Aid urgently needed to avert serious famine in Ethiopia: Unicef (AFP)

"I witnessed children die when I was present at the stabilisation centre. Government officials reported that children were already dying in villages where there was no access to therapeutic feeding," she said...more..

A Tangled Political Landscape Raises Questions About U.S. Ally (IPS)

These elections weren't even good enough to be rigged," asserts Bulcha Demeksa, a former United Nations and World Bank official who currently leads the OFDM and serves in Ethiopia's parliament. "A genuine dictatorship has been evolving."...more...

Ethiopia's Urban Poor Cannot Afford To Eat (IPS)

Really, again, the food crisis and, by extension, the energy crisis. We are lucky to have electricity today, but tomorrow we don't expect any. Energy meaning not only oil, but in the rural areas where we have 80% of the population, they are using firewood. There, they have to cut trees, and the deforestation of the country is really alarming, it's at about 30 percent now. There should be a policy to stop it. The poor farmers should be helped to plant trees and rewarded for planting trees. ...more..

Ethiopia: Meles Will Ultimately Fall—Are We Ready? (African Path)

Almost daily, we Ethiopians hear about another problem in the country that can be at least partially attributed to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his corrupt gang of leaders. The list is endless. Here are some, most all of which have been absurdly denied by the government of Meles as “fabricated” or exaggerations; others which have been blamed on others:

• drought and crop failures,
• skyrocketing inflation,
• starvation and malnourishment of millions of Ethiopians,
• the giving away of Ethiopian land to Sudan from Gondor to Gambella,
• the intimidation of the opposition
• EPRDF control of the recent election,
• the thousands of remaining political prisoners,
• the repression of the media,
• the increase in military spending rather than in feeding the people
• lack of agricultural development,
• the lack of progress in healthcare, access to clean water, education and infrastructure in most regions of the country,
• the lack of private enterprise and land ownership
• the gold-plated steel bars in our treasury,
• corruption in high places with great disparity between a select elite minority and the rest of an impoverished nation
• the human rights atrocities in the Ogaden, in the Afar region, in Beninshangul-Gumuz, in Oromia and other place
• constant need for hand-outs from the international community
• the inclusion of Ethiopia as being one of the worst countries in the world on most every index of well-being
• the pervasive lack of hope throughout the whole country
• the lack of unity in addressing these problems...click here to read more..

Stop British complicity in human rights abuses in Somalia (Respect)

This Government are never done talking about the shortcomings of African leaders. Just last week in Rome, the Secretary of State for International Development was roaring at Robert Mugabe, yet there has not been a squeak out of him, or any other Minister, about the much bigger crime in which we are ourselves deeply complicit. Is it any wonder that African opinion considers so much of what we have to say about misgovernance in Africa to be the deepest, most cynical hypocrisy?

Two weeks ago, Channel 4’s “Dispatches” team took terrifying risks to bring us the latest from occupied Mogadishu. That was undoubtedly an award-winning documentary. It was memorable for many reasons, not least the scene in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when the Minister of State, Lord Malloch-Brown, his face frozen in horror, was confronted by Aidan Hartley with the central case of the documentary makers. For the benefit of Members who did not see the programme—the Minister will certainly have seen it; she would hardly be sent out to bat on this wicket without being shown it—that central case was that, in the grim prison state of occupied Somalia, the fingerprints of our country and our Government were all over the scene of the crime....more..

British law maker blasts Meles regime (Addisvoice)

British lawmaker blasts Meles regime

June 14, 2008 (AV) British Member of Parliament George Galloway has criticised the Meles regime for its continued aggression against Somalia while the people of Ethiopia are starving. He said that immediately after television viewers across the world watched shocking pictures of starving children, the Meles regime increased its military budget. "The US and Britain immediately pledged $90 million in famine relief. Just one week after its appeal to the international community for famine relief, the Ethiopian Government increased their military budget by $50 million to $400 million. The regime in Addis Ababa—when I knew them in the 1980s, they were pro-Albanian Maoists—are the most militarised and heavily armed in Africa." Mr Galloway also slammed the Ethiopian embassy in London which is to hold a grand party to celebrate the 17th anniversary of the coming to power of the TPLF. "The Ethiopian Government are having a beano in the Ethiopian embassy in London to celebrate the 17th anniversary of their coming to power, and it is going to be a very grand event. That event comes at a time when the Ethiopian Government’s own people are starving to death," he said. more..

