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CPJ urges Kerry to press for press freedom
The global press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Thursday wrote to US Secretary of State John Kerry, asking him to include in his discussions at the African Union (AU) Summit the issue of press freedom in Africa. Mr. Kerry is expected to attend the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as Africa [...]
Edu-corruption and Mis-education in Ethiopia
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela. For the late Meles Zenawi and his apostles (the Melesistas) in Ethiopia, the reverse is true: Ignorance is the most powerful weapon you can use to prevent change and cling to power.
Ethiopian journalists hope council ease restrictions
Addis Ababa — Several Ethiopian publications are coming together to set up a ‘press council’ with the hope of easing restrictions on the media in Ethiopia. The journalists suggested the idea of the council at a May 3 meeting held at the behest of the Ministry of Information to discuss media reforms in the country.
Ethiopia: Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–Meles Zenawi when he was alive and his apostles today (“Melesistas”) keep playing us in the Diaspora like a cheap fiddle. They make us screech, shriek, scream and shout by simply showing their mugs in our cities. How do they do it? Every now and then, the Melesistas suit up a few of their bumbling and bungling zombies from central casting and unleash them into the Ethiopian Diaspora to “sell bonds” for the “Grand Meles Dam” to be built over the Blue Nile.
Community leader shocked by bombing link
Ashenafi Abedje (VOA) WASHINGTON,DC —The leader of a Boston-based Ethiopian association says news that Robel Phillipos is being investigated in connection with the Marathon bombings came as a complete shock to the community. Binyam Tamene – executive director of the Ethiopian Community Mutual Assistance Association — said he knew Phillipos as an exemplary young man. “Robel [...]
UNESCO award-winner suffering in jail
By Marthe van der Wolf (VOA) ADDIS ABABA — The family of Reeyot Alemu, this year’s winner of the World Press Freedom Prize, says her situation in an Ethiopian prison is worsening by the day. Reeyot Alemu and Eskinder Nega are two of the best-known Ethiopian journalists imprisoned on charges of terrorism. UNESCO awarded Reeyot the [...]
US slams Ethiopia’s supreme court
AFP–The United States Thursday slammed “harsh” sentences handed down to an Ethiopian blogger and an opposition leader, voicing concerns about the “politicized prosecution” of government critics. An Ethiopian court dismissed the appeals of blogger Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage, jailed last year for terror-related offenses. Eskinder was given an 18-year sentence, while Andualem was jailed for life.
Kangaroo court upholds injustice
An Ethiopian court on Thursday dismissed the appeal of blogger Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage who were jailed last year for terror-related offences. “The sentencing is still correct so there is no reduction,” said Supreme Court judge Dagne Melaku, confirming Eskinder’s jail term of 18 years and Andualem’s life sentence.
Under darkness in the Ogaden
No matter how tightly the truth is tied down, confined and suffocated, it slowly escapes. It seeps out through cracks and openings large and small, illuminating all and revealing the grime and shame that cowers in the shadows. The arid Somali (or Ogaden) region of Ethiopia, home to some five million ethnic Somalis, has been isolated from the world since 2005
Ethiopia denies Somali withdrawal
AFP–Ethiopia denied Thursday that it was “shirking responsibility” by beginning to withdraw its troops from conflict-stricken Somalia. Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom told the UN Security Council that other countries were informed “months” ago about the withdrawal and also complained about the lack of “burden-sharing” for the foreign force in Somalia. His comments came after Prime [...]
Watching American diplomacy in Ethiopia
Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years. “We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people…
CPJ laments injustice against Wubishet
The Committee to Protect Journalists protests Ethiopian authorities’ transfer independent newspaper editor Woubshet Taye to a remote prison several hours away from his family’s home. Woubshet has been imprisoned since June 2011 on vague terrorism charges that CPJ has determined to be unsubstantiated.
The audacity of evil in Ethiopia
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, said Edmund Burke. But what happens when evil triumphs over a good young woman journalist named Reeyot Alemu in Ethiopia? Do good men and women turn a blind eye, plug their ears, turn their backs and stand in silence with pursed lips?
Reeyot Alemu: Ethiopia’s Jailed Truth Teller
She’s spent the last 669 days languishing behind the bars of a notoriously brutal prison, but Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu has not been forgotten. On Tuesday, the 32-year-old female dissident was honored with the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize. In announcing the prize, the jury hailed her “exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression.” But no amount of international awards and public outcry have succeeded in gaining her freedom—and her medical condition is reportedly deteriorating. After recently undergoing surgery for a breast tumor, she was immediately sent back to the Kality Prison with no downtime for recovery, according to reports.
TPLF bosses should face justice
One may ask why rulers commit genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing on the very people they rule. Although nothing would justify, heinous rulers always provide bizarre and incomprehensible justifications. The tyrants in Ethiopia, for example, say Amharas were evicted because they cut trees. For them cutting trees is enough reason to commit ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
Reeyot Alemu Wins 2013 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize
VENTURES AFRICA – Ethiopian journalist Reeyot Alemu has emerged the winner of the 2013 UNESCO-Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize, UNESCO confirmed today after a jury decision. According to a UNESCO statement, Ms Alemu was recommended by an independent international jury of media professionals in recognition of her “exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom [...]
One country, Ethiopia
BY Robele Ababya–I do want to express my solidarity with the entire content of the special release by G-7 dated 31 March 2013 under the title “በአማራ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ በኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ላይ እየተፈጸመ ያለው ግፍ አካል ነዉ!”(The tyranny being inflicted on the Amhara people is part of the same being done on the Ethiopian people). I have a duty as a citizen to condemn ongoing tyranny in Ethiopia in the strongest possible terms without fear or favor as long as the EPRDF regime continues with its flagrant violation of universal human rights
Ethiopian driller seeks share in oil
* Thinks Ethiopia is next in East Africa’s oil surge By Andrew Callus LONDON, April 8 (Reuters) – – Tewedros Ashenafi hopes his Ethiopian exploration outfit will become the first indigenous company to make a basin-opening discovery in sub-Saharan Africa’s 21st Century oil and gas boom. His privately-held SouthWest Energy holds 46,000 square kilometres of [...]
Land and Ethiopia’s Corruptocracy
The silence of Ethiopia’s “beautiful minds” Professor A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, the renowned Indian scientist (“Missile Man of India”) and Eleventh President of India (2002-2007) said, “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. [...]
The Dragon Eating the Eagle’s Lunch in Africa?
In June 2011, during her visit to Zambia U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pulled the alarm bell on a creeping “new colonialism” in Africa. While dismissing “China’s Model” of authoritarian state capitalism as a governance model for Africa, she took a swipe at China for its unprincipled opportunism in Africa.
Ethiopia: Graziani and the TPLF
I am writing this as a proud Ethiopian because Graziani’s promise to the Fascist dictator was thwarted by my gallant ancestors. If it was not for the bravery and sacrifice of our grandparents, to day our country will be referred to as ex Italian Colony, we will be conversing in Italian, our national dish would be spaghetti and my name will probably be Mario.
World Bank to probe links to ‘villagisation’
An independent panel has called for an investigation into a World Bank-funded project in Ethiopia following accusations from refugees that the bank is funding a programme that forced people off their land. In a report, seen by the Guardian, the inspection panel – the World Bank’s independent accountability mechanism – calls for an investigation into complaints made by refugees from the Anuak indigenous group from Gambella, western Ethiopia, in relation to the bank’s policies and procedures.
Ethiopia ‘blocks’ Al Jazeera websites
Al JAzeera Traffic to English and Arabic websites has plummeted since the network aired coverage of protests in August last year. Al Jazeera’s English and Arabic websites are reported to have been blocked in Ethiopia, raising fresh fears that the government is continuing its efforts to silence the media. Though the authorities in Addis Ababa [...]
Obama “Moonwalking” Human Rights in Africa?
Alemayehu G Mariam–The great American poet Walt Whitman said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” Will the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya define President Barack Obama in Africa or will President Barack Obama use the election of President Kenyatta to define his human rights policy in Africa?
Migration Crossroads
Catherine Weisner, We hadn’t driven more than three dusty minutes before we encountered the first group of men clustered under a scraggly tree for shade, resting from their long journey on foot from Ethiopia. Here they waited for smugglers to take them to the boats they would use to attempt crossing the Red Sea to Yemen. I expected them to be more skittish, but the staff from the International Organization of Migration (IOM) explained that they are known to migrants as a helpful, friendly, and professional organization.
Counter Extremism with Freedom in Ethiopia
The following appeared in the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs on March 11, 2013.
From Somalian anarchy to Eritrean and Sudanese tyranny and civil strife, the Horn of Africa has long been a turbulent region. A notable exception has been the nation of Ethiopia.
That might be changing. From December 15 through December 19 of last year, I was in Addis Ababa heading a delegation from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). We met with a wide range of people, from the American ambassador to Ethiopian government officials, religious leaders and nongovernmental human rights and interfaith representatives.
