities in Ethiopia’s northeastern region of Afar to release a journalist who has been held without charge since September 11. Akram Ezedin is jailed in Asaita, the regional capital of Afar. He is 17 years old. His father is Ezedin Mohamed, the editor of Al-Quds, a privately owned [...]
Prof analyzes Ethiopian economy (A Davenport)
By Amanda Davenport The global economy is facing new challenges today. An imbalance ofcurrency in the world has resulted in attempts to correct it by devaluing currency, and one faculty member hopes to stem this devaluation through a recently published article. According to The Economist magazine, devaluating currency is “a sudden fall in the value [...]
Al Shabab executes two teenage girls (AP)
(AP) – MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The two accused spies died amid a fusillade of bullets from a firing squad organized by a hardline Islamist militia. The condemned pair were only girls, aged 15 and 18, and their grieving relatives say they were uneducated, usually stayed at home and could not have spied for anyone. [...]
Jailed journalist wins Golden Pen Award (WAN)
Dawit Isaak, a founder of Eritrea’s first independent newspaper who has been imprisoned for the past nine years without charge or trial, has been awarded the 2011 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). Mr Isaak, who has dual Eritrean-Swedish citizenship, was imprisoned [...]
Synod to knock down patriarch’s statue
(Addis Voice) The annual meeting of the Ethiopian Orthodox TewahidoChurch Synod has decided to knock down statue of Abune Palos, according to reports. The synod has also passed a decision to have all billboards carrying the patriarch’s image removed from churchyards. The synod has unanimously passed the decision as erecting images and building personality cult [...]
Ethiopia to lease Belgium-sized land (Bloomberg)
By William Davison (Bloomberg) Ethiopia will lease a land area about the size of Belgium to private investors for growing rice, cotton and other crops aimed at generating foreign-exchange, an Agriculture Ministry official said. The Horn of Africa nation plans to rent out 3 million hectares (5 million acres) of farmland over the next five [...]
Ban on distance education lifted (B Tamene)
By Binyam Tamene (Capital) Ethiopia’s Federal Ministry of Education has lifted its ban on distance education, after a one-and-half month long negotiation with private institutions ended last week in agreement. At the end of the last academic year, the Ministry scrapped all distance education programs of both private and public institutions in the country due [...]
World Bank feeds repression in Ethiopia
By Ben Rawlence–The child in the man’s arms is painfully thin. The father is hungry too. He lives in southern Ethiopia, where food shortages are an annual occurrence. There are food distributions in his village but the man, let’s call him Joseph, is a member of the wrong political party. Joseph is a well-known critic of the ruling party and openly campaigned for the opposition in his ward in the controversial 2005…
Cuban dissident wins Sakharov Prize (AFP)
Editor’s note: Though most freedom loving Ethiopians believe that their own icon of freedom deserve the Sakharov Prize, Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas is also a deserving winner. It is still great that Birtukan is lined up among the world’s most respected freedom fighters. There is a great future ahead of her. By Arnaud Bouvier (AFP) [...]
Ethiopians to mark November massacre
(News Release) Ethiopians from various cities in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia held a conference on Saturday to discuss and coordinate plans for the upcoming 5th anniversary of the Ethiopian Election Massacre. The participants discussed and updated each other about the various events that are being organized throughout the month of November…
Ethiopians in DC demand justice for Ali
By Sommer Mattis–”Charge the killer, we want justice!” That was the message heard from D.C.’s tightly knit Ethiopian community Tuesday evening at a vigil to remember 27-year-old Ali Ahmed Mohammed, who died early Friday morning following an altercation with employees of U Street-area nightclub DC9. Nearly 200 people, many holding candles, crowded onto the 1900 block of 9th Street NW…
Civic groups call for justice for Ethiopian (PR)
Ethiopian and Ethiopian-American civic groups and activists in the DC area are shocked and outraged at the savage murder of a young Ethiopian man by employees and the co-owner of the Washington DC nightclub DC9 early Saturday morning 16. October 2010. This sole unarmed man, Ali Ahmed Mohammed, had already been apprehended, tackled to the [...]
Ethiopia: Donor aid supports repression (PR)
The Ethiopian government is using development aid to suppress political dissent by conditioning access to essential government programs on support for the ruling party, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch urged foreign donors to ensure that their aid is used in an accountable and transparent manner…
Birtukan finalist for Sakharov Prize (EU PR)
European Parliament Press Release Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa, Breaking the Silence, an Israeli NGO and Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas are the three shortlisted finalists for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The winner will be announced on Thursday, 21 October, by the President of the European Parliament, following a decision of the Conference of political [...]
Ethiopians dominate Eurasian marathon
Ethiopian women dominated the Istambul Eurasia Marathon. Ashu Kasim led the line up for victory and the other Ethiopians, Alemintu, Amane and Bizunesh followed her. Ashu crossed the finish line for victory in a new course record 2:27:25. This improved by 56 seconds the previous course record of 2:28:21 set by Russian Madina Bictagirova in 2006.
Ethiopian appointed female flight captain (APA)
APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopian Airlines on Thursdayofficially appointed its first female commercial flight captain. The first female commercial flight captain, Amsale Gualu Endegnanew, took off her first flight on a Q-400 aircraft from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar on an internal flight. Captain Amsale joined Ethiopian Airlines Pilot Training School in 2000 and started her career [...]
Ethio-Eritrean friendship dinner lauded (A Gellaw)
By Abebe Gellaw–The effort to mend fences between Ethiopians and Eritreans was boosted with a spectacular Ethiopian and Eritrean friendship and cultural event, which was attended by over one hundred people from both communities in San Jose, California. The October 2 fundraising dinner was organized by the San Jose-based Ethiopian & Eritrean Friendship Forum (EEFF)….
ONLF dismisses peace deal claims (Reuters)
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The Ethiopia government said it signed a peace deal on Tuesday to end 20 years of war with a rebel faction that has comprised the main threat to foreign oil and gas firms in the disputed Ogaden region, both sides said. Abay Tsehaye, national security adviser to Prime [...]
No access to Nobel laureate wife (Al Jazeera)
Ethiopians condemned to survive on trash (Video)
The video below is deeply disturbing. It shows how those who have been left to live in abject poverty are so desperate to survive on trash. In one of the forgotten parts of Addis Ababa called Korah over 80,000 people are estimated to live in appalling squalor eating trash. This is the reality of Ethiopia’s [...]
Chinese dissident wins Nobel Prize (Reuters)
By Wojciech Moskwa OSLO (Reuters) – Jailed Chinese pro-democracy activist Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for decades of non-violent struggle for human rights, infuriating China, which called the award “an obscenity.” The prize puts China’s human rights record in the spotlight at a time when it is starting to play a [...]