UDJ UPDATE

UDJ CONGRESS BANNED ! Source Unity for Democracy and Justice

At about 4 o'clock pm today, the police told Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ)—former CUDP---that it cannot hold its Founding Congress which was scheduled to be held at the Imperial Hotel, tomorrow, Saturday, June 14, 2008. Their excuse is that we do not have prior permission for holding a public gathering. Peaceful assembly is guaranteed by the Ethiopian Constitution. There is no law that requires obtaining prior permission for indoor gathering. The hotel reservation was made over two weeks ago. The Hotel Management had informed the relevant authorities on the details of the gathering – a usual practice – over a week ago and were told that it could go ahead as scheduled. Then, suddenly, there came this ban on a Friday, at the end of the day's working hours, followed by a weekend. We believe that this was a deliberate measure calculated to prevent the Congress from taking place. It is an illegal measure that violated our constitutional right. Over 400 delegates were to attend the Congress at the Imperial Hotel. Two-thirds of these delegates have come from the Regions. The rest are from Addis. UDJ had spent over four months painstakingly preparing for this Congress. The preparation started with the gathering of founding-members signatures from throughout the country, the preparation of documents such as the Programme and Bylaw and the selection of delegates. We started our preparations with the full knowledge of the National Electoral Board. We have invested about 300,000 birr on this Congress and on various preparations leading to it. We are examining several options on what to do next. One of the options is to hold the Congress in-house: on the premises of our office. The space available is very limited, weather condition is not favorable. We may have to make drastic adjustments in our programme such as limiting activities, without affecting vital ones, and extending the meeting by a half day. We see the present obstacle before us as a challenge. The Congress will be held, if not tomorrow, then soon.

Unity for Democracy and Justice June 13, 2008 Addis Ababa

UN Security Council condemns Eritrean attack on Djibouti (IHT)

A statement approved by the 15 council members and read by its president at a formal meeting urged the nations to commit to a cease-fire and called on Djibouti and, in particular, its northern neighbor Eritrea, to show "maximum restraint" and withdraw forces from the border along Red Sea shipping lanes.....more..

Éthiopiques: sounds of Ethiopia the generals could not crush (Times Online)

It wasn’t always this way. In the late 1960s, Ethiopia was home to some of the funkiest big bands on the continent, long before the country was pegged as a drought-stricken hell by Band Aid. Forty years on, a concert at the Barbican in London on June 27 brings together for the first time the era’s greatest stars: the singers Mahmoud Ahmed and Alè-mayèhu Eshèté, the saxophonist Gétatchèw Mèkurya and pianist Mulatu Astatqé. Musically and emotionally, it promises to be among the gigs of the year. The following night they headline at Glastonbury, an inspired alternative to Jay-Z....more..

Somalia loosing identity: will Ethiopia alter the demography? (American Chrinicle)

One of the Ethiopian immigrants, Genet Mengesha, a 24-year-old mother of one and former university student, told Reuters News Agency at Port City of Bosasso, Somalia that she lost her brother and sister during public uprising against Meleze Sanawi in 2005. "It was not save for me to continue living in Ethiopia, because of the authorities were hunting those participated in the upraising." She added we are living in Somalia and there is no plan to go back to our homeland until Meleze regime is active....more..

Yacob Hailemariam removes himself from UDJ leadership (Ethiopian Review)

This coming weekend, UDJ will hold its general assembly meeting to decide how the party should move forward and to also elect new leaders. So far, five of the party’s most senior leaders, Ato Muluneh Eyoel, Dr Befikadu Degife, Prof. Mesfin Woldemariam, Dr Yacob Hailemariam, and Ato Seleshi Tena, have made their intention clear not be part of the leadership, citing the extremely hostile political climate in the country created by the U.S.-financed dictatorship of Meles Zenawi...more..

Will it ever be able to stave off starvation? ( Economist )

Mr Zenawi is particularly sensitive about famine talk. He has denied that pastoralists in the south are losing livestock to the drought or that the rates of malnutrition elsewhere are at all close to what foreign aid workers claim. The government has banned photographs of the starving and has told field workers not to give information to foreign journalists....more..

Rights group's report fabricated, says Ethiopia (Reuters)

he government said the U.S.-based group's "groundless" report was based on information provided by sympathisers of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)....more..

Somali President attacked at Mogadishu airport agai( xinhuanet)n

MOGADISHU, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Islamist insurgents attacked the Mogadishu airport and the motorcade of Somali president Abdullahi Yusuf, for the third time in a month, as the president was to fly for Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, presidential spokesman confirmed to Xinhua on Thursday....more..

UK 'complicit in Ethiopian war crimes' (Telegraph)

Britain is "complicit" in war crimes in Ethiopia because it is "turning a blind eye" to sustained human rights abuses carried out on civilians by the country's armed forces, Human Rights Watch said today.

Women were raped until they were unconsciousness, children were tortured and tens of thousands of people were forced from their homes in a "scorched earth" campaign ordered by one of Britain's closest allies in Africa, Ethiopia's prime minister Meles Zenawi....more...