Ethiopian Security Forces Kill U.S. ‘Terrorist’
BY TESFA-ALEM TEKLE, Addis Ababa — Ethiopia’s security forces said Sunday that they have killed the leader of a “terror” cell in the southwestern Gambella region, which borders South Sudan. Ethiopian-born American, Omot Odol Ojulu, who was on the country’s most wanted list, is reported to have been killed in a joint operation carried out [...]
Rumors of Water War on the Nile?
Late last month, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan fired a shot across the bow from the Arab Water Council in Cairo to let the regime in Ethiopia know that his country takes a dim view of the “Grand Renaissance Dam” under “construction” on the Blue Nile (Abbay) a few miles from Sudan’s eastern border. According to Prince Khalid, “The [Grand] Renaissance dam has its capacity of flood waters reaching more than 70 billion cubic meters of water… [I]f it collapsed Khartoum will be drowned completely and the impact will even reach the Aswan Dam…”
የሕወሐት ፍጥጫ ቀጥሏል
(ከኢየሩሳሌም አርአያ) “አሁን ያለው ሕወሐት ቆዳ ነው” እነ ስብሃት “የሕወሐት ወራሾች እኛ ነን” እነ አባይና አዜብ (ከኢየሩሳሌም አርአያ) ሁለት ቦታ የተከፈለው የሕወሐት አመራር ልዩነቱን በማስፋት እየተወዛገበ መሆኑን ከመቀሌ ታማኝ ምንጮች ገለፁ። ስብሃት እና አዜብ የሚመሩት ሁለቱ ቡድን አነጋጋሪ አቋም ይዞ መውጣቱን ምንጮቹ ጠቁመዋል። በስብሃት ነጋ የሚመራው ቡድን ባስቀመጠው አቋም « መለስ ሕወሐትን ገድሎ ነው የሔደው! [...]
Indian land grabs in Ethiopia
The idea of south-south co-operation evokes a positive image of solidarity between developing countries through the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge. It’s an attractive proposition, intended to shift the international balance of power and help developing nations break away from aid dependence and achieve true emancipation from former colonial powers.
የፍርሃትና ስም ማጥፋት ፖለቲካ በኢትዮጵያ
ፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ 2011፡ የሙስና አገዛዝ፤ ፍርሃትና ሰም ማጥፋት በዲሴምበር 2011 ‹‹ኢትዮጵያ የደም ሃገር ወይም የንቅዘት (ሙስና) ሃገር›› በሚል ርእስ የኢትዮጵያን ሁለት ገጽታ በማመዛዘን አንድ ጦማር አስነብቤ ነበር፡፡ በዚያን ወቅት ትራንስፓረንሲ ኢንተርናሽናል በተባለው ተቋም ተቀምጦ የነበረው ገጽታ ያሳየው ኢትዮጵያ ለም መሬቶች በተንኮል በተጠቀለለ ስውር ደባ እየተቸበቸቡ እንደነበር ነው፡፡በዘገባው ላይ ተቋሙ ለኢትዮጵያ ያሰፈረው [...]
The law is our shield
Around two weeks ago, a few members of ECAD Paltalk room members took the initiative of donating money for the legal actions I am to take in earnest against criminal TPLF thugs that have been violating our civil rights guaranteed under U.S. laws and constitutions. In Ethiopia, TPLF agents are above the law; they are untouchable no matter what they do. Those who have killed, maimed, tortured and jailed so many innocent citizens are walking free. Some of these dangerous agents and operatives of the criminal regime come to the United States and Europe seeking refuge and political asylum under false pretense that they were being persecuted by the TPLF.
Ethiopia: The Prototype African Police State
The sights and sounds of an African police state
When Erin Burnett of CNN visited Ethiopia in July 2012, she came face-to-face with the ugly face of an African police state:
We saw what an African police state looked like when I was in Ethiopia last month… At the airport, it took an hour to clear customs – not because of lines, but because of checks and questioning. Officials tried multiple times to take us to government cars so they’d know where we went.
Ethiopia: The Politics of Fear and Smear
In December 2011, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Ethiopia: Land of Blood or Land of Corruption?” contrasting two portraits of Ethiopia. At the time, the portrait painted by Transparency International (TI) (Corruption Index) and Global Financial Integrity (GFI) showed Ethiopia as a land blighted by systemic corruption. GFI reported that “Ethiopia, which has a per-capita GDP of just US$365, lost US$11.7 billion to illicit financial outflows between 2000 and 2009.
Ethiopia’s real ambassador-at-large
By Abebe Gellaw–Ethiopia has so many “ambassadors” and “diplomats” across the globe. Unfortunately, they neither represent our country nor can proudly stand in front of the oppressed people of Ethiopia. If at all they dare to do so, they know that they will be booed, condemned and pelted with rotten eggs, if not worse. The reason why they are held in great contempt is that they are emissaries of tyranny that constantly lie and degrade themselves to please their TPLF paymasters.
Ethiopia’s leaders practising hero-worship
DURING his two decades running Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi almost single-handedly engineered its rise from lost cause to model pupil. Even his enemies admit he was both popular and competent. Often working around the clock, he could make complex policy choices and then explain them to ordinary people. He planned meticulously for everything—from road building to oppressing the opposition—except, that is, for his own demise.
Charges renewed against Ethiopian journalist
Nairobi (CPJ) The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the revival of criminal charges against Ethiopianjournalist Temesghen Desalegn today in what appears to be a politicized court hearing designed to censor one of the few critical voices left in the country. A judge in the Federal High Court in the capital, Addis Ababa, revived three charges [...]
Ethiopia: Where Do We Go (or not go) From Here?
By Prof. Al Mariam–For some time now, I have been heralding Ethiopia’s irreversible march from dictatorship to democracy. In April 2011, I wrote a commentary entitled, “The Bridge on the Road(map) to Democracy”. I suggested, We can conceive of the transition from dictatorship to democracy as a metaphorical journey on the road to progress, freedom and human enlightenment (democracy) or a regression to tyranny, subjugation and bondage (dictatorship). Societies and nations move along this road in either direction.
OI releases new land grab report
New Delhi, February 5, 2013: The Ethiopian government has committed egregious human rights abuses to make way for agricultural land investments, in direct violation of international law, said the Oakland Institute in a new briefing paper released in New Delhi today. The briefing paper, entitled ”Unheard Voices: The Human Rights Impact of Land Investments on Indigenous Communities in [...]
Indian investors are forcing Ethiopians off their land
Thousands of Ethiopians are being relocated or have already fled as their land is sold off to foreign investors without their consent
Ethiopia’s leasing of 600,000 hectares (1.5 acres) of prime farmland to Indian companies has led to intimidation, repression, detentions, rapes, beatings, environmental destruction, and the imprisonment of journalists and political objectors, according to a new report.
ሽብርና ፍርሃት ለመፍጠር የሞከረው የህወሃት ጀሌ ተጋለጠ
(አዲስ ቮይስ) በጋዜጠኛ አበበ ገላው እና በቤተሰቡ ላይ ህገወጥ በሆነ መንገድ በተከታታይ ስልክ በመደወል ሽብርና ፍርሃት ለመፍጠር የሞከረው ግለሰብ ማንነት ተጋለጠ። ጋዜጠኛ አበበ ገላው የግለሰቡን ማንነት ለማጣራት ለበርካታ ሳምንታት ጥንቃቄ የተሞላበት ክትትልና ምርመራ መደረጉን እና ድምጹም ልምድ ባላቸው የፎረንሲክ ኤክስፐርቶች የተመረመረ መሆኑን ገልጾ በዚሁ መሰረት ይህን ህገወጥ የሆነ ድርጊት ሲፈጽም የነበረው ግለሰብ ሙሉጌታ ካህሳይ የተባለ [...]
Mulugeta Kahsay: Another TPLF terrorist exposed
In his book “Death Threats and Violence: New Research and Clinical Perspectives” (2008), violence expert Dr. Stephen J. Morewitz tries to unravel the relationships between death threats, violence and the extremists who employ violence to terrorize others. According to Morewitz, “There are many definitions of terrorism, but they all pretty much agree that it is a political tactic that involves the use of threats of violence, such as death threats or actual violence, often against civilians, to frighten members of the public or target group into accepting certain political demands.”
Ethiopia: Rise of the Chee-Hippo Generation
In my first weekly commentary of the new year, I “proclaimed” 2013 “Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation” (young people). I also promised to reach, teach and preach to Ethiopia’s youth this year and exhorted members of the Ethiopian intellectual class (particularly the privileged “professorati”) to do the same.
Ethiopian activist awarded Queen’s Medal
A new commemorative medal was created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal is a tangible way for Canada to honor Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same [...]
Stallions silence Walya Antelopes
By David Kwalimwa Burkina Faso assumed pole position in Group C at the ongoing 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after a convincing 4-0 win over Ethiopia in an entertaining contest played on Friday. Two goals either side of the break from Alaine Traore, a third from Yusuf Kone ten minutes to full time and Jonathan Pitroipa’s [...]