Birtukan’s release, just for show? (N Waldhams)
By Nick Wadhams [Time] Over the past several years, Ethiopia’s government, which cherishes its role as a U.S. ally in the volatile Horn of Africa, has steadily chipped away at political freedoms, arresting the opposition and quashing the free press. So it was hard not to be skeptical about its move this week to release [...]
The leader we have been waiting for (A Gellaw)
By Abebe Gellaw—The unjust incarceration of Birtukan Mideksa was cruel, inhuman and purposeless to say the least. Despite his best effort, dictator Meles Zenawi miserably failed to break the resilience and spirit of the heroine who refused to kneel down, to budge and surrender. He waited for nearly two years in vain to break her indomitable spirit.
Amnesty welcomes Birtukan’s release (PR)
Amnesty International has welcomed Wednesday’s release of opposition leader and prisoner of conscience Birtukan Mideksa by the Ethiopian government. The leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) Party was freed from Kaliti prison on Wednesday after serving 21 months of a life sentence. She had been arrested on 28 December 2008 charged with [...]
Gov’t should release all political prisoners: HRW
Human Rights Watch (Press Release) The government should release all political prisoners (New York) – The Ethiopian government’s release on October 6, 2010, of detained opposition leader Birtukan Midekssa should pave the way for freeing dozens of other political prisoners in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Birtukan, the leader of the Unity for [...]
Birtukan Mideksa free at last (Eskinder Nega)
By Eskinder Nega, Addis Ababa—Birtukan Mideksa, prominent Ethiopian political prisoner, was freed today from almost two years of absurd imprisonment—a blatant abuse of power by the EPRDF, specifically PM Meles Zenawi. She was accorded a hero’s welcome by family, relatives, friends and supporters. A press conference is due in few hours where her terms of release will be detailed.
People flock to see Birtukan Mideksa (Pics)
So many people have flocked to Birtukan’s Mideksa house to express their delight and respect for the heroine. The pictures below, courtesy of Awramba Times, was taken a few hours after her release.
Ethiopian opposition leader released from jail
Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopian opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa was freed from prison today after the government granted her request to be pardoned from a life sentence she began serving almost two years ago. “I’m very pleased to be back with my family,” Birtukan, 36, said in an interview at her house in Addis Ababa, [...]
Canadian MP commends efforts to free Birtukan
Canadian MP Peter Julian issued the following statement in conection with the release of Birtuakn Mideksa. “Thank you for your tireless efforts, to all those who petitioned, to all those who wrote and who pushed so that justice could prevail at last for Birtukan Mideksa. We all look forward to more of her good work [...]
Ethiopian Embassy in London peddling lies
(Addis Voice) Meles Zenawi and his cronies are only good at peddling blatant lies. Aigaforum, Walta, ETV, Ethiopian Radio, Addis Zemed, Bereket Simon, Shimelis Kemal and his embassy hirelings deployed around the world, are few among a long list of merchants of lies. Where there is brutal tyranny they tell the world about flourishing democracy, [...]
CPJ awards Awramba Times editor
Editor’s note: Addis Voice extends its heartfelt congratulations to Dawit Kebede, who has shown extraordinary courage, perseverance and passion for freedom of expression. Press Release New York (CPJ) The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor fourcourageous journalists with its 2010 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November. Dawit Kebede of Ethiopia, Nadira Isayeva [...]
Seyoum leaves, Haile-Mariam comes in
In a comical prelude to what “Parliament” will be like for the next five years that visibly embarrassed its speaker, Abadula Gemeda (whose reversed Kafkan metamorphosis from a hapless POW to Speaker of “parliament” illustrates the lie that is at the core of the EPRDF) Ethiopia’s lower house of “Parliament” approved PM Meles Zenawi’s new [...]
Meles Zenawi reshuffles his horses
After Meles Zenawi spent a huge amount of time talking about succession and new breed of leaders, he came up with a list of the same old TPLF yes-men and horses that have neither power nor credibility. The political circus is only getting more interesting as the only person who got real promotion and power in the game of succession is Meles Zenawi’s wife, the First Lady of Corruption Azeb Mesfin.
PM wants aid with no policy requirements
By Desalegn Sisay (Afrik) Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has urged foreign donors to assist his government’s five year strategic plan without making any policy requirement demands for their financial aid. He is also seeking the lifting of the ban on direct budgetary support following the May 2005 general election. His announcement comes on the [...]
Meles Zenawi extends grip on power
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi is expected to appoint new ministers this week after being sworn in as Prime Minister by parliament Monday four months after a disputed landslide election win. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allies won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament on May [...]
Abi Mariam named young humanitarian
Abi Mariam, daughter of Prof. Alemayehu Gebre Mariam, has been named Young Humanitarian of the Year at the 19th Annual Gala for the benefit of St. Mary Medical Center, San Bernardino, California. In 2007 Abi joined the Junior Volunteer Program and has been volunteering ever since at the medical center where her mum, Misrak Gessesse [...]
Lessons from Columbia University
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam—For well over a decade, Profs. Stiglitz and Sachs have served as the intellectual godfathers to Ethiopia’s dictator-in-chief Meles Zenawi. The “objective” of these two “academic entrepreneurs” and “unacademic professors”, to use the recent words of Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati of Columbia, is to “ingratiate” themselves ” with influential African leaders…
Saudis cracking down on Ethiopian immigrants
Saudi authorities have intensified harsh measures against Ethiopians after immigration detainees awaiting deportation escaped this week. According to reports, some 200 detainees including Ethiopians escaped after riots broke out at one of the most overcrowded immigration detention centres in Jeddah. In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has intensified manhunt…
Endreas Eshete pledges to help Eritreans
(Asena) The president of Addis Ababa University, (and UNESCO Chair forHuman Rights and Democracy??), Prof. Andreas Eshete, promised that several universities in Ethiopia are prepared to accept and register college aged Eritreans in Ethiopian refugee camps. Professor Eshete confirmed his pledge when he met with participants of the National Conference for Democratic Change from Canada, [...]
Meles asks donors for more money
By Biruk Worku Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has called on international development partners to support Ethiopia’s growth and transformation over the coming five years thorough releasing budget aid. He said Ethiopia expects increased aid from traditional and new donors. The Premier on Thursday held a consultative meeting with the donors on his government’s new five-year [...]
US hits Iranian officials with sanctions
The Obama administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions against eight Iranian officials who are said to be responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses. The list includes the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps. The United States has been a sponsor of four U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions against Iran because of its nuclear [...]
Ana Gomes urges Zuma to help free Birtukan
Press Release (Brussels) MEP Ana GOMES (S&D, PT) asked President Jacob Zuma of South Africa today, during a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, to help liberate Birtukan Mideksa, a young woman leader of the main opposition party in her country, Ethiopia, who has been jailed for life and whom Amnesty [...]