Ethiopia military accused of rape and torture in fight against rebels (Guadian)

Ethiopia's government has committed extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity during a brutal counterinsurgency campaign in the remote Ogaden region, a report says today.

Human Rights Watch accuses the Ethiopian military of extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, forcibly displacing thousands of civilians and using food as a weapon of war in its attempts to defeat the Ogaden National Liberation Front over the past year. Satellite images in the report show how villages have been razed to deny the rebels a support base. The images have been corroborated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science....more...

Also click here to get full report in pdf file

US denies it ignored rights abuse in Ethiopia (LA Times)

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is aware of allegations of human rights abuses by Ethiopia's military but is continuing a military aid program in hopes the troops become more professional.

The country in the Horn of Africa is an ally in President Bush's fight against terrorism....more..

US Denies Silence on Rights Abuses in Ethiopia (VOA)

The United States said Thursday it has "persistently" expressed concern about human rights in Ethiopia with top officials in Addis Ababa, including alleged abuses in the Ogaden region. The comments follow an assertion by the monitoring group Human Rights Watch that the United States and key European countries have been silent on Ogaden rights violations. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department....more..

Ethiopian sets world record in one-hour run (CBC)

Ethiopia's Dire Tune set a new world record in the one-hour run during the Golden Spike Grand Prix meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Thursday....more..

Images back Ethiopia abuse claim (BBC)

US scientists say satellite images confirm reports that the Ethiopian military have burnt towns and villages in Ethiopia's Somali region.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science says the images back up a Human Rights Watch's report...more..

Group accuses Ethiopia of war crimes in Ogaden (Victoria Advocate)

By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDYAssociated Press Writer

June 12, 2008 - 5:23 a.m.

Ethiopia's government is committing war crimes in its military campaign against rebels in the Ogaden region, a rights group charged Thursday in a report that complained the U.S. and other Western governments willfully ignored abuses....more..

West fails to condemn Ethiopia rights abuses: rights group (Reuters)

By Daniel Wallis

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Western donors have failed to condemn war crimes by Ethiopian forces during a year-old campaign against separatist fighters in the country's eastern Ogaden region, Human Rights Watch said on Thursday...more..

Cry for mother Ethiopia (Ethiopian Review)

We are hungry and destitute for variety of reasons. The single most important cause of hunger is ‘lack of sovereignty’. We are not in charge anymore. This trend did not start yesterday. We have been sliding towards this hellhole of ‘neo-colonial’ camp the last forty years or so. After assuming power the TPLF minority regime was too happy to facilitate the eventual take over of our country by the industrialized west and international bankers.

The mafia clique in charge is doing this not because they are evil, nor because they have a hidden agenda to destroy Ethiopia and liberate Tigrai. That is just a smoke screen. The people of Tigrai are made to feel insecure by waving Amhara Nationalism. The Amhara are made hostile towards all of Tigrains by overplaying the non-existent over development of the region at the expense of others. Meles and company are doing this because that is the only way they can stay in power. TPLF is not a mass based organization. In today’s Ethiopia they have no single interest group they can count on. Their main constituents are the foreigners.

On planet Earth the most vital resource is food. We all get sidetracked by this talk of oil, gold and other rare natural resources. If you think about it without food all others lose their value. Without human being the Earth will be another ball among billions in this vast wonderful universe we call home. At the moment this is the only place where life is known to exist. Without food to sustain us we will not exist. This is exactly our problem in Ethiopia. We do not have enough food to sustain us. But what happened to our food?

We are but just another victim of globalization and the new international order. The military regime, which assumed power after the ‘74 famine, was in the words of our beautiful son Teddy Afro ‘le lewte yalfeterew seltan lai seweta’ situation. The world was polarized between the West and the East and the Derg gravitated towards the Soviet Union. It was a time Russia’s power and influence was ascending and the US was on a retreat mode. The Soviets poured in arms and Cuban solders to reel us into their orbit. The illiterate and cruel Derg mowed down the most experienced older generation and the most educated new generation of our country. We became an empty shell of our former self...more..

Djibouti says clashes with Eritrean troops at border ( Reuters)

10 Jun 2008 19:57:41 GMT

Source: Reuters

DJIBOUTI, June 10 (Reuters) - Djiboutian soldiers clashed with Eritrean troops for the first time in a nearly two-month old standoff, Djiboutian state media reported on Tuesday. The Eritrean government was not immediately available for comment, and no independent confirmation of the clash was immediately available....more..

Famine-hit Ethiopia ups army budget (Aljazeera)

The Ethiopian government has announced plans to increase its military budget by $50m to $400m, just one week after it appealed for international help to tackle its worst famine in 25 years...more..