Ethiopia dominate Dubai Marathon
Ethiopia swept the board at the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon amid uncharacteristically foggy conditions on Friday with a complete lockout of the podium positions in both the men’s and women’s marathon races.
Debutant Lelisa Desisa sprung a real surprise in the men’s event as he pulled away from a five-strong leading pack in the final kilometre to emerge victorious with a winning time of 2:04:45s.
Ethiopia aim high ahead of Burkina Faso match
After its first match in the African Cup of Nations in 31 years, Ethiopia has revised its ambitions from merely gathering experience to reaching the final.
The change in mindset happened after a 10-man Ethiopia came from behind to draw with defending champion Zambia 1-1 on Monday. Ethiopia coach Sewnet Bishaw previously said his team was in South Africa mainly to learn, but his optimism has grown after a performance that surpassed expectations.
Ethiopia steal soccer show
By Jonty Mark The stadium was losing its mind, a yellow explosion smothering the country. The team in yellow, with only 10 men, were holding the African champions, tearing them apart at times, and the excitement was palpable. Yet this was not the golden sheen of Bafana Bafana, hosts of this Africa Cup of Nations, [...]
CAF Warns Ethiopia for Television “Piracy”
NEW BUSINESS ETHIOPIA REPORTER CAF (the Confederation of African Football) warns the state monopoly TV station, Ethiopia Radio and Television Agency (ERTA) for transmitting live the African football match between national teams of Ethiopia and Zambia last night (January 21, 2013). The Ethiopian TV, which was displaying advertisement of several sponsors of the game in [...]
FBI aware of TPLF’s terrorist activities: Genocide Watch
Genocide Watch, the Global coalition to end genocide and mass atrocities, says that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is well aware of the fact that the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) is a terrorist organization that the United States should label as such. In an exclusive interview with ESAT, President of Genocide Watch, Prof. Gregory Stanton, said any specific threats from TPLF agents and operatives in the United States should be reported to the FBI right away. “The FBI has got the TPLF already in its sights. It knows very well that the TPLF is a terrorist organization,” he said.
Adane saves Ethiopia, frustrates Zambia
(The Guardian) Zambia began the defence of their Africa Cup of Nations title on Monday with a frustrating 1-1 draw against Ethiopia, who were reduced to 10 men in the first half of their opening Group C match. The goalkeeper Jemal Tassew’s flying chest-high kick on Zambian midfielder Chisamba Lungu caused an 11-minute delay in the eventful [...]
Eritrean soldiers attempt failed coup
More than 100 dissident soldiers stormed the Ministry of Information in the small East African nation of Eritrea on Monday and read a statement on state TV saying the country’s 1997 constitution would be put into force, two Eritrea experts said.
The soldiers held all of the ministry workers — including the daughter of the president — in a single room, said Leonard Vincent, author of the book “The Eritreans” and co-founder of a Paris-based Eritrean radio station.
Ethiopia: The Irresponsibility of the Privileged?
By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam–Recently, Naom Chomsky, MIT Professor of Linguistics and arguably America’s foremost public intellectual, gave an interview to Al Jazeera on the social (ir)responsibility of American academics and intellectuals. Chomsky, 84, has been raising hell for over four decades, getting into the faces of the powerful and mighty and whipping them with the truth. He recently excoriated President Obama as lacking a “moral center” for using drone warfare to “run a global assassination campaign”. Chomsky has been called a “left winger”, a “radical activist” and even a “communist”
Henok Semaegzer: Spin doctor or reporter?
There is probably no reporter in VOA Amharic service’s history, save Mimi Sibhatu, whose dubious and deliberately manipulative reporting skills has raised eyebrows and controversies as much as those of Henok Semaegzer Fente. Some of Ethiopia’s well-known dissidents and rights defenders such as Tamagn Beyene, Obang Metho, Dr. BerhanuNega, Abebe Belew, Neamin Zeleke and Abebe Gellaw, among others, have complained at various times on his dubious reports that are mostly borderline misrepresentation and over-edited or censored broadcasts that reflect a burning desire to do spin on sensitive political issues.
Fighting the virus Meles left behind
This hideous foiled plot to conduct the savage act of assassination in the 21st century on the icon human rights activist and renowned journalist Abebe Gellaw, must be roundly condemned by all freedom loving humanity on our globe. The foiled plot is an act of terrorism designed to take place in the United States…
FBI foils assassination plot against Ethiopian journalist
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has foiled a plot to shoot and kill journalist Abebe Gellaw in Boston, Massachusetts.
The plot was allegedly orchestrated by a man named Guesh Abera, a Boston resident and parking lot attendant in his mid-thirties. Guesh and his three accomplices, who are suspected of being spies and fanatic members of the tyrannical regime in Ethiopia, were determined to “eliminate” the journalist and press freedom activist, sources say.
Hailemariam marks 100 days in office
On 21 September 2012 Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in as Ethiopia’s prime minister. He was regarded as a compromise candidate and many Ethiopians expected more political freedom. 100 days on, hope is fading. A few days before Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, was sworn in, the Ethiopian government pardoned 2,000 political prisoners. Desalegn’s inauguration coincided with the Orthodox New Year which falls in September.
Born to run: Ethiopia’s golden girl Dibaba
It could be the spartan living environment, or perhaps growing up in the thin air nearly 3,000 meters above sea level — or maybe it’s the influence of a legendary local coach. Whatever its secret, a remote mountain town in Ethiopia has produced a string of world-beating distance runners. Three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba is the current cream of a crop that has helped put Bekoji on the map. Like many from her area, she was clearly born to run.
Happy New Year
Last year was one of the most memorable years in our history. We have witnessed so many dramatic events and changes including the downfall of dictator Meles Zenawi. The global search for the disappeared tyrant ended when he was officially declared dead by the regime. The extended funeral and the glorification campaign to restore the tattered image of the brutal dictator only revealed the crazed nature of the TPLF.
Ethiopian court finds 10 guilty of terror charges
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ten men were found guilty Tuesday by an Ethiopian court of plotting terror attacks with Islamist extremist rebels from neighboring Somalia. Judge Bahiru Darecha said the group was making plans and getting supplies to attack political and economic targets in Ethiopia. Eleven men were originally charged with the terror-related crimes [...]
G7 launches armed wing (PR)
For Immediate Release London, United Kingdom, December 20, 2012 Ginbot7 Popular Force (GPF) makes official announcement on its formation and calls on all freedom loving Ethiopians to join the resistance against tyranny. Ginbot7 Popular Force (GPF) announces its official formation and calls on the oppressed people of Ethiopia to join the resistance and rise up in arms [...]
Ethiopia: 4 journalists win free speech prize
(New York) – Four Ethiopian journalists have received the prestigious Hellman/Hammett award for 2012 in recognition of their efforts to promote free expression in Ethiopia, one of the world’s most restricted media environments. Eskinder Nega Fenta, an independent journalist and blogger; Reeyot Alemu Gobebo of the disbanded weekly newspaper Feteh; Woubshet Taye Abebe of the now-closed weekly newspaper Awramba Times…
MEPs demand release of Eskidender Nega
Freedom Now–Sixteen members of the European parliament have called on Ethiopia’s prime minster, Hailemariam Desalegn, to free the jailed journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega. He was arrested in 2011 and sentenced in July this year to 18 years in prison under the country’s broad anti-terrorism proclamation. An appeal hearing is scheduled for tomorrow (19 December). He [...]
Muslim activists deny terror charges
A group of more than two dozen Ethiopian Muslims pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of terrorism.
Federal prosecutors are accusing the group, which includes prominent clerics and journalists, with terrorism and attempts to create an Islamic state that would undermine the country’s secular constitution. Among the 28 pleading not guilty was the wife of a former senior Cabinet minister who was fired last month after publicly defending her.
ሱዛን ራይስና የአፍሪካ ሰለስተ እርኩሳን
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ የሰለስተ እርኩሳን እመቤት ሱዛን ራይስ፤የወቅቱ በተባበሩት መንግስታት የዩ ኤስ አሜሪካ አምባሳደር ከአፍሪካ አታላይ፤ጮሌ፤ስግብግብ ራስ ወዳድ ዲክታተሮች ጋር ላለፉት አሰርት ዓመታት ስታሽቃብጥና አሸሸ ገዳሜ ስትል ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ ያለፈ ውግዘታዊ አስተያየት በተቺዎችች ተሰንዝሮባታል:: በአፍሪካ የራይስ አፍቃሪ መሪዎችም ‹‹ሰለስተ እርኩሳን › ናቸው: — የሩዋንዳው ፓውል ካጋሚ፤ የዩጋንዳው ዩዌሪ ሙሳቪኒ፤ እና በቅርቡ ወደማይቀረው [...]