Ethiopian Airlines set to join Star Alliance
Star Alliance announced on today that Ethiopian Airlines will become a member of the alliance as its Chief Executive Board has unanimously approved Ethiopian Airlines’ joining application.
SAS already code-shares with Ethiopian Airlines on the Stockholm-Addis Ababa route since earlier this year, but the partnership has now been expanded to include a number of Ethiopian’s African destinations
13 refugees die as boat capsize
WASHINGTON (AP)— A Navy warship was providing humanitarian supplies to passengers aboard a broken-down boat off the coast of Somalia on Monday when the boat suddenly capsized, killing at least 13 passengers.Another eight passengers were still missing, Navy officials said. The failed rescue was the latest incident involving U.S. military personnel in Somali waters, where [...]
Ethiopians honor distinguished heroes
By the Organizing Committee The Committee that honors Ethiopia’s heroes recently held its annual dinner in Washington, DC, honoring four Ethiopians who preformed selfless acts of sacrifice beyond the call of duty for their motherland. A welcoming speech was made by the committee chairman who asked the audience for a moment of silence to remember [...]
Ethiopians celebrate Meskel in New Zealand
New Zealand (The Dominion Post)– A bonfire lit up Wellington’s Princess Bay this week in celebration of the ancient Ethiopian rite of maskal. The ritual, which took place on Sunday night, is celebrated by Ethiopian Christians and commemorates the discovery of the true cross, upon which Jesus was crucified under the hills of Golgotha, just outside [...]
Ethiopian appointed McMaster genetics czar
McMaster University, Press Release There is unprecedented opportunity to uncover the genetic basis of human disease through the combination of new technologies and the cellular machinery that contains our genes. But to mine this data requires novel statistical and computational methods in order to generate information that can be used to prevent, diagnose and treat [...]
Ethiopians need more from ‘sacred’ Nile
By Aaron Maasho—Here in the shadow of Mount Gish, the spring water that forms the Blue Nile is believed to have healing powers, but Ethiopians say that is the only benefit they get from the mighty river. “These waters are sacred, they perform miracles for the sick,” Berhanu Melak, an elderly farmer, told AFP
Birtukan among nine Sakharov prize nominees
European Parliament (Press Release) Nine nominations for the 2010 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought have been tabled by EP political groups or groups of over 40 MEPs. The nominees are the “Access” movement, Haytham Al-Maleh, Israeli NGO “Breaking the Silence”, Guillermo Fariñas, Aminatou Haidar, Dawit Isaak, Birtukan Mideksa, Father Thadeus (Nguyën Van Ly) and [...]
As Zenawi speaks, journalists grilled
By Mohammed Keita (CPJ) On Wednesday, just a few hours before Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi delivered the keynote address at the World Leaders’ Forum at New York’s Columbia University, two journalists back in Addis Ababa endured nearly seven hours of police interrogation. Ethiopian federal police summoned the editors of Sendek, a weekly Amharic-language newspaper, [...]
Zenawi dodges tough questions at forum
(CS) The questions and answer session is where most of the criticisms of Zenawi’s regime were raised. How was Zenawi able to get 99.6 percent of the votes in the last Ethiopian election?, the first questioner asked to applause. “We got 99.6 percent of the seats” not the votes, Zenawi said, adding that in their system one just needs a majority of the votes for each seat to win each seat.
He then cited the growth in Ethiopia as being the reason, he suspects, of the support he received in the election.
Rival protests at Columbia University
Columbia Spectator–Dueling protests faced off on Broadway Wednesday as Columbia anticipated the arrival of Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi. Wielding horns and drums, a large crowd gathered on Broadway in the early afternoon to support Zenawi, while a rival protest against the prime minister led a demonstration on the other side of 115th.
Pro-tyranny, pro-democracy rallies at Columbia
Pro-Meles and anti-tyranny rallies have been held at Columbia University in connection with Zenawi’s invitation to speak at the university. — —-
Group says Eritrea under siege
Nairobi (AFP)– The international community must engage more with Eritrea to prevent it from becoming the next failed state in the Horn of Africa region, the International Crisis Group think tank said Tuesday. “Just a decade ago, Eritrea might reasonably have been described as challenged but stable,” ICG said in a report analysing Eritrea since [...]
Support Birtukan for Sakharov Prize
MEP Ana Gomes–Since 1988, the European Parliament has awarded the annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought….This year, I am proposing Birtukan Mideksa as one of the candidates. If you wish to see her awarded, please do not hesitate to write to Members of the European Parliament asking for their support to this candidate.
Meles snubs Western donors
(Afrik) Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has snubbed Western donor countries and praised India and China as ‘dependable allies’ as he advised African countries to take advantage of the new the global frontier, created after the economic and financial crises. According to him, the stabilized political scene is ready to withstand pressure from “market fundamentalists”. [...]
Cry the beloved country
By William Easterly—I am both moved and extremely uncomfortable. The Ethiopian diaspora critics of Meles are upset about the support for Meles coming from Professors Sachs and Stiglitz at Columbia. I hear from critics in the diaspora, because its nearly impossible to be a critic from inside Ethiopia.
Ethiopians in New York wait for Zenawi
At a time when so many Ethiopians are outrage over his speaking gig at Columbia University, Meles Zenawi left Sunday for New York to attend the 65th ordinary session of the UN General Assembly. Columbia University was caught by surprise as it has been overwhelmed by protests and anger expressed by so many Ethiopians across [...]
Indian farmers to get 50,000 ha of land in Ethiopia
The Economic Times CHANDIGARH: Punjab-based farmers, who are known for feeding the country, now want to try their hands offshore, with a group of progressive farmers all set to acquire 50,000 hectares of farm land on lease in Ethiopia for growing high-value cash crops, including pulses and maize. “We will be inking a deal with [...]
Analysts see rise of one-man rule
By Peter Heinlien from Addis Ababa—Ethiopia’s ruling party is holding a conference this week to discuss plans to rejuvenate the party and implement an optimistic five-year economic plan. Analysts say the reorganization will consolidate the power of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Columbia University site raises eyebrows
By Alex Pianin (Columbia Spectator) The World Leaders Forum is no stranger to controversy—its famous invitation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2007 set off a firestorm of media and protest—but it was the series’ website that proved inflammatory on Wednesday. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who is scheduled to speak at Low Library on [...]
Ethiopians, others suffer in Kakuma camp
KAKUMA, Kenya (AFP)— The 75,000 refugees camped under the burning sun on a rocky plain in Kenya’s arid northwest represent a cross-section of east Africa’s various wars and crises. From Somalia, south Sudan, Darfur, Ethiopia and Rwanda, all have made their way to the town of Kakuma — close to nowhere except the border with [...]