UDJP General Assembly Meeting to be Broadcasted Live (Ethiopolitics)

UDJP, in the mean time, is finalizing its preparation for the significant and historic meeting. The latest from the organizing committee reveals that the number of participants is 380, including the 30 others who were not invited first but the committee decided they should be included. 70 Dignitaries, Honoraries and Special Guests will attend the meeting at an observatory level...more..

Oklahoma State Senate passed Resolution on Ethiopia

Click here to read the Resolution...[pdf file]
Source Ethiopian Reveiw

Ethiopia eyes biofuels, says no risk to crops (Reuters)

Some 4.5 million Ethiopians need emergency food aid due to failed rains and high food prices, reviving grim memories of the country's 1984-1985 famine, which killed more than 1 million.

But the government also faces an annual fuel bill of up to $900 million, and aims to reduce that over time using biofuels....more..

Desperation as Ethiopia's hunger grows (BBC)

What we have seen in the villages is not famine - but it is a crisis.

Some say tens of thousands of children are at risk. I can believe that...more

የሎንዶኑ ህዝባዊ ውይይትና ተያያዥ ዜናዎች ዝርዝር ዘገባ ( ኢትዮጵያ ዛሬ)

አንድ ኢትዮጵያዊ ፖለቲከኛ “አባዱላ ገመዳ እና አዲሱ ለገሠ ሎንዶን ባደረጉት ህዝባዊ ስብሰባ ላይ ምንም አይነት ተቃውሞ ያላሰሙ ጥቂት ግለሰቦች ይሄንን ውይይት ለመቃወም መሞከራቸው አስቂኝ ሆኖብኛል” ብለዋል።...more..

“በወለጋው ግጭት የሞቱት ከ250 ይበልጣሉ” አቶ ቡልቻ ደመቅሣ ( Ethiopia Zare)

ኢህአዴግ ሀገሪቱን ሲቆጣጠር ትጥቅ ያስፈታው ደጋማውን ክልል ብቻ ነው የሚሉት አቶ ቡልቻ፤ በቤንሻንገል የሚኖሩ ሰዎች ትጥቅ ያልፈቱ በመሆኑ ጉዳቱን ማድረስ ችለዋል። ከኦሮሞ ወገን አንድም ጥይት የተኮሰ ሰው የለም የሚሉት አቶ ቡልቻ፤ ኦሮሞዎቹ ለዓመታት የያዙትን መሬት ልቀቁ በመባላቸውና አንለቅም በማለታቸው ምክንያት ድንገት በተፈጠረ ጥቃት ነው እልቂቱ የደረሰው። ...more..

Hunger in Ethiopia now spreading to adults (AP)

"To see adults in this condition, it's a very serious situation," Mieke Steenssens, a volunteer nurse with Doctors Without Borders, told The Associated Press as she registered the 5-foot-4 Usheto's weight at just 73 pounds.

Aid groups say the older victims suggest there is an escalation in the crisis in Ethiopia, a country that drew international attention in 1984 when a famine compounded by communist policies killed 1 million people....more..

Ethiopian commander killed in Somalia (Press TV)

Ethiopian troops are said to be in a state of shock and confusion over their leader's death...more..

Sudanese authorities release 26 Ethiopians they detained

Ethiopia and Sudan Border Issues Committee reports that 26 Ethiopians who were detained by Sudanese authorities have been released...Click here to read more [pdf, Amharic]

Source Ethiopian Review

Canada denies entry visa to Gambella Genocide suspect (Anyuak Media)

"Zenawi was virtually using Olum as a 'guinea pig' whether his visits to North America would pass unnoticed, or would provoke legal actions of both governments and the Ethiopian Diaspora," one analyst told Ethiomedia...more..

Dibaba on World Record, " I could have run faster." , by Bob Ramsak for IAAF (RunblogRun)

“The early part of the race was pretty good,” she said, “but at 3000m we were a little behind so then I had to catch up on the pace. I could have run faster if the pacing was a little better.”...more..
Tirunesh Dibaba with her
world record figures
(Getty Images)

Gambella Genocide Collaborator to Speak in Cana)da (Gambela Today)

"It's to me ironic, and in fact contradictory, that Canada would be granting (Olom) any type of visa, when we can't get in to see a Canadian citizen who's been held incommunicado for almost two years," McTeague said.

...more..

Gambellan Governor’s Visit Brings International Publicity to Genocide Despite Attempts to Evict Press (Anyuak Media)

Omot Olum was the one in fear who caved in to the pressure from this regime of death. By adopting the foundational principles of Meles—lying and deceit—he was rewarded for selling out on his people by his subsequent appointment as the un-elected governor. He did not need to flee for his life, because he was now initiated into the ranks of loyal collaborators. On the other hand, Okello Akway became a prime target of the EPRDF fury and had to flee for his life. He had seen Omot Olum hand over the list of the Anuak to be killed, something that could later on indict Omot Olum and others...Full text..