Susan Rice and Africa’s Unholy Trinity
By Prof. Al Mariam–Susan Rice, the current U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., has been waltzing (or should I say do-se-do-ing) with Africa’s slyest, slickest and meanest dictators for nearly two decades. More cynical commentators have said she has been in bed with them, as it were. No doubt, international politics does make for strange bedfellows.
Hailemariam wants to run to Asmara
Al Jazeera–The Horn of Africa is one of the most important strategic locations in the world. Control the area, and you control the Red Sea, critical for global trade connecting Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. But border disputes between regional arch-rivals Eritrea and Ethiopia – which have been running ever since Eritrea broke free from Ethiopia in 1991 – threaten the stability of the area.
Ethiopians, Tibetans thrive in thin air
Agencies/ AIN–Researchers claim to have pinpointed genetic changes that allow some Ethiopians to live and work more than a mile and a half above sea level without getting altitude sickness. According to the researchers, the specific genes differ from those reported previously for high-altitude Tibetans, even though both groups cope with low-oxygen in similar physiological [...]
የሃይማኖት ነጻነት ጥብቅና በኢትዮጵያ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ለውድቀት የተዳረገው የሃይማኖት ነጻነት በኢትዮጵያ በዚህ ባለፈው ሰኔ ወር ላይ ‹‹ አንድነት ለሃይማኖት›› በሚል ጽሁፍ በኢትዮጵያ ስለሚካሄደው የሃይማኖት ነጻነት ገፈፋ ያለኝን ስጋት ገልጬ ነበር፡፡ በዚህም ሳቢያ ኢትዮጵያ ዉስጥ አዲሱ የሰብአዊ መብት መጣስ አካሄድ በሃይማኖት ነጻነት ላይ ማነጣጠሩን አሳስቤያለሁ፡፡ ስጋቴን ትንሽ ቀለል ያረገልኝ ስርአት የተላበሱት የክርስቲያኑና የሙስሊሙ የሃይሞነት መሪዎች በሃይማኖት [...]
In Defense of Religious Freedom in Ethiopia
In a weekly column entitled “Unity in Divinity” this past June, I expressed grave concern over official encroachments on religious freedom in Ethiopia. I lamented the fact that religious freedom was becoming a new focal target of official human rights violations.
EPRDF embroiled in Zenawi’s legacy
Azeb Mesfin reportedly revealed the existence of a project document prepared by her late husband Zenawi to transform Tigray into an industrial center of the tribal-based Federation of Ethiopia. This rather surprising revelation and its timing has been a hot topic of debate with views converging on the question of what her husband’s vision was for the rest of the balkanized regions of Ethiopia.
Notwithstanding my record of advocacy for the development of Tigray, let me infer what traitor Zenawi had in mind for the rest of Ethiopia. In view of his intense hatred for the Amharas, Zenawi’s vision for the Amhara regional state could only be to relegate it to the role of supplying raw materials to the his envisioned industrial state of Tigray; the fate of Oromia region cannot be different for the strategy of the tyrant has all along been to emulate Mussolini’s policy to make the Amhara and Oromo major ethnic groups politically extinct – reduced to the level of consumers and providers of cheap labor as slaves and suppliers of their regions abundant natural resources as directed by their ruling masters. Prime Minister Desalegn Hailemariam, who has perhaps under duress allowed erosion of his power by unconstitutionally appointing two more Deputy Prime Ministers, has to inform the SEPDM Council about his predecessor’s ‘vision’ for the southern region. One can only have sympathy for the humiliated PM.
Nightmarish issues for the EPRDF to resolve
The late tyrant Zenawi suddenly died mysteriously; the cause of his death has not been disclosed to date. His atrocious legacy has submerged his EPRDF Party in deep crisis. Ethiopia is on the threshold of catastrophe due to lack of an all-inclusive effective government amid brewing regional instability the Horn of Africa and souring relations with Sudan and Egypt over the Blue Nile River.
The rudderless EPRDF in disarray at this cri
Three deputy prime ministers appointed
The second and third deputies are Muktar Kedir, a former adviser to the prime minister and leading member of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization, and Information Technology Minister Debretsion Gebremichael, who is also deputy chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Hailemariam told lawmakers today in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia: Meles rules from beyond the grave
By RENÉ LEFORT
The trade-off offered by authoritarianism to its client-constituents is security and high growth rates. After Meles challenges may force change, or build the case domestically for a new strong man.
Meles Zenawi, the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, has been dead for around three months. But the “Melesmania” personality cult, though discreet in his lifetime, shows no sign of fading. From giant portraits in the streets to stickers on the windscreens of almost any vehicle, a smiling Meles is still everywhere.
The Tall Tale of Susan Rice
Prof. Al Mariam–On September 2, 2012, Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., delivered a nauseatingly sentimental oration at the funeral of Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi. She called Meles “selfless and tireless” and “totally dedicated to his work and family.” She said he was “tough, unsentimental and sometimes unyielding. And, of course, he had little patience for fools, or idiots, as he liked to call them.” The “fools” and “idiots” that Rice caricatured with rhetorical gusto and flair are Ethiopia’s independent journalists…
Ethiopia: I Remember!
On June 6-8 and November 1-4, 2005, following the Ethiopian parliamentary elections in May of that year, hundreds of citizens who protested the theft of that election were killed or seriously wounded by police and security personnel under the exclusive command and control of the late Meles Zenawi. An official Inquiry Commission established jointly by Meles Zenawi and the Ethiopian parliament documented that 193 unarmed men, women and children demonstrating in the streets and scores of other detainees held in a high security prison were intentionally shot and killed by police and security officials. An additional 763 were wounded.
Fund in memory of Dr. Meseret Checkol
It is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of our dear friend Dr. Meseret Checkol Reta in Minneapolis hospital on Saturday morning November 17th. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and was receiving treatment. Dr. Meseret was a kind and dedicated person always so helpful to everyone. His [...]
High time to support Ethiopian Muslims
By Abebe Gellaw
For the last two decades, nonviolent struggle, or civil resistance, appeared to be highly misunderstood and confused in Ethiopia. The resultant effect of this confusion is that so many opportune moments to build a movement for change have been wasted. In fact, a number of leaders failed to provide the necessary leadership to mobilize the oppressed people of Ethiopia to confront their oppressors. Though Ethiopian Muslims are waging their struggle in a religious context, they are showing us that nonviolent struggle is not “impossible” but a “force more powerful” to crack, stress out and eventually dismantle the tyrannical TPLF regime.
Reform in China vs crisis within EPRDF
By Robele Ababya The 18th Congress of Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in Beijing with a keynote speech by its General Secretary (GS) Hu Jintao on 07 November 2012. The GS articulated the stunning achievement in economic growth in the last decade. He vowed continuation of the “construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics “, [...]
Ethiopian maid tortured to death
A S, an Emirati, said her mother abused the Ethiopian maid daily after she moved in during Ramadan. ABU DHABI—A woman tortured her maid to death by tying her up with electrical wire and pouring boiling water over her, a court was told yesterday. She said she was whipped with wire and had pepper rubbed in [...]
ILO names Ethiopia serious violator of labor rights
GENEVA (ILO News) – The ILO has named Argentina, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Fiji and Peru – out of alist of 32 countries examined – as the most serious and urgent cases regarding freedom of association. The ILO Committee on Freedom of Association examined cases concerning employers’ and trade unions’ rights to organize, collective bargaining and social dialogue.
U.S. body accusing Ethiopia of abusing religious freedom
(Reuters) – A U.S. panel on religious freedom accused the Ethiopian government of trying to tighten control of its Muslim minority amid mass protests, saying it is risking greater destabilization of the Horn of Africa region. Ethiopia, which has long been seen by the West as a bulwark against Muslim rebels in neighboring Somalia, says [...]
Obama triumph reignites hope for Africa
Kenyans in Barack Obama’s ancestral homeland stayed up all night and danced with joy on Wednesday as America’s first black president won a second term in the White House, raising the prospects of a fresh start for his ties with Africa. Many Africans feel Obama has not responded to their huge enthusiasm when he won the presidency four years ago with an increased U.S. commitment to the world’s poorest continent during his first term.
ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያዊያን አሜሪካውያን በ2012 ምርጫ መሳተፍ ይገባቸዋል
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ጉዳዩ የምርጫ ብቻ አይደለም እኮ ባለፈው ሴብቴምበር ስለ ፕሬዜዳንት ባራክ ኦባማ ድጋሚ መመረጥ ድጋፌን ገልጬ ነበር፡፡ ለታዳሚዎቼ እንዳስነበብኩት በ2008 ምርጫ ተወዳዳሪ ባራክ ኦባማን ደግፌ እንደነበርና ከምርጫው በኋላ ግን በታየው በተለይም ኢትዮጵያንና አፍሪካን በተመለከተ ስለተካሄደው አስተዳደራዊ ፖሊሲ ግን በጣሙን ቅሬታ አድሮብኛል፡፡ እንደትጠቀስኩት:- ፕሬዜዳንት ኦባማ በአፍሪካ ውስጥ ተግባራዊ አደርጋለሁ ያሉትን መልካም [...]