TPLF-ONLF conflict intensifies in Ogaden
Ethiopian forces have killed 123 rebels in the eastern region of the country, an official has told the BBC. The rebels are reportedly from the ONLF, fighting in Ethiopia’s Somali region. They have been fighting Ethiopian control of the area since the 1970s. A further 90 rebels are surrounded, says Abdi Mohamoud Omar, president of the Somali region of Ethiopia.
Ethiopian film maker gets award from Clinton
Winner of the 2010 Democracy Video Challenge, Yared Shumiye, received an award from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on September 10 at the State Department.He was one of the top five grand finalists to have this year’s honor. Shumiye’s Video Democracy is Fair Play was screened at the occassion. The folowing is transcript of the [...]
Ethiopians in NYC to rally against Zenawi
Ethiopians in New York City will rally to condemn the invitation extend to Meles Zenawi to speak at ColombiaUniversity. Following is a press release by an ad hoc committee of Ethiopians in the NY/NJ/CT Tri-State Area. [Read Invitation] In the May 2010 election, Meles Zenawi stifled all voices of freedom and declared a sham 99.6% victory that [...]
Somaliland ‘sorrounds’ 200 ONLF fighters
(BBC) About 200 suspected rebels are surrounded by Somaliland’s forces near the border with Ethiopia, a Somaliland minister has said. Interior Minister Mohamed Abdi Gabose told the BBC the men had arrived in the territory by boat and then travelled overland to the border. He said documents the men left behind suggest they belong to [...]
Gambella region takes risks head-on
GAMBELLA, 13 September 2010 (IRIN) – Officials in Ethiopia’s western Gambella Region have scored conflict and erratic rainfall a dead certainty this year, potentially affecting more than 150,000 people. Floods and disease outbreaks are likely too: rated four out of five (where five is certain). Far from being a cause of gloom, however, aid workers [...]
Nile river continues to create tension
Joseph Mayton–Reports of Ethiopia developing infrastructure along the Nile River have led to Egypt again showing an iron fist in the face of potential loss of water from the world’s longest river. However, an Ethiopian government official says that the country is still “ways from implementing any substantial projects.”
Happy New Year, Birtukan Invictus
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–The great Nelson Mandela said, “In my country we go to prison first and then become President.” He assured the masters of the apartheid system, “You may succeed in delaying, but never in preventing the transition of South Africa to a democracy.” On the occasion of the New Year, I contemplate the words of Mandela…
New Year wish: Release Birtukan Mideksa
By Eskinder Nega–Some readers have wondered if a reasonable array of New Year wishes representing the collective aspiration of a nation could be formulated.
Why not? It’s perfectly feasible; though only the input of varied people, and not the reflection of only one person, would make a complete list.
Eight top officials resign from TPLF
Azeb Mesfin, who was a central committee member of the TPLF, is now an executive committee member, which is the real cabinet ruling Ethiopia. Interestingly enough, eight Central Committee members have resigned including Sebehat Nega. There are reports of a new division within the race-based front. Azeb also controls EFFORT, the business conglomerate dominating the Ethiopian economy.
Ethiopians in Facebook protest
By Mark Tran–Activists have urged people to change their Facebook profile to that of Birtukan Mideksa, 35, Ethiopa’s most prominent political prisoner, for the Ethiopian new year, which starts on 11 September. The opposition party leader is an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, serving a life sentence in Kaliti prison in Addis Ababa.
Haile Selassie’s grandson buys Ghion Hotel
Ghion 512 mln dollar deal closed By Groum Abate Ethiopia’s Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Authority(PPESA) has agreed to transfer Ghion Hotel located in the prime corner of Addis Ababa, bordering the National Palace, to Aklile Berhan Mekonnen Hailesellasie, dubbed Prince, i,e. one of the sons of prince Mekonnen. Prince Aklile Berhan Mekonnen entered a [...]
Ethiopians in Oakland welcome Enkutatash
By Laura Hautala (Oakland North) Labor Day might mark the end of summer for some, but in Ethiopia, September means the springtime celebration of a new year. Called Enkutatash, the holiday enticed a crowd of African ex-pats and other curious locals to an outdoor festival at Berkeley’s Civic Center Park this Sunday. Organized by Oakland’s [...]
Floods displace thousands more in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA (AFP)— Floodwaters have displaced nearly 16,000 people in north-eastern Ethiopia, the UN said Monday. weeks after thousands of others were affected in the country’s central region. “Flooding in Afar, caused by the overflow of the Logia River and the Tendaho dam … on 27 August, resulted in the displacement of approximately 15,600 people,” [...]
Run for Birtukan in Germany
September 19, 2010 in Tuebingen, Germany Today I would like to ask you to participate in 1st Annual Run for Birtukan. Whether you choose to walk, run, this event is a great way to get some exercise in support of free Birtukan and all Prisoners of Conscience in Ethiopia. Birtukan Mideksa, an Ethiopian prisoner of [...]
Crackdown on private universities
Addis Ababa (VOA) Ethiopia has banned off-campus education, and ordered private universities to close degree programs in law and education. A directive issued by Ethiopia’s Education Ministry describes distance learning at off-campus sites as “unnecessary at this stage” and orders all such operations to stop enrolling new students immediately. The proclamation also prohibits private universities [...]
Advocacy rejects Ogaden peace talks
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle (ST) ADDIS ABABA – Resolve Ogaden Coalition (ROC), an exiled independent advocacy group, on Sunday said it does not recognize peace negotiations currently underway between the Ethiopian government and the rebel group Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF). Ogaden National Liberation Front troops (AFP) ROC said that such bilateral peace negotiations will not [...]
Detained Ethiopians in Japan Released
SMNE We have just heard some very good news; the Japanese government has now released the last of the 17 known Ethiopian asylum-seekers being detained at Japanese Immigration Detention Centers in Japan—some of whom were being held for over two and a half years! In fact, one of the officials from the Japanese Minister of [...]
Court jails 32 for ‘terrorist’ plots
Ethiopian high court passed jail terms ranging between 13-20 years behind bars against 32 defendants who were found guilty of perpetrating terrorism acts. According to the state-run Ethiopian television, four of the defendants are sentenced each to 19 years of rigorous jail while the remaining 25 are sentenced to 16 years each and a 5-year ban from any of their constitutional rights.
Ethiopian athlete dies at his prime
David Monti (LUR) Ethiopian distance runner Dejene Berhanu, who was reported dead at the age of 29 last Sunday by his management firm, took his own life. Two independent sources contacted by Race Results Weekly who had knowledge of the situation, one in the United States and one in Ethiopia, confirmed the news. Neither source [...]