Kinijit secretary general Muluneh Eyoel calls it quits(Ethiopian Review)

....The American embassy in Addis Ababa may have thus violated the U.S. laws by knowingly collaborating in fabricating claims of persecution by Woyanne and Ayele Chamiso....more,,,

Ethiopians drink from cup of sorrow (BBC)

Now Ethiopia is appealing for enough food to provide emergency rations for 4.5 million people this year. At the moment it says it has only a third of what it will need...Full text...

AFRICA INSIGHT: Obama’s victory in Democratic Party poll has continent in a spin (Sunday Nation)

Senator Obama is an agent of change. I am sure he would restore basic civil rights, which many are being denied in the name of war on terror all over the world,” she said. “I am Ethiopian opposition politician
Birtukan Mideksa (centre)
, who says the Bush administration
betrayed Ethiopians
by backing the government of
President Meles Zenawi
Photos/Correspondent
highly impressed by his determination, courage Publish Postand wisdom. He is my role model and I have fallen in love with his philosophy of change.”...More..

'How could they do this?' Agony of stabbed schoolgirl's mother as she sees her daughter's body

Stricken with grief, the mother of stabbed schoolgirl Arsema Dawit leaves her London home today as she is taken to see her daughter's body.

Weeping uncontrollably, Tsehay Dawit was supported by her surviving daughter Feruz, 12, as she made her way to the car taking her to the mortuary...more..

Obama clinches nomination; Clinton seeks VP spot (Hiiraan)

"It's not change when he offers four more years of Bush economic policies that have failed to create well-paying jobs. ... And it's not change when he promises to continue a policy in Iraq that asks everything of our brave young men and women in uniform and nothing of Iraqi politicians." In a symbolic move, he spoke in the same hall where McCain will accept the Republican nomination at his party's convention in September...more..

ከዶክተር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ ጋር የተደረገ ቃለ መጠይቅ። ክፍልII( ዶይቸ ቬለ)

የአሥራ-ስባት አመቱ ጉዞና ሠላም፣ ዲሞክራሲ፣ ሠብአዊ መብትና የሕግ የበላይነት በኢትዮዽያ... Click here to listen to interview

«የኢዮጵያ ጦር ከሶማሊያ ይዉጣ የሚለዉ የፖለቲካ መርሐ-ግብራችን ነዉ» አብድረሕማን ኤደን አቢ( ዶይቸ ቬለ)

«የኢዮጵያ ጦር ከሶማሊያ ይዉጣ የሚለዉ የፖለቲካ መርሐ-ግብራችን ነዉ» አብድረሕማን ኤደን አቢ..More..

አቶ ስዬ አብርሃ በኢትዮ-ሱዳን ድንበር ጉዳይ ላይ አቶ መለስን ተቹ(Ethiopia Zare)

“… ሱዳኖች በድንበር አካባቢ የጀመሩትን ጉዳይ አላቆሙም። ይባስ ብለው በእርሻ ሥራ መቋቋም የጀመሩትን ኢትዮጵያውያን ገበሬዎችን መተናኮል እና መጋፋት ጀመሩ። ይህ ኹኔታ እየባሰበት በመሄዱ ውሱን የመከላከያ ኃይል በዚሁ አካባቢ በማስፈር ቀስ በቀስ ይህንኑ ማጠናከር ጀመርን። ሠራዊቱ ይህን በአራሾች ላይ የሚደርሰውን በደል እና በዓይናችን ፊት የሚደርሰውን ውድመት መቃወም ጀመረ።...More..

Ethiopia Exports Fall 20% on Lower Shipments of Coffee, Oilseed (Bloomburg)

June 4 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia's exports fell 20 percent last month as shipments of coffee and oilseeds dropped, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said...More..

Ethiopia faces a new famine(France24)

The isolated village is two kilometers from any major thoroughfare. Aid workers sent to the area have set up free clinics for the villagers and attempt to respond to their needs...More..

Official: 4.5M Ethiopians need emergency food aid (USA TODAY)

In 2003, droughts led 13.2 million people to seek emergency food aid. Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80% of people live off the land, and agriculture drives the economy, accounting for half of all domestic production and 85% of exports...More..

Tainted cooking oil kills 8 in Ethiopia(Reuters)

ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Reuters) - Authorities closed 16 cooking oil factories in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday after eight people were killed and scores sickened by food cooked with contaminated oil...More..

Editorial Death by kangaroo court

Ethiomedia | June 2, 2008

---

As a brutal dictator, Mengistu (left) lived violating the sovereignty of the people (1974-1991). As a ruthless mercenary, Meles Zenawi lives on violating the sovereignty of both the people and the country.