Ethiopian Americans Gotta Vote in 2012!
In September, I expressed my support for President Barack Obama’s re-election. I told my readers that I enthusiastically supported candidate Obama in 2008 but was disappointed by his Administration’s policy in Ethiopia and Africa following his election: Did President Obama deliver on the promises he made for Africa to promote good governance, democracy and human rights? Did he deliver on human rights in Ethiopia? No. Are Ethiopian Americans disappointed over the unfulfilled promises President Obama made in Accra, Ghana in 2009 and his Administration’s support for a dictatorship in Ethiopia?
የኢትዮጵያዋ፡ ርእዮት ‹‹የጥንካሬዬ ዋጋ››
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ስለስልጣን ብልግና አለያም ስለ ስልጣንን በማንአለብኘነት አለ አግባብ ስለ ከመጠቀም ከመናገር ይበልጥ አስቸጋሪ የሆኑ bezu ነገሮች yelum፡፡ ለ31 ዓመቷ ወጣት ኢትዮጵያዊት አይበገሬ ርዕዮት ዓለሙ ግን፤ የመጻፍ ነጻነት፤ የመናገር ነጻነት፤ ሃሳብን በነጻ የማንሸራሸር ነጻነትን ድምጻቸው በመሳርያና በስለላ መዋቅር ለታፈነባቸው ድምጽ ከመሆን ምንም አይነት ጋሬጣ ቢደረደር ሊያደናቅፋት ጨርሶ አይችልም፡፡ አሁንም ቢሆን [...]
Junedin Sado’s wife charged with terrorism
The Hindustan– The wife of a senior Ethiopian politician was on Monday charged with funnelling money from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia to Islamist terror groups, at a hearing at the Ethiopian Federal High Court, on Monday. Habiba Mohammed, wife of former Minister for the Civil Service Junedin Sado, was one of 29 Muslim activists [...]
Ethiopia closes 10 NGOs, warns hundreds
October 27, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia’s Charities and Societies Agency (CSoA), announced Saturday that it has shut down 10 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) under the county’s new civil society and charity law. CSoA decided to revoke the licenses of the organizations due to alleged misconduct and violation to the law of charities and society’s proclamation, [...]
Prominent Muslims charged with terrorism
ADDIS ABABA — Twenty-nine Ethiopian Muslims were charged Monday with plotting acts of “terrorism”, the majority arrested after protests accusing the government of interference in religious affairs. According to court documents, the group is accused of “intending to advance a political, religious or ideological cause” by force and the “planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt [...]
Ethiopia’s Reeyot: “The Price for My Courage”
There are few things more difficult or dangerous than speaking truth to abusers of power. But for Reeyot Alemu, the 31 year-old young Ethiopian heroine of press freedom, no price is high enough to keep her from being “the voice of the voiceless”. She will speak truth to power even when she is muzzled and gagged and in prison: “I knew that I would pay the price for my courage and I was ready to accept that price.”
South Sudan plans Ethio-Erirean mediation
Newly independent South Sudan plans to help resolve the long-running border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, a senior official said on Wednesday. South Sudan’s minister for cabinet affairs, Deng Alor, said Addis Ababa and Asmara had given the green light for mediation talks on the border, which could start as early as November.
Peace talks with ONLF fails
October 19, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) – Peace talks between the Ethiopian government and with a faction of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) ended on Wednesday without a breakthrough. The Ethiopian delegation led by the Defence Minister, Siraj Fegessa and ONLF’s led by Mohamed Omar Osman held the second round of peace talks from 15-17th [...]
Ethiopian Muslims Continue Protests
By S Ahmed A couple of days after Ethiopia’ new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn voiced his government’s stubborn stance towards the legitimate demands of the country’s Muslims, the faithful continued their nationwide protests against government interference in religious affairs. The mosque-based protest was staged on Friday, October 19, at Anwar and Nur mosques, two major [...]
መሬት ዘረፋ ኢትዮጵያዊያኖችን በ‹‹ዓለም የረሃብ ቀን›› ወቅት ለችጋር እያጋለጠ ነው
(ሰርቫይቫለ ኢንተርናሽናል የሰጠዉን መግለጫ በግል የተተሮገመ) ልጁ በታችኛው ኦሞ ወንዝ ጠርዝ ላይ በኢትዮጵያ በታችኛው ኦሞ ሸለቆ በውጭ አገር ባለሃብቶች የሚካሄደው የመሬት ዘረፋና ሽሚያ ተወላጆቹን እያፈናቀለ እና መሬታቸውን እንዳያርሱ እንቅፋት እየሆነ በርካታዎችንም በችጋር እያመሰ ‹‹ሞታቸውን እንዲጠብቁ›› እያደረገ ነው፡፡ በኦክቶበር 16 የ “ዓለም የምግብ ቀን”ን በማክበርና ከድህነት በስተጀርባ ያለውን ችጋር በሕዝብ ሕሊና ውስጥ ለማስረጽ ደፋ ቀና በሚባልበት [...]
ኢትዮጵያ፡- ከረጂም ርቀት ሯጮቻችን የምንማረው
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ ኢትዮጵያ በመልካም ስሟም፤በአስከፊ ገጽታዋም ትታወቃለች:: ኢትዮጵያ በመልካም እንግዳ ተቀባይነቷና አስተናጋጅነቷ፤በሕዝቦቿ መልካም ባሕሪ፤ በመልክአ ምድሯ ውበት፤እና በግሩሙ ቡናዋና በማይደፈሩት ጅጋኖች ረጂም ርቀት ሯጮቿ ትታወቃለች፡፡ ተወዳዳሪ በሌለው የሰብአዊ መብት ጥሰት፤የፕሬስ ማፈኛ ተቋሟም፤በአፍሪካ ከፍተኛ ቁጥር ያላቸው የፖለቲካ እስረኞች የሚገኙባት ሃገርም ሆና ኢትዮጵያ ትታወቃለች፡፡ በሚያሳዝን ሁኔታ ችጋር (ኤክስፐርቶቹ እንደሚሉት፤ “ሥር የሰደደ የማይነቀል የምግብ [...]
Cape Verde, Ethiopia shake up Africa soccer
(CNN) — Cape Verde and Ethiopia showed over the weekend that David remains very capable of dealing Goliath a knockout blow in international football as both nations advanced to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (ACN). Cameroon missed out on a second successive Cup of Nations tournament after a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Cape Verde, [...]
Papers appeal for lifting of ban
Two weekly newspapers that have been critical of Ethiopia’s ruling party have stopped publication because of government obstruction, the papers’ publishers said Monday. The publishers are appealing to the country’s newly appointed Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to intervene.
IMWF honors Reeyot Alemu
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Each year the International Women Media Foundation (IWMF) honors women journalists who have shown extraordinary strength of character and integrity while reporting the news under dangerous or difficult circumstances. Reeyot Alemu, 31, an Ethiopian columnist currently imprisoned on charges of terrorism after writing critiques of her country’s government; Asmaa al-Ghoul, 30, a Palestinian [...]
Ethiopian Muslims show yellow card
Several thousand Ethiopian Muslims protested in the capital, Addis Ababa, against what they say is government interference in the election of Islamic council leaders, a participant said.
An election for the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council is scheduled to be held on Oct. 7, for the first time in 12 years. SomeMuslims will boycott the elections.
Dinaw named MacArthur Fellow
By Carolyn Kellogg (LA Times)On Monday, news of who would be named the 2012 MacArthur Fellows leaked out early in reports by the Associated Press and elsewhere. Two writers are among the 23 artists, scientists and thinkers on the list: Junot Diaz and Dinaw Mengestu. Diaz is the author of, most recently, the short story [...]
Ethiopia: Business as usual
By Ben Rawlence (Human Rights Watch) Despite Meles’ passing, Ethiopia is continuing to conduct repressive policies, and international donors are continuing to ignore them. Amid the tributes to Ethiopia’s recently departed prime minister was much twittering (and tweeting) about ‘stability’ and the ‘transition’, especially from Ethiopia’s foreign donors. There is considerable concern that without Meles [...]
የኢትዮጵያ ተቃዋሚ ፖለቲካ የደሞክራሲ ጮራ ሰትወጣ
ከፕሮፌሰር ዓለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም ከነጻነት ለሃገሬ በድጋሚ እውነት፤ሃይልን ለተነፈጉ ላለፉት በርካታ ዓመታት ስለሥልጣን ተጠቃሚዎች ዕውነትን ስናገር ነበር፡፡ የጦማሬ ገጼ መግቢያ መስመሩ ‹‹ለሰብአዊ መብት ተሟገት፡፡ ስለሥልጣን ተጠቃሚዎች እውነትን መስክር›› ነው የሚለው፡፡ ይህ ደሞ ልዩ ትርጉም ያለው፤ ጠንካራ ሞራልና ስልጣናቸውን መከታ በማድረግ አላግባብ የሚጠቀሙበትን፤ ከመጠን በላይ ለሚተማመኑበት ኢሰብአዊ ድርጊት ማስገንዘቢያ የሆነ ስንኝ ነው፡፡ ለባለስልጣናት ነን ባዮች እውነትን [...]