Ethiopia devalues birr against dollar
Ethiopia devalued its currency, the birr, by 17 percent against the dollar, the third such move in the past 14 months, according to the National Bank of Ethiopia. The exchange rate was quoted at 16.351 per dollar today compared with 13.628 yesterday, according to the website of the Addis Ababa-based central bank. It was trading [...]
Meles Zenawi’s latest self-serving lies
By Robele Ababya–Botswana and Japan are paragons of democracy in our global community. Both have achieved truly enviable results in socio-economical and political spheres in a short time – the former since its independence in 1966 and the latter since the end of the raging flame of World War II in which it was an aggressor. Japan is now a giant democratic industrial power and a key member of the G8…
Atlanta honors artiste Tamagne Beyene
By Mahdere Andine Hundreds of Ethiopians gathered at Atrium Entertainment Center in Atlanta honored the superbly talented artiste Tamagne Beyne Friday night for his untiring struggle against injustice and respect for human rights in Ethiopia. The highly gifted artist was given a standing ovation while entering the hall accompanied by members of Mekdime-Atlanta, youth cultural ensemble [...]
Why can’t we Ethiopians just get along?
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–It was amusing to read this past week a story about criminal charges filed against one faction of UDJ by another faction of the same party in Ethiopia. Charged with disturbing the peace this past April are some of the prominent leaders and members of the UDJ. It is alleged that the defendants threw rocks at the party office and created disturbances.
Four AU peacekeepers killed in Mogadishu
Four African Union (AU) peacekeepers have been killed in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, after al-Shabab fighters fired a mortar at the presidential palace. “A mortar was fired at one of our positions, and it killed four soldiers and injured eight,” said Ba-Hoku Barigye, a spokesman for the peacekeeping force. Barigye said the dead soldiers are [...]
UN says 270,000 risk severe flooding
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – More than a quarter of a million Ethiopians are risk from severe flooding next month when heavy rain is expected in the country, according to government estimates issued by the United Nations on Monday. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 19 people were [...]
Five Ethiopians die in Saudi prison
Riyadh (SAPA) – Five Ethiopians died in a crowded Saudi centre for deporting illegal immigrants, the Arab News reported on Monday. The five died in the deportation centre in the southern Red Sea port of Jizan of “asphyxiation due to overcrowding,” according to a local police official, the newspaper said. Ethiopia’s consul in Jeddah Tekleab [...]
Fears over massive India’s land grab
By Desalegn Sisay (Afrik) Gambela’s new tag as a land grabbing hub comes as BHO Agro Plc becomes the third Indian firm to begin operations in the region after two other Indian companies, Karuturi and Ruchi Group, moved into Gambela in 2008 and early 2010, respectively. Official reports have indicated that Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture [...]
US senators revive bill on Ethiopia
Two of the U.S. Senate’s respected senator’s, Patrick Leahy and Russ Feingold, have revived their Support for Human Rights and Democracy Act. The two senators had co-sponsored a similar bill in 2008 that had a similar aim of holding the Meles regime accountable to the gross human rights violations it is committing with impunity.
Three groups form alliance against TPLF
August 26, August 2010 Press Release When the TPLF/EPRDF forces controlled Addis Ababa and ended 17 years of tribulation, the majority of Ethiopians gave the TPLF leaders the benefit of the doubt and received them with a warm welcome hoping that change towards freedom, justice and democracy was around the corner. However, 19 years and [...]
Kenya adopts new constitution in style
(VOA) Tens of thousands of Kenyans waved flags and cheered as President Mwai Kibaki signed a new constitution into law Friday, ushering in a new government with less presidential power and more authority for local governments. President Kibaki, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and other government leaders were then sworn into office under the new law. [...]
Seye Abraha and the Ethio-Eritrean war
By Eskinde Nega–“I never thought that the war (the Ethio-Eritrean war) would lead me to permanent fallout with my lifelong friends,” ponders Seye Abraha of his lost camaraderie with Meles Zenawi and his allies in a book that was released in Addis on Tuesday. “But so apprehensive was I to become of the ideas they promoted, I lost hope in them in due course.”
Sudan’s Al Bashir defies arrest warrant
Sudan leader defies arrest warrant, visits Kenya By TOM ODULA and KRISTA LARSON (AP) – 18 minutes ago NAIROBI, Kenya — Sudan’s president defied an international arrest warrant by visiting Kenya on Friday, causing an outcry from the International Criminal Court which fruitlessly pressured authorities here into arresting the man accused of masterminding the genocide [...]
Russian says shown Arc of Covenant
The famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov has become the first European to see with his own eyes the legendary Arc of the Covenant that preserved the Scrolls received by Moses on the Mount Sinai, Voice of Russia reported. The explorer told the website that the Arc of the Covenant was shown to him by Ethiopian priests. The event was filmed, he claimed.
Rebels refute Zenawi’s peace deal claim
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a separatist rebel group fighting for the eastern region’s right to self-determination has denied a recent statement from the Ethiopian government alleging that a peace accord with ONLF guerillas would be signed in October.The regime on Friday said that negotiations are underway with ONLF.
Al Shabaab moving toward palace
MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somali Islamist rebels pushed towards the presidential palace late on Tuesday but were repelled by heavy shelling by government troops, an army officer said on Wednesday. More than 80 people have been killed in the latest escalation of violence in the capital Mogadishu, which began on Monday when the al Shabaab group [...]
Sheraton displacing its poor neighbors
By Yohannes Anberbir The 42 hectares expansion project of Sheraton Addis Luxury Collection can finally be realized after a long dispute with residents living in the concerned area. The hotel in Addis Ababa has reached an “agreement” with the locals, who will move, mostly against their will, to condominium houses and prepared plots in different [...]
Double digit growth hype challenged
(Neamin Zeleke) On its August 9, 2010 issue, the Financial Times ran an article authored by Mr. William Willis, the newspaper’s Africa Editor. In his article entitled “Perfidious Donors Betray African Democrats”, Mr. Willis wrote “…in Ethiopia, the same is almost true but with a disturbing caveat. It is an open secret that the double-digit growth [...]
Oromo struggle has changed: OSA president
(Jimma Times) In an interview with OLF media, the President of the Oromo StudiesAssociation (OSA) defended the participation of Dr. Berhanu Nega in OSA’s recent conference and declared that Oromo struggle has transformed into Ethiopian struggle. OSA president Dr. Haile Hirpa said “Oromo people’s struggle can not proceed as before.” Oromo people “must work together [...]
Suicide bombers kill 32 in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – A suicide bomber and gunmen wearing military uniforms attacked a hotel near Somalia’s presidential palace Monday, sparking a running gun battle with security forces. At least 32 people were killed, including six Somali parliamentarians. A parliamentarian who was at the Muna Hotel said there were “dead bodies all over” and he [...]