What a mockery of justice! Meles Zenawi sending Mengistu Hailemariam and his lieutenants to the gallows for “serious crimes against humanity”! Imagine Adolf Hitler condemning Benito Mousollini to death for “war crimes against Ethiopians." Imagine the pot calling the kettle black!

yndicate spokesman Yoseph Kiros this past week announced that Mengistu and 18 of his co-defendants have been sentenced to death because they “committed serious crimes against humanity.” Mengistu’s “conviction” arises from his Red Terror campaign (1977-78), described at the time by Human Rights Watch as “one of the most systematic uses of mass murder by a state ever witnessed in Africa.” Desta Gebru, a shady judicial hack in Meles, Inc., explained that the death sentences were imposed because Mengistu and his partners-in-crime “have tortured and executed thousands of innocent people in public, which applies as genocide according to Ethiopian law.”

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black

It does not appear much has changed in Ethiopia since 1977-78. The business of “torture, execution of thousands of innocent people and genocide” seems to be flourishing famously today. This is what Human Rights Watch says about Meles’ regime in 2008:

The Ethiopian government’s human rights record remains poor, both within the country and in neighboring Somalia… [Ethiopian] Government forces committed serious human rights violations, including rape, torture, and village burnings, during a campaign against Ethiopian rebels in eastern Somali Region…

In March and April 2007 in Mogadishu, Somalia, the Ethiopian military used heavy artillery and rockets indiscriminately, in violation of international humanitarian law, killing hundreds of civilians and displacing up to 400,000 people, as they fought an escalating insurgency…

In the five zones affected by the conflict [Somali region], the Ethiopian military retaliated by razing entire villages, carrying out public executions, raping and harassing women and girls, arbitrarily arresting, torturing and sometimes killing suspects in military custody; and forcing thousands to flee their homes…

In Oromia, Ethiopia’s most populous state, government authorities have used the fact of a long-standing insurgency by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to imprison, harass, and physically abuse critics, including school children… Farmers in Oromia who fail to support the governing political party are denied fertilizer and other agricultural aids over which the government exercises monopoly control.

In 2003, Human Rights Watch reported the following on the massacre of the Anuaks:

A large number of [Ethiopian] troops from the 43rd Division were in Gambella town when the massacre began and Human Rights Watch estimates that over one hundred of them participated in the massacre. Adult Anuak men were the primary targets of the violence but were not its only victims. Soldiers raped several Anuak women, over four hundred Anuak houses were burned to the ground and huge numbers of civilians fled into the forest or took shelter in compounds belonging to two of the town’s largest churches. The commander of Gambella town’s military garrison, Major Tsegaye Beyene, was in Gambella town throughout the massacre and took no apparent action to stop it; indeed, he appears to have directly taken part in the violence…

As to Meles’ judicial machinery that produced death sentences for Mengistu and his henchmen, Human Rights Watch (2008) concluded:

The judicial system remains unable to assert independence in prominent cases. In the treason trial, for example, the trial judges showed little concern for defendants’ procedural and constitutional rights and ignored claims of serious mistreatment by prison authorities. With exceptions, courts generally allow police protracted periods to investigate for evidence that might support the charges brought by prosecutors; in the meantime, defendants remain jailed without an opportunity for release on bail.

And in 2006, the Inquiry Commission that Meles personally established to investigate the post-2005 elections violence, after hearing from 1,300 witnesses and examining 16,990 documents, accused Meles’ regime of massacring 193 unarmed innocent protesters, and wounding of 760 others. Commission Chairman Judge Frehiwot Samuel explained, “Many people were killed arbitrarily. Old men were killed while in their homes and children were also victims of the attack while playing in the garden.”

Justice Delayed, and Now Justice Denied to Innocent Victims

It took Meles 17 years to bring Mengistu, one of the most notorious criminals of the second-half of the 20th Century, to “justice”. But ironically Meles may have helped Mengistu evade justice for his unspeakable crimes yet again. We could imagine any number of plausible arguments Mengistu might raise to attack his “conviction”: 1) He could claim that he was convicted by criminals who have no legal or moral authority to try him. (In other words, stone cold-hearted criminals have no authority to try and convict other stone cold-hearted criminals.) 2) He could challenge his “conviction” on the grounds that those who “convicted” him are themselves guilty of the very same crimes for which he is given a death sentence; and that he would like to see the lot of them tried “for crimes against humanity.” 3) He could argue that he was convicted in a political show trial which took an incredible 17 years. Under no legitimate legal system could he be lawfully “convicted” after a “trial” of such absurd length. He may even embarrass Meles by claiming that Meles denied him his constitutional rights under Art. 20 of Meles’ constitution, which provides, “Everyone charged with an offence shall be entitled to a public hearing before an ordinary court of law without undue delay.”