New Ethiopia PM says policy remains same
By Peter Heinlein NEW YORK (VOA)— Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has pledged to maintain the controversial policies of his predecessor, Meles Zenawi, who died last month. The Ethiopian leader outlined his views on foreign and domestic issues in an interview with VOA’s Peter Heinlein in New York. In a 30-minute conversation, Prime Minister Hailemariam [...]
Hailemariam Desalegn parroting dead tyrant
By Abebe Gellaw–Hailemariam Desalegn’s recent interview with Peter Heinlein of VOA confirms that his rise to the helm of power can be largely attributed to his opportunistic imitation of how the late dictator talked and walked as well as his commitment to serving TPLF bigwigs that control him as their Trojan horse. Hailemariam called political prisoners such as famed journalist Enskinder Nega and Andualem Aragie convicted “terrorists”.
Egypt denies plans to attack Nile dam
An Egyptian minister has denied media reports that Egypt has reached an agreement with Sudan to build an airbase on its territory as a launch pad for potential attacks on Ethiopian dams.
The rumour is “designed to disturb Egyptian-Ethiopian relations,” Minister of Military Production Reda Hafez asserted on Monday.
Jailed journalists, dissident property confiscated
African Report The Ethiopian Federal High Court has ordered the property of a jailed Ethiopian journalist and opposition party leader to be confiscated. The decision to confiscate Eskinder Nega’s property, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Justice, comes after a request made by federal prosecutors. However, the courts ordered that a villa house registered under [...]
Human rights should be a priority
NY Times Daniel Bekele is the executive director of the Africa division of Human Rights Watch. He was jailed for two years in Ethiopia because of his activism during the 2005 parliamentary elections. I worked to promote human rights in my native Ethiopia. I learned early that raising economic indicators without respecting civil and political [...]
Seye and his politics
By Yilma Bekele Mr. Charles Krauthammer is an American syndicated columnist, political commentator and is considered a highly influential conservative voice. He is critical of President Obama’s policies and supports the election of Mr. Romney to be President. As a tradition if a candidate for the presidency does not have a thick resume when it [...]
Hailemariam swears in as new frontman
Hailemariam Dasalegn swore in on Friday during an extraordinary session of the EPRDF/TPLF dominated parliament. In his first address to the nation as Prime Minister, he heaped praise on the former dictator and promised that his “vision” will continue unadulterated. Hailemariam gave no hint to the regime’s intent on starting a process of national reconciliation, respect for the constitution and any goodwill gesture such as releasing political prisoners.
Hailemariam to be sworn in on Friday
(AFP) Hailemariam Desalegn, who was appointed Ethiopia’s acting prime minister on the death of long-time ruler Meles Zenawi last month, will be formally sworn into office on Friday, officials said Wednesday. “The party council felt that an extraordinary session should be held on Friday… the two officials, the two chairs who have been appointed, will be sworn in,” said government spokesman Shimeles Kemal, referring to Hailemariam and his deputy.
Ethiopia Finally Has a New Prime Minister?
It seems Ethiopia finally has a new prime minister. Two days ago, the leaders of the ruling EPDRF party approved Hailemariam Desalegn, the current deputy prime minister [DPM], to replace the late Meles Zenawi as party chief and prime minister. But Hailemariam will not be sworn in until early October according to Bereket Simon. No explanation was given for the two-week delay.
EPRDF elects leaders, future PM
Ethiopia’s ruling party on Saturday named as its leader acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who took over after the death last month of longtime leader Meles Zenawi, an official said at the end of a congress of party bosses. As chairman of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, Hailemariam, 47, will almost certainly be confirmed as the country’s prime minister in an upcoming official ceremony.
Swedish journalists condemn TPLF trial
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Back home after being imprisoned in Ethiopia for more than a year, two Swedish journalists on Friday dismissed their trial on terror charges as a “sham,” saying they accepted 11-year prison terms to improve their chances of being released. Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson also said in a news conference that their [...]
CPJ calls on release of all journalists in jails
Nairobi, September 11, 2012 (CPJ) The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Ethiopian government to set free six journalists in prison for their work, a day after Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were pardoned and released from Kality Prison in the capital Addis Ababa. Persson, a photojournalist, and Schibbye, a reporter, [...]
Ethiopia ruling party to choose Meles successor
Ethiopia’s ruling coalition will hold a two-day governing council meeting from Friday to choose a leader to succeedformer prime minister Meles Zenawi, who died last month, it said.
“The council assigns the chairperson of the organisation that replaces our great leader, who departed from us suddenly,” said an online statement Thursday by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
Happy New Year for the New Ethiopia
The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited as saying: “The only thing that is constant is change.” This simple but profoundstatement is accepted as a universal truth. Those who have seriously grasped the meaning of life are always ready for change and challenge.
Ethiopia faces dangers and opportunites
Nibret Gelese spent years saving up to move from his home town Mekele, in the north of Ethiopia, and make a newlife in Addis Ababa.“Everyone said it was the place to be, the place to get rich,” he tells TIME shutting the rusty door to his small phone shop. “Now I’m not sure what to expect, everyone is pretty scared about what might happen without Meles.”
EPRDF opts for contest over PM’s position
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Afriquejet) - Ethiopia’s substantive Prime Minister will be chosen at a full ruling party council meeting, to be attended by 180 delegates after the country’s New Year, the office of the acting Prime Minister said in a statement Thursday. Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Party (EPRDF) top political committee met for two days after [...]
Ethiopians bury former ruler
AFP–Tens of thousands of Ethiopians mourned Sunday the late strongman Meles Zenawi, in the first state funeral staged for a leader of the Horn of Africa nation in more than 80 years. Followed by giant crowds, Meles’ flag-draped coffin slowly processed through the capital from the National Palace to the vast Meskel Square, his family dressed in black…
A Farewell to Meles Zenawi
For over two hundred seventy five weeks, without missing a single week, I have written long expository commentaries on the deeds and misdeeds of the man who has been at the helm of power in Ethiopia for over two decades. Meles Zenawi has now passed on. The cause of his death remains a closely guarded state secret. There is little I can say about what Meles has done or not done in death that I have not said in life. But his death saddens me, because as John Donne said, “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind. Death comes equally to us all, and makes us all equal when it comes.”
Feteh editor jailed during trial
New York (CPJ) Ethiopian authorities must immediately release Temesghen Desalegn, editor of the leading weekly Feteh, who was ordered jailed today pending his trial on defamation, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The High Court judge deemed Temesghen a flight risk during his trial, which resumes on September 3, according to local journalists. Police [...]
Ethiopia after Meles (ICG)
ICG–The death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who had not been seen in public for several months, was announced on 20 August 2012 by Ethiopian state television. The passing of the man who has been Ethiopia’s epicentre for 21 years will have profound national and regional consequences. Meles engineered one-party rule in effect for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and his Tigrayan inner circle
US ally, Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi dies
(AP) — Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s long-time ruler and a major U.S. counter-terrorism ally who is credited witheconomic gains but blamed for human rights abuses, died of an undisclosed illness after not being seen in his East African country for weeks, Ethiopian authorities said Tuesday. He was 57.
Austere Meles divided Ethiopians
ADDIS ABABA, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Meles Zenawi had just started speaking during a G8 summit in Washington last May when a heckler shouted out: “You are a dictator. You have committed crimes against humanity.” At an event that underlined the Ethiopian prime minister’s standing as a friend of the West and economic reformer, the [...]
Meles leaves mixed legacy (VOA)
(VOA) Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died at the age of 57 after months of speculation about his health. State television announced his death Tuesday, saying he had been recovering overseas. Meles leaves a mixed legacy after more than 20 years in power, having guided rapid development with one hand, while silencing all forms [...]
Hailemariam to succeed Zenawi
ADDIS ABABA (AFP)— Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will take over interim power following the death of leader Meles Zenawi, the government spokesman told reporters Tuesday. “According to the Ethiopian constitution the deputy prime minister will have to go to parliament and take the oath, and the government is organising the parliament to be [...]
Release all political prisoners
Release political prisoners, repeal restrictive laws, reform legislation Human Rights Watch (Nairobi) – Ethiopia [4]’s new leadership should commit to fundamental human rights reforms in the wake of the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. Meles’s death was announced by the Ethiopian state media on August 21, 2012. Ethiopia’s international partners should call on the [...]