New Djibouti port is “all about Ethiopia”
Afrik News–Ethiopia, Djibouti’s biggest port client, expects a boom in its import and export activities as Djibouti gets ready to construct a new port at Tadjoura to handle the growing demands of the landlocked Horn of Africa country. Djibouti Ports World has indicated that the new facilities have to be built in order to satisfy [...]
Sudan to build nuclear plant
(Press TV) Sudan is planning to build a nuclear reactor and its first nuclearpower plant for peaceful electricity purposes by 2020, state media say. Director-general of the Sudanese Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed Ahmed Hassan el-Tayeb, said on Sunday that his government had begun the plan for the development of the nuclear reactor at the beginning [...]
Prof. Mesfin charged with public disorder
Professor Mesfin Woldemariam and twelve former members of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party have been charged with causing public disorder. The majority of the defendants appeared at the Kirkos first instance court. But Professor Mesfin did not appear in person. His attorney told the court that the professor had not been served summon by the court’s registrar.
TPLF rejects extreme food shortage risk report
By William Davison Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) — The Ethiopian government rejected a report that the country is at “extreme risk” of food shortages this year. The Horn of Africa nation is sixth in a ranking of countries facing food shortages, according to report published yesterday on the website of Bath, U.K.-based risk consultant Maplecroft. Ethiopian [...]
89 Ethiopians arrested in Kenya
Eighty nine Ethiopian nationals on Thursday appeared before a Kibera court charged with being in the country illegally. The aliens who were seized in Nairobi’s Dagoretti estate pleaded guilty to the charges but Kibera senior Principal Magistrate Grace Nzioka set the case for mention on Friday to provide the prosecution with more time to consolidate [...]
Ethiopia faces era of one-party rule
Peter Heinlein–Ethiopia’s 2010 election all but wiped out the country’s once vibrant political opposition. This means that Ethiopia faces the prospect of one-party rule for the foreseeable future. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi categorically rejects characterizations of Ethiopia as a one-party state. Speaking to reporters last week, he likened the Horn of Africa nation to Japan or Botswana
Awaramba Times suffers attacks
Amramba Times, the only independent newspaper focusing on political issues in Ethiopia, said in a press release that its office was attacked twice yesterday by unidentified people who tried to force their way in. The attack happened at 8 pm yesterday, six hours after its security guard suffered serious injuries as he was trying to stop the attackers from forcefully and illegally entering the newspaper’s office.
‘Minister’ Asfaw Dingamo missing on air
Meles Zenawi’s Minister of Water Resources, Asfaw Dingamo, abruptly interrupted a VOA phone-in interview as questions got harder for him. The minister refused to answer a question why the regime is trying to politicise the Nile issue for its own political agenda citing the recent pro-TPLF rally in DC where some of the marchers were [...]
Mubarek vows to keep Nile monopoly
While inaugurating the new Saft el-Laban corridor in Giza, Egyptian President Hosnei Mubarak assured that Nile water “will not extend beyond Egyptian borders.”
Mubarak further called for making optimal use of Nile water, carrying out seawater desalination projects, and using modern technology to develop new types of crops that can be irrigated with salt water in order to satisfy the growing demand for food.
Merera slams whitewash donor report
(Bloomberg) Ethiopia’s opposition Oromo People’s Congress criticized a report by a donor group into allegations that the government manipulated foreign aid for political gain ahead of general elections in May. The Development Assistance Group, an Addis Ababa-based body comprising 26 agencies that give assistance to Ethiopia, examined four programs that receive about $1.5 billion a [...]
Mission Impossible: Repackaging Meles
By Eskinder Nega–“There are times when I have to flutter an eyelid several times to make sure that all this is not a dream,” says Meles Zenawi. “In view of the Derg’s superiority in arms and numbers, and the distressing poverty of the people we mobilized to fight it, I am amazed that we prevailed,” ponders Meles in a new book.
Rights worsening in aid darling Ethiopia
The U.S. gives about $1 billion annually to Ethiopia. But even as U.S. and other international aid has surged in the last decade, activists charge that the government has become more authoritarian. Like many in the West, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn watched the country’s recent elections for signs that democracy was finally taking root.
Meles Zenawi’s boisterous interview
On 11 August 2010 Ethiopia’s Warlord Meles Zenawi held a press conference. Part II English —- Amharic Part I Amharic Part II
Eritrean refugees get freedom of movement
VOA News–The U.N. refugee agency says it welcomes a decision by the Ethiopian government to relax restrictions on Eritrean refugees. Agency officials say a new policy introduced by the government allows Eritrean refugees who can support themselves to live outside the camps. The U.N. refugee agency says Ethiopia’s newly introduced out-of-camp scheme – as it [...]
First use of tools pushed back a million years
By Marlowe Hood (AFP) PARIS — Human ancestors were using stone tools to carve meat from the bone of wild animals nearly a million years earlier than thought, according to a recently unveiled study. Two mammal bones found in Ethiopia’s Afar region with chips missing that could only have been removed by sharp-edged tools are [...]
Meles says ‘rough stretch’ with US over
Meles Zenawi says bilateral ties with the United States are on the mend after months of tensions. Mr. Meles promised a wholesale government reshuffle due in October will include a restructuring of Ethiopia’s diplomatic missions. The Ethiopian leader told reporters Wednesday that what he called ‘a rough stretch’ in relations with Washington appears to be over.
Exiled Eritreans set up interim gov’t
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A group of exiled Eritreans say they’re setting up an interim government to serve in case Eritrea’s authoritarian government collapses. The group said Tuesday they believe Eritrea’s isolated government will fall on its own under the weight of international sanctions. Group member Ali Mohamed Saed Mohammed said the group, which met [...]
Sibehat Nega gets millions in bribe
AddisVoice–Sibhat Nega, alleged to be one of the most corrupt TPLF top guns, received tens of millions of dollars from Chinese telecom giant ZTE, a new book alleges. Written by a former World Bank economist, Dr. Aklog Birara, the book titled, Wave: Epidemic poverty that globalization can’t tackle but Ethiopia can, detailed pervasive corruption…
TPLF’s economy and endemic poverty
Book Review–Much has been written about the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) socio- economic and political policies and programs for Ethiopia. But nothing compares to this book’s depth of analysis and revelations which solely and extensively deal with assessments of each and every sector of Ethiopia’s economy vis a vis TPLF’s declared policies and hidden interests and agenda.
‘Adolf Hitler’s’ parents lose custody
Associated Press A New Jersey couple who gave their children Nazi-inspired names have lost custody of them. A US state appeals court made the ruling, citing the parents’ own disabilities and the risk of serious injury to their children. The state removed Heath and Deborah Campbell’s three small children from their home in January 2009. [...]