But a “public hearing” that takes 17 years to produce “justice” is not flawed merely for “undue delay”. Justice that takes 17 years to arrive is not justice delayed; it is justice mocked, justice faked and justice scorned! It is ultimately JUSTICE DENIED to the thousands of innocent victims of Mengistu Hailemariam’s monstrous and ghastly crimes.

Mengistu’s Trial and Conviction in the Court of His Own Conscience

Mengistu and his accomplices have yet to be brought before a real court of law where their guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt just like any ordinary criminal. A botched conviction of these wicked and vicious criminals in a shoddy, sleazy and farcical kangaroo court will inevitably leave some shreds of lingering doubt about their guilt. Though we believe mightily in our hearts and minds that Mengistu & Co., are guilty as sin for the untold crimes they committed during the entire Derg-era (not just the Red Terror campaign), we also believe in the principle of the rule of law: True justice requires that even the repulsive Mengistu and his bloodthirsty gang of murderers must be brought to trial in a real court of law where their crimes are painstakingly documented and recorded not only to prove their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but also to preserve for future generations a complete record of the killing field that Ethiopia became under their oppressive misrule. But in all candor, we are heavy-hearted by the prospect that this reclusive and cagey criminal may now have escaped justice altogether because of the “conviction” in the kangaroo court of Meles Zenawi.

But we are not discouraged. For now, we are content to believe that Mengistu appears before a court of his own guilty conscience in his gilded country estate in Harare every day and night to answer charges brought against him by the ghosts of the thousands of innocent people he killed and tortured. It is a small measure of justice for us to believe -- at least to comfort ourselves in the belief -- that Mengistu, confined in his palatial villa alone, will have to look into the mirror of his own guilty conscience everyday and see the wretched monster that he truly is. But Mengistu and Meles should never forget: “Justice is like a train that is nearly always late,” but for the fiendishly wicked, justice always arrives in the nick of time.

Meles is Mengistu Redux

Mengistu and Meles are like peas in a pod, like Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum. The two are vampiric identical twins whose lust for shedding innocent blood is exceeded only by their bestial cruelty. During Mengistu’s bloody 17-year regime, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians fell victim to his murderous campaigns, and the country was racked by corruption, rabid militarism and economic devastation. The signature legacy of Mengistu’s misrule remains to be the dubious honor given to Ethiopia as the international poster lady for famine, corruption and massive human rights violations. Isn’t that what Ethiopia has become today after 17 years of misrule by Meles? As they say, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Or, the more things change the more they remain the same!

It is so written…

Scripture has a timeless message for the wicked hypocrites who sit in judgment of each other. In Matthew 7: 1-5, it is written:

Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
For in the way you judge, you will be judged;
And by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye,
But do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’
and behold, the log is in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

Meles, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother Mengistu’s eye!

--
Beseferut qûna mesefer ayqerem.

Source: Ethiomedia

Ethiopian Review (Ethiopian Review)

Jendayi Frazer faced angry audience in Seattle

June 2nd, 2008 | Source: Ethiopian Review

Muluneh Yohannes, Ethiomedia Staff Writer

Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, delivered a lecture on “The Future of Africa and U.S. Foreign Policy” at the Seattle based University of Washington Campus.
The Bureau of African Affairs and its involvement in Africa

Under the U.S. Department of State, the Bureau of African Affairs is in charge of the broader Sub-Saharan Africa region. The Bureau identified three key challenges to African leaders in the years ahead: consolidating democratic gains, expanding economic growth, and stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS. According to the information from the State Department, American Foreign Policy towards Africa focuses on the following fields of cooperation: African Education Initiative, African Growth and Opportunity Act, Malaria Initiative, HIV/AIDS Initiative, Women’s Justice and Empowerment Initiative, Confidence and Security Building Measures.

Ambassador Frazer’s speech

The Assistant Secretary delivered a 15 to 20 minutes speech. The Ambassador highlighted that the U.S. is committed in building institutions and further strengthening strategic partnership with Africa. She specifically identified four major U.S. Foreign Policy priorities in Africa.

* The first one is the broader collaboration with the people of Africa on mutual interests.
* The second priority is Expansion of Economic Growth. The Ambassador stressed that the Bush Administration is committed for Debt Cancellation; pending endorsement from congress, 3.8 billion loans signed for health and education investment; 90 % duty free for African products of the AGOA agreement (African Growth and Opportunity Act) with fourteen Nations resulted in the current 11 trillion dollars trade exchange between the U.S. and Africa. Moreover, America targets to help the African Financial Market in the form of 100% Debt Relief amounting 42 billion dollars.
* The third area of cooperation dwells in the Fight Against Disease. Assistant Secretary Frazer quoted President Bush as saying “A baby should not die just because of the bite of a mosquito”. Accordingly, the Bush administration set a 15 billion dollars five year’s budget to tackle HIV/AIDS and a further 30 billion dollars is requested in 2007. Another 3.5 billion dollars is under utilization to tackle the deadly malaria epidemic.
* The last major area of cooperation of the U.S. with Africa is Peace Initiatives. The Assistant Secretary recalls the prime role of the U.S. in peace negotiations in Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sera Leon, and the North-South Sudan conflict. Jendayi was upfront with the huge task left in conflict management and resolution. She did not hide her frustration on the highly volatile Horn of Africa situation.