Meles Zenawi is dead: ETV
ETV has declared that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is dead at the age of 57. The Ethiopian government had denied the death of Meles blaming ESAT and other sources for spreading false propaganda. Meles Zenawi came to power in 1991 as leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Despite claiming to be an advocate of “developmental state”, Meles was widely condemned for imposing tyranny and a highly repressive rule.
Dallas double murder suspect arrested
WFAA The suspect in a double murder in Dallas has been arrested in Colorado. Dallas police said 37-year-old Abey Belette Girma has been on the run since he allegedly shot Desta Yenenesh and Lemma Yayehyirad on the porch of their M Streets home on Wednesday morning. The couple had just returned home from working at [...]
Cheetahs, Hippos and Saving Ethiopia
Alemayehu G Mariam—George Ayittey, one of the foremost African public global intellectuals, metaphorically suggests that Africa’s destiny will be determined by the promise of the “Cheetah Generation” or the paralysis of the “Hippo Generation”. As he explains, The Cheetah Generation refers to the new and angry generation of young African graduates and professionals,
Melese’s Departure: A watershed moment
By Fereda Molla It has now been almost two months since Ethiopia’s strongman Melese Zenawi has disappeared from office. Despite the government’s obfuscation and theatrics to hide the truth from the public, Melese is either incapacitated or dead. If he were in a better state, a short audio or video message from him or a [...]
Abiy Girma named suspect in Dallas killings
(Dallas Observer) A capital murder warrant has been issued for Abey Bilette Girma, 37, in the killing of the owners of Desta, an Ethiopian restaurant, at around midnight on Aug. 15. Yayehyirad Lemma and Yenenesh Desta were gunned down on the front porch of their home on Marquita Street after closing the restaurant for the [...]
Abune Paulos dies at 77
Abune Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church died at 77 today at Balcha Hospital, Addis Ababa. The patriarch who full title was “His Holiness Abuna Paulos, Fifth Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Ichege of the See of St. Tekle Haymanot, Archbishop of Axum and one of the seven serving Presidents of the World Council of Churches,” was a controversial figure due to his close association and connection with with the dictatorship of Meles Zenawi.
Ethiopian leader’s absence grips nation
By Faith Karimi (CNN) — Ethiopia’s prime minister is “recovering well,” a spokesman said Wednesday, amid frenzied speculation about the health of the usually visible leader, who has not appeared in public for two months. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, 57, came to power two decades ago and is considered a strong force in the frequently [...]
“What if Mr. Meles Goes for Good?”
By Alemayehu G Mariam–Last week, The Economist Magazine rhetorically inquired, “What if Mr. Meles goes for good?” Shouldn’t the question be, “Is it not good for Ethiopia if Mr. Meles goes for good?” Those who know where Mr. Meles has gone are not talking; and those who are talking don’t know where he has gone.
Meseret reclaims 5k Olympic title
By KAREN CROUSE (NY Times) LONDON — For almost a decade, the Ethiopians Tirunesh Dibaba and Meseret Defar have been locked in a heated custody battle over the 5,000 meters. They have traded world championships, world records and Olympic crowns, with Dibaba exhibiting a protective ferocity for the event for much of the last four [...]
Dead until proven alive
By Mesfin Negash—A news story is gripping Ethiopia. The news is the probable death, and confirmed critical sickness, of our “Dear Leader” Meles Zenawi. The irony of this is that it has remained a top national secret. Dead or alive, dictators remain secretive, suffocating, and repressive. But whether PM Zenawi will survive or not, the drama unfolding is a telling story of a dysfunctional dictatorship.
Meles absence fuels regional anxieties
By Katrina Manson in Nairobi and William Wallis in London The prolonged absence of Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s usually hyperactive prime minister, has sparked a covert succession struggle at home and prompted fears farther afield for a future without one of east Africa’s diplomatic and security linchpins. Government officials say Mr Meles, who has not been [...]
Ethiopia after Meles
By René Lefort–When Meles Zenawi, the omnipotent Prime Minister of Ethiopia, last appeared in public on 19 June, he looked pale, thin and gaunt. It took the government a month to break the silence. Meles Zenawi is “recovering health-wise,” and, above all, “he’s not staying out of duties as Prime Minister”.[1] On 1 August, a senior spokesman issued another statement about the elusive PM: “there is no change and there will be no change in the near future.”[2] But what next?
Ethiopians contemplate a nation without Zenawi
When the summer rains come, as they have in cleansing torrents over recent weeks, the 3 million residents of Ethiopia’s smog-choked capital usually inhale a little more deeply and exhale a little more freely. But at this moment it seems the entire city is holding its breath. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the rebel-turned-technocrat who has led Ethiopia since 1991, is sick.
Tirunesh eyes double Olympic gold
London – Defending champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia qualified fastest for the final of the 5000m on Tuesday as she chases a second consecutive Olympic long distance double. The Ethiopian, who has already won the 10 000m in London, won her 5 000m heat in a time of 14min 58.48sec, edging out Athens 2004 gold [...]
Ethiopia: Has Meles Gone AWOL?
By Prof. Al Mariam–What happens when a “prime minister” goes AWOL? That is, absent without constitutional leave of absence. Dictator Meles Zenawi has disappeared from public view for several weeks now. He was last seen in public on June 19 at the G20 Summit in Mexico.
Ethiopian sets Olympic record in marathon
LONDON — Surging into the lead in the last mile and a half and running the second half of the race more than three minutes faster than the first, Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia won the women’s Olympic marathon on Sunday in 2 hours 23 minutes 7 seconds, a record for the Summer Games.
Ethiopian snatches gold from Kenyans
The fierce Kenyan-Ethiopian rivalry renewed itself Friday, and the result in the women’s Olympic 10,000 meters was as reliably predictable as it was four years ago: Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba again drew away with a punishing kick to win the gold medal and perhaps establish herself as history’s greatest female distance runner.
Meles Zenawi is dead
ESAT’s decision to report that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is dead, according to reliable sources, has never been easy. It was two weeks ago that we received the news from highly credible sources in Brussels. Our sources that want to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak to the media on this sensitive matter told us that the International Crisis Group (ICG) concluded that Mr. Zenawi was deceased. Headquartered in Brussels, with offices around the world, ICG is the leading independent think tank on conflict prevention and resolution around the world. It was hard to ignore information from such a highly reputable international organization.
Ethiopia in Constitutional Crises?
By Prof. Al Mariam–In an interview I gave to the Voice of America Amharic program last week, I was asked to comment on the nature of constitutional succession in the event of death, disability, resignation, illness, incapacity or removal from power of the prime minster (PM) in Ethiopia. The answer I gave seems to have surprised, shocked, dismayed and appalled many.
Seye Abreha says Ethiopia faces political ‘crisis’
(VOA) thiopia does not have a firm leadership succession plan if Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is no longer able to head the government, according to a former defense minister. Seeye Abraha, who worked with Meles on the ruling party’s executive committee but who is now a member of the political opposition, said Tuesday that uncertainty [...]
AI criticizes gov’t over Muslim rights violations
Amnesty International Widespread violations feared in clampdown on Muslim protests Amnesty International is concerned over the fate of scores of Muslim protestors arrested in Ethiopia during July. Widespread violations feared in clampdown on Muslim protests Amnesty International is concerned over the fate of scores of Muslim protestors arrested in Ethiopia during July. The arrests took [...]
Post-Meles Possible Scenarios
The trouble with tyranny and personalized power is that institutional mechanisms of power transfer do not work. In most cases, such mechanisms exist and are enshrined in written and exalted constitutions. Nonetheless, to the extent that tyranny and the exercise of arbitrary power irreparably tarnish them, institutions do not command any respect or legitimacy. Instead, the need to pass on power unleashes a bitter struggle among various contenders.
Ethiopia stopped reports on PM Meles’ health
A press freedom advocacy group says Ethiopian authorities have blocked the publication of a prominent independent newspaper featuring reports on the health of the country’s long-time ruler. The Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday that about 30,000 copies of the independent weekly Feteh were blocked on grounds of “inciting national insecurity and endangering the government and the public.”
The Zenawi Paradox: Good and Terrible Legacy
Following the news of the past few years, you might get the impression that flamboyance and bellicosity are signature traits of any long-tenured dictator. But for every Muammar Qaddafi there’s a Meles Zenawi, the shrewd, technocratic Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Inside of the country, he’s known for imprisoning his political opponents, withholding development assistance from restive areas, stealing elections, and cracking down on civil society NGOs. In the rest of the world, he’s often praised for his impressive economic record, though not for his human rights.
Ethiopian PM in critical state in Brussels
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was in a Brussels hospital in a “critical” state on Wednesday, several diplomatic sources told AFP, but the Ethiopian government denied he was unwell. “He is in a critical state, his life is in danger,” said a diplomat who asked not to be named. In Addis Ababa, however, government spokesperson Bereket Simon denied reports that the 57-year-old premier was ill. “He is not in a critical state. He is in good condition,” the spokesperson told AFP.