EPRDF’s myth of brutal invincibility
By Eskinder Nega–Medrek announced plans to transform its loose coalition to the elevated status of a “front” at the end of last week. Its constituent members dipped to six from the original eight, after dropping one of its two Pan-Ethiopian groupings and its lone Somali based organization. The rotating presidency has now gone to UDJ’s deputy, Gizatchew Shiferaw.
Four Ethiopians attend Obama forum
US President Barack Obama has asked young African leaders to follow the path of Mahatma Gandhi and change themselves first if they wanted to bring about real change in the continent. The first of its kind, Obama’s African Young Leaders Forum, August 3 to 5, is attended by 115 young African leaders including four Ethiopians.
Activists deplore China’s role in Ethiopia
Ethiopian American civic and human rights activists have condemned Chinese government’s destructive interference in Ethiopia. In a statement issued by Ethiopian rights groups that are behind a planned protest rally at the Chinese embassy in Washington DC on Thursday, they criticised the complicity of China in criminal repressions in Ethiopia.
Addis Dimts to air special program
Washington-based Addis Dimts radio will air special program on Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 PM to 8 PM focusing on the planned protest rally by Ethiopians and American-Ethiopians against China’s destructive policy on Ethiopia. The program, hosted by Abebe Belew, is transmitted on 1390 AM Washington DC. The transmissions can also be listened to at AddisDimts.com, [...]
Athlets disappoint at Africa champs
Addis Ababa (APA) – Ethiopian sport families and fans expressed, on Monday in Addis-Ababa, their disappointment with the performance of the national athletics team which finished 9th at the 17th African athletics championship that ended on Sunday in Kenya. . The sport family is asking the Ethiopian Athletics Federation to immediately investigate why Ethiopia performed [...]
Obama: Walking the human rights talk?
Professor Al Mariam—President Obama has been sharply criticized for his “inability” to deliver on his human rights “promises.” Some say his support for the cause of human rights and those struggling against oppression has been rhetorical, and lukewarm at that. He has been unable to translate lofty words into concrete actions to improve human rights.
Ethiopians to rally against China
Ethiopians in Washington DC and the surrounding areas will stage a protest rally on August 5 at the Chinese embassy. The protesters will denounce Chinsese political and repressive involment in Ethiopia. China is supporting the Meles regime against the interest of Ethiopian Americans by supporting the ethnic based repressive regime (TPLF) with military technology, radio and satellite television [...]
Tirunesh beats Kenyan rival in 10k race
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -Double Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia beat world champion Linet Masai of Kenya in the women’s 10,000 meters at the African Athletics Championships on Saturday. Dibaba trailed for most the race before outsprinting Masai on the last lap to win in 31 minutes, 51.39 seconds. Fellow Ethiopian Haileyesus Melkamu was second [...]
Several killed, hurt in road accident
At least 20 people died and several were injured on Saturday in a tragic road accident in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. The incident occurred when a truck with a 6-tonne container over-turned in an open market in the western part of Addis Ababa, hitting several traders and vendors at the market. It took hours for the rescue team to remove bodies under the container.
Medrek takes step to become one party
Addis Ababa (Bloomberg) A coalition of Ethiopian opposition parties will take steps toward becoming a single party by forming a front, said Negasso Gidada, co-deputy chairman of the Medrek alliance. The change will result in the opposition group having one general assembly, one center and a common strategy binding to all parties, accordinng to Negaso.
ONLF dismisses Ogaden peace deal
The Ogaden National Liberation Front has dismissed the so-called peace deal between the Meles regime and the United Western Somali Liberation Front, which is almost nonexistent. In a statement it issued today, ONLF said the deal has no impact on the facts on the ground in Ogaden. “Promoting a fictitious peace process with actors having [...]
Arabsat considers suing Meles regime
The Arab Satellites Communication Organization (Arabsat) has been considering to take legal action against the Meles regime, reliable sources said. According to our sources, Arabsat lawyers are investigating ways of holding the rogue regime to account for violating international law by beaming powerful radio signals on Arabsat trasmissions.
Azeb Mesfin bankrupting state banks
Mezgebu Tsegaye, Addis Ababa (AV) Azeb Mesfin, wife of Meles Zenawi, member of the rubber-stamp parliament and boss of the biggest corruption scheme in Africa called the Endowment Fund the Rehabilitation of Tigray (EFFORT) has been pushing state banks to the brink of bankruptcy. She is pressurizing banks to illegally grant huge amounts of loans…
Ethiopian boy dies in highrise fall
After raising their only son in Ethiopian refugee camps, Samule “Sami” Bete’s parents expected life in Canada to be safe and stable. On Wednesday, a day after Sami, 9, was killed falling 28 storeys from the balcony of their downtown Calgary apartment, the boy’s grieving parents say they’ll never understand how it happened.”He was a wonderful boy,” said his mum.
Ethiopian teen wins national speech contest
(WSAV) A Beaufort-area teenager is earning a laundry list of achievements and deserves a real good pat-on-the-back. She recently claimed second place in a national Christian speech contest. But there’s something much more wowing about the story: three years ago she couldn’t even speak a word of English. It’s a stride the 14-year-old credits to [...]
Addis Voice officially relaunches site
Addis Voice is pleased to announce the official re-launch of its website. The new cutting-edge site integrates a number of new and upgraded multimedia features. With increasing demand for service upgrade in the face of repeated technical and server problems with our previous server, we are certain that the new site and Bluehost server will address the issues.
Meseret Defar to challenge world record
By Morgan Freeman– Long distance runner of Ethiopian origin, Meseret Defar is a specialist at the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters. Currently twenty seven years of age, Defar is an athlete who demands no introduction, primarily owing to the fact that she has gained recognition endlessly through international tournaments. A gold medallist at the Olympics [...]
Al-Shabaab dominates Africa summit
The African Union will beef up peacekeeping troops in Somalia, but will not allow them to attack Islamists there despite the urging of several countries after the rebels killed 76 people in suicide attacks in Uganda.
African diplomats at an African Union (AU) summit on Tuesday told Reuters the possibility of allowing the force to attack the rebels would likely be rejected.
The West’s rhetoric and miscalculations
By Andualem Aragie–The end of the Cold War was quite a phenomenon; it seemed as if the once formidable Eastern Bloc appeared in total disarray and the West in harmony with the situations unfolding to its favor. Regime change was the order of the day in many countries. The West shifted its priority from confrontation to expanding democracy…
Haile, others receive honorary degrees
The Addis Ababa University bestowed honorary degrees Saturday on four individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to public service. Ethiopia’s legendary athlete Haile Gebresillasie, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, Dr. Cathrine Hamlin, 75, founder of the Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia and Ugandan professor Mehamud Memdani received honorary PhD degrees during AAU graduation ceremony.