Challenge surfaced on the question and answer session

There were about 200 attendees of the lecture comprising students and staff members of the campus. However, the majority of the audience was the Diaspora community from Africa, specifically from Horn of Africa. Ambassador Frazer was bombarded with emotional pleas and questions from Ethiopians, Somalis, Eritreans, Sudanese, and from the self proclaimed Independent Somali Landers. The long time friend and old classmate of Dr. Jendayi, Dr. Sanjeev Khagram moderated the Q&A session with huge difficulty and in a protective way of his guest. Two days before the event, Ethiomedia requested to have an interview with the Assistant Secretary. Our request was pushed away and communicated to us through the same Dr. Sanjeev. The following are some of the highlights of the Q&A period.

When asked about the U.S. role in the Horn of Africa crisis engulfing Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, the Ambassador explained the region as a “very, very, very hot region for current and future U.S. administrations”. The majority of the audience was from the Horn of Africa region and undoubtedly, brought burning questions. Shakespear Feyissa, an Ethiopian-American Lawyer confronted Frazer on why the U.S. has done little or nothing about the mass killings and arrests of innocent civilians, imprisonment of elected opposition officials and civic society leaders following the 2005 controversial Ethiopian election. The lawyer specifically asked why the Assistant Secretary herself and her administration ignored the dictatorial actions of Prime Minister Meles of Ethiopia. As soon as Shakespear finished his high-toned question, the room was erupted with an overwhelming noise of support. The moderator seemed to panic and ordered the house not ask questions about Ethiopia. Frazer attempted to address the question and differed with Shakespear on the level of American response. She argued that they pressured Meles on the release of the prisoners and related matters.

Dr. Frazer was also asked about the policy of the U.S. on the Ethio-Eritrea border conflict. The Ambassador was frank to argue that her personal belief and stand was not to involve in this matter. However, she said that she had to do the job as instructed by her boss. According to Dr. Jendayi, President Issayas of Eritrea further complicated the matter when he chose not to deal with America. She clarified that her office and Secretary Rice have been attempting to reach Issayas with no success at all simply because the “President of Eritrea does not return our phone calls”. When she gave reasons on why President Issayas is unfriendly towards the U.S. she indicated one turning point. According to the Ambassador, President Issayas was offended when the U.S. put Ethiopia along Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya as one of the four major Strategic Countries to America. Eritrea directly asked America to remove Ethiopia from the list and Eritrea itself to take the place. Frazer mentioned that Eritrea offered an Island base for the U.S. military and it was declined because it was not needed. That also angered Issayas Afeworki. Subsequently, there is no meaningful diplomatic relationship and the Ambassador stressed that the U.S. has limited leverage over Eritrea. However, she was not short of warning the tiny Horn of Africa Nation for serving as a base for Islamic extremists. Dr. Jendayi believes that Eritrea’s support to extremists is not because of Ideological conformity, but rather Issayas is focused so much in deposing the Meles Zenawi regime in Ethiopia.

On the Somali crisis, she made it clear that the U.S. expects Ethiopia to leave Somali after making sure of the uncertainty of power vacuum. She expressed her concern on the slow African Union response. Dr. Jendayi was also asked how America handles the different Somali faction groups. She argued that the U.S. has no enemy in Africa and openly or otherwise we dialogue with all Somali Faction leaders including the extremists.

Dr. Jendayi recognized the fast paced China involvement in Africa and she mentioned that Africa would become one of the new power centers because of the hugely untapped human and natural resources. The Ambassador confessed that her African Bureau is full of junior diplomats with limited or no experience to deal with high stake issues in Africa.

Another audience asked if there is a chance for the U.S. to settle the Ethio-Eritrea dispute. Jendayi Frazer, with a tone of frustration, labeled Meles and Isayas as the twin “stubborn leaders”.

Note: information from the U.S. Department of State used for this report.

The writer can be reached at muluneh@ethiomedia.com

Ethiopia’s current ruler not any better than Mengistu (Daily Nation)

LETTERS

Publication Date: 6/2/2008

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VIDEO: British link in the Somalia tragedy (must watch) [Ethipian Review]

This is a must watch report by DISPATCHES, an investigative program produced by the U.K.-based Channel 4 TV. The report describes the link between U.K. and the ongoing state of terror in Somalia that is currently occupied by the Western-backed regime of Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi. Click to to get the VIDEO.

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