Freedom Now petitions UN on Eskinder
Washington, D.C.: Today, Freedom Now filed a petition on behalf of jailed Ethiopian journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega with the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Freedom Now seeks a legal opinion from the Working Group that the Ethiopian government’s detention of Mr. Nega is in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political [...]
Fears are growing for the health of Meles Zenawi
By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg and Bruno Waterfield in Brussels (Daily Telegraph) All of Mr Zenawi’s scheduled public appearances have been cancelled over the past few weeks. He was last seen at the G20 climate summit in Mexico on June 19, looking noticeably pale and thin. Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister, confirmed that he was out of [...]
Ethiopia at Crossroads: What has to be done?
By Neamin Zeleke–News of Meles Zenawi’s deteriorating health offer an opportunity for reflection on his legacy and preparation for the day after his eventual demise. Whether Meles Zenawi passes away in the coming days or at some times in the future, we need to grapple with some serious vexing questions on where we are and where we are heading as a people and nation. First, on the past two decades: What is Meles’ legacy? How will he be remembered? How was he able to squander unique opportunity to bring about an enduring democratic process and freedom in Ethiopia?
Kangaroo court sentences journalists, activists
The Kangaroo Federal High Court sentenced today Andualem Arage to life in jail and Eskinder Nega to 18 years imprisonment.
The court recently “convicted” 24 of terror and high treason charges. Twelve others were convicted in absentia. Natnael Mekonnen and Wube Roba were also sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. Yohannes Terefe, Yeshewas Yihunalem Mitiku Damte, Andualem Ayalew 14 and Kinfe Michael Bereded received sentences ranging from 13 to 25 years in jail.
Ethiopia in BondAid?
Alemayehu G Mariam–“Bondage” is the state of being bound by or subjected to some external power or control. When people are bound by debt, they are in “debt bondage”. When they are held in involuntary servitude, they are in “bondage slavery”. Before much of Africa became “independent” in the 1960s, Africans were held under the yoke of “colonial bondage”.
The Free Press in Ethiopia’s Kangaroo Kourts
Over the past six years, I have written numerous columns defending press freedom in Ethiopia. In a 2009 commentary entitled, “The Art of War on Ethiopia’s Independent Press”, I expressed astonishment over the heavy handed treatment of the free press: “Use a sledgehammer to smash a butterfly! That is the exquisite art of war unleashed on Ethiopia’s independent press by the dictatorship of Meles Zenawi today.”
Dark day for freedom of expression
Amnesty International More Ethiopian government opponents have been convicted on trumped up terrorism and treason charges in what Amnesty International called “a dark day” for freedom of expression. Iconic dissident journalist Eskinder Nega and leading members of the political opposition, Andualem Arage and Nathnael Mekonnen, along with five other men, were found guilty on charges [...]
Ethiopia court finds 24 guilty of terrorism
Twenty-four Ethiopians, including a leading opposition figure and a prominent journalist, faced life in prison Wednesday after a court found them guilty on charges of terrorism. “Guilty as charged,” judge Endeshaw Adane said, referring to journalist Eskinder Nega, opposition member Andualem Arage and 22 others accused of links to US-based group Ginbot 7, considered a terrorist group under Ethiopian law, and other outlawed groups.
Ethiopia: The Sky(pe) is Falling!
Most of my readers know how much I enjoy “bedtime stories”. Recently, I wrote about my favortie bedtime story of Pinocchio in Africa. Ever heard of the story of Chicken Little? One day Chicken Little was scratching around the yard when something fell on her head. Recently, I wrote about my favortie bedtime story of Pinocchio in Africa.
DNA clues to Queen of Sheba tale
By Helen Briggs BBC News Modern day Ethiopians show great cultural, linguistic and historical diversity Continue reading the main story Clues to the origins of the Queen of Sheba legend are written in the DNA of some Africans, according to scientists. Genetic research suggests Ethiopians mixed with Egyptian, Israeli or Syrian populations about 3,000 years [...]
Skype and Ethiopia
The origins of the Internet can be traced to ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) that was funded by the US Department of Defense (DARPA) for use by its research labs in the 1960’s. The Internet as we know moved from connecting research institutions and Universities into commercial use in the middle of the 1980’s. Today the Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks. The beauty of the Internet is nobody really owns it. Every computer that is connected to the Internet is part of the network. Your laptop or desktop together with millions of private, public, academic, business, government networks forms part of this vast system of interconnected computers.
The Internet has revolutionized human communication like nothing before. It is the most outstanding innovation in human history regarding communication capability. Our lives have changed dramatically due to the Internet. The great economic boom of the 90’s all over the world can be traced to innovation that accompanied the Internet. Where does our Ethiopia fit in this human advancement story?
Boat carrying 60 Ethiopians capsizes in Malawi
BLANTYRE, Malawi — Malawi police say a boat carrying about 60 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia capsized on Lake Malawi, and that all aboard are feared drowned. Police spokeswoman Norah Chimwala said Thursday that 47 bodies had been recovered so far. The accident happened near Karonga, some 600 kilometers (about 400 miles) north of Lilongwe, the [...]
Verdict in Ethiopia terrorism trial delayed
An Ethiopian judge has again delayed the verdict in the case of 24 people charged with terrorism, including a prominent journalist and an opposition member, a defence lawyer said Thursday. The verdict is now expected to be delivered on June 27, in order to give the judges time to “evaluate and pass a decision”, lawyer Abebe Guta said. Among those charged are prominent journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition member Andualem Arage. Both appeared in court in suits and smiled and waved to friends and family as they filed into the courtroom. The courtroom was packed with family members, journalists and diplomats, including US Ambassador Donald Booth. This is the second time the verdict has been delayed. Judges were expected to deliver a ruling on May 11, but said the defendants’ case had not been transcribed in full. Eskinder was honoured in New York last month with a “freedom to write” award from the US-based media watchdog PEN.
Meles looks gravely ill and tired
Since Meles Zenawi faced the shock of his life at the G8 Food Security Symposium in the Ronald Reagan Building, Washington DC, Ethiopia’s brutal tyrant had disappeared from public view for one month. On 17th June, Meles resurfaced in Los Cabos, Mexico at the G-20 annual meeting.
Ethiopia: On the Road to Constitutional Democracy
Alemayehu G Mariam Over the past few months, I have been penning occasional commentaries in a series I called “Ethiopia’s transition from dictatorship and democracy”. In my last such commentary, I argued that “on the bridge to democracy, there is often a collision between individuals and groups doggedly pursuing power, the common people tired of those who [...]
Israel to deport Ethiopians, S Sudanese
Addis Ababa — The Israeli government is reportedly set to deport thousands of African migrants including most Ethiopians and South Sudanese. According to Israeli news outlets, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered an urgent expulsion to some 25,000 immigrants from Ethiopia, South Sudan, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Netanyahu made the orders during a recent [...]
Meles steps up control on information
Ethiopia’s only ISP, state-owned Ethio-Telecom, has just installed a system for blocking access to the Tor network, which lets users browse anonymously and access blocked websites. At the same time, the state-owned printing presses are demanding the right to censor the newspapers they print. Reporters Without Borders is very worried by these attempts to reinforce government control of news and information.
Unmasking TPLF’s worst bullies and thugs
By Ewnetu Taye–After Meles Zenawi, leader of the ethno-fascist group misruling Ethiopia, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), got naked and suffered humiliation in front of world leaders, the racist thugs and bullies who believe that it is their birth right to oppress the people of Ethiopia, are out in droves to condemn and ridicule Ethiopia’s cry for freedom. They still cannot get it why Meles Zenawi epitomizes nothing but an oppressive ethnic apartheid that must be dismantled.
Ethiopia: Food for Famine and Thought!
Alemayehu G Mariam The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition At the recent 2012 G8 Food Security Summit in Washington, D.C., Abebe Gellaw, a young Washington-based Ethiopian journalist, stood up in the gallery and thunderously proclaimed to dictator Meles Zenawi, “… Food is nothing without freedom…” Is he right? When President Obama invited the [...]
Ethiopia: Meles, Speechless!
Zenawi was shocked, bewildered, flabbergasted and completely disoriented. It was as though 90 million Ethiopians had lined up pointing an accusatory finger at him and shouting in unison, “Meles Zenawi! You are a dictator!…” In that moment Abebe gloriously realized the true meaning of the tagline of his website addisvoice.com – “A Voice of the Voiceless”.
A note of gratitude
On Friday 18th May 2012, I voiced the anger, frustration and aspiration of the Ethiopian people in front of world leaders at the G8 food security symposium in Washington DC. “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!,” was the clarion call that I spoke to power. I condemned Meles Zenawi and his dictatorship in front of his pay masters and sponsors. Ethiopia deserves better than a deceitful tyrant, who is brutally exploiting, abusing, jailing, torturing and killing our brothers and sisters in every corner of Ethiopia. We need freedom. That has been made clear to the whole world.
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.
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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 [...]