Over 5000 Ethiopians win DV lottery
Some 5,200 Ethiopians have won Diversity Visa 2011 (DV-2010), according to a press release issued by The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky. The Consular Center has registered and notified the winners of the DV-2011 diversity lottery. The diversity lottery was conducted under the terms of section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and makes [...]
Genzebe Dibaba truimphs over rival
Parker Morse for the IAAF Not 2000m into the women’s 5000m final, the race for the World Junior Championship had already narrowed to a final clash between two of the most decorated Junior athletes at the championships, Genzege Dibaba of Ethiopia and Mercy Cherono of Kenya. Between them, the pair has won the last three [...]
A cry for justice: Fraud case goes to court
By Mikias Sebsibe [AF] Multiple civil suits were filed against Askallukan Trading Plc, its vice manager, Girmay Gebremichael, and his wife, Menna Terefe, who was also the general manager of the company, by people claiming to have been defrauded out of a trip to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup. Askallukan Trading ran a [...]
Court rejects opposition appeal over elections
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s highest court on Tuesday rejected a case brought by the country’s opposition against the ruling party’s landslide May election victory, finally exhausting legal appeals for the defeated parties. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allies won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament. Both [...]
Ethiopians, Eritreans face suspicions in Uganda
Peter Heinlein Ugandan police inspect the destroyed Ethiopian Village restaurant in Kampala after twin bomb blasts tore through crowds of football fans, killing 64 people, 11 Jul 2010 The bodies of seven Ethiopian and Eritrean victims of the Uganda bomb attacks have been sent home to their native countries for burial. Members of the Ethiopian [...]
IGAD incapable of solving Somali crisis: Analyst
A Somali political analyst told VOA the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional organization, is incapable of resolving the ongoing crisis in Somalia. Afyare Abdi Elmi, a professor of international affairs at Qatar University, said there are reasons to believe that Ethiopia is making efforts to inject itself into the ongoing Somali peace process [...]
Ethiopia among most restricted for investors
Ethiopia’s economy is among the world’s most restricted economies for foreign investors, according to a new study by World Bank. In the study titled “Investing Across Borders 2010,” the Washington-based lender said that among the 87 countries covered in the survey, Ethiopia imposes foreign equity ownership restrictions on many sectors particularly in the service sector. [...]
Nile River row: Could it turn violent?
Reuters The giggles started when the seventh journalist in a row said that his question was for Egypt’s water and irrigation minister, Mohamed Nasreddin Allam. The non-Egyptian media gave him a bit of a hammering at last week’s talks in Addis Ababa for the nine countries that the Nile passes through. Allam bared his teeth [...]
Opposition MPs vacate seats
APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia bade farewell to opposition members of Parliament (MPs) who were in the parliament for the past five years as the opposition scored poorly following the 23 May national elections in the country compared to the 2005 national election. It could be recalled that, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) [...]
Ethiopian egalitartian community thrives
Nestled in Ethiopia’s rural Debub Gondar Zone exists Awra Amba, a small, utopian community in which men cook supper and religious observance is taboo. Sixty-three-year-old Zumra Nuru, a longtime promoter of gender equality and religious freedom, founded the society in the 1980s. As a child, Nuru was skeptical of the inequality he observed on a [...]
Why donors should stop aiding EPRDF
By Eskinder Nega | July 9, 2010
The U.S. considered Meles Zenawi a partner in the war on terror, and “all other issues were not merely downgraded but were doomed to irrelevance.”
Coming only six years after the Watergate calamity, Ronald Reagan was almsot literally “the man on a horseback” who rode triumphantly into Washington…
Ethiopians, Somalis fleee to South Africa
NAIROBI (Reuters) – At least 17,000 illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa leave their countries for South Africa annually, most of them transiting through Kenya, a top U.N. official said it. Tal Raviv, a regional programme officer at the U.N.’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told Reuters that conflict and poverty were forcing Ethiopians [...]
Meles expels VOA journalist
CPJ—Authorities in Ethiopia expelled an American journalist on Thursday who had been reporting near a rebel area in the east of the Horn of Africa country. Heather Murdock had been reporting with the U.S. international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) in the eastern region of Harar.
Kenyans try to stop Ethiopia power deal
By Sarah McGregor June 18 (Bloomberg) — Kenyan conservationists filed a court case against the government and Kenya Power and Lighting Ltd., arguing they’ve disregarded environmental and social concerns in deciding to buy hydroelectricity from Ethiopia. The Gibe III hydropower dam, a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.86 billion) project on the Ethiopia’s Omo River, threatens livelihoods in [...]
Election rigging at Birtukan’s backyard
By Eskinder Nega–Perhaps the crudest claim by the EPRDF in its bungled-rigged election saga this year is its “triumph” in Birtukan Mideksa’s wereda; where she was born, raised and resided until she was imprisoned in 2009. Popularly known as Ferencay Legasion, the area was first settled by two prominent nobles…
Ethiopian official gets death sentence
VOA News An Ethiopian court has issued a death sentence to a former regional official charged with murder and with supporting an Eritrean-backed terror group. The state-run Ethiopian News Agency reports that Jemua Ruphael Amen was found guilty and sentenced on Tuesday by the country’s Federal High Court. The agency cited a statement from the [...]
Ethiopian-Americans condemn sham elections
March4Freedom Ethiopian Americans held a successful demonstration across the street from the State Department in Washington and the White House on June 14, 2010 expressing their outrage at the sham national elections in Ethiopia which saw the ruling party and its allied parties seize 99.6% of all parliamentary seats in the federal parliament, and fully [...]
Ethiopia selected for maternal death
No sooner had Tibebe Samuel’s critical observation on the delusion of ‘’support’’ from Issaias Afeworki published on Ethiomedia, than the ‘’deny-all,’’ ‘’make-believe’’ tyrant’s interview with aljazeera appeared. The writer picked a critical issue and incisively articulated his perspectives against what he termed as ‘’a crazy idea of Shabya freeing Ethiopia.’’
Court rejects election appeal
By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia’s Supreme Court on Friday rejected a case brought by the country’s opposition against the ruling party’s landslide victory in elections criticised by the European Union and the United States. The ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and allies provisionally won 545 seats in the 547-member parliament [...]
Seattle communities united in grief
By Marc Ramirez | Seattle Times staff reporter From all over Seattle they’ve come, bound by an unfathomable tragedy that has shaken them to their roots. Members of the area’s East African community streamed through Seattle’s Yesler Community Center this week to grieve alongside the family of the woman and four children who perished in Saturday’s [...]