Red Cross seeks 1.7 million dollars for food aid in Ethiopia (The Earth Time)

At the same time, inflation had soared and cereal prices rocketed by more than a fifth two years running, the Geneva-based International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said...read more..

Ethiopia: We are not alone (African Path)

She told us that Azeb Gola/Mesfin and her families were fascist Italian collaborators and what they are doing now to Ethiopia is revenge. Giving Ethiopian land is pay back time for Gonder area people first by incorporating their land known for producing cash crops like sesame to Tigray region and then she said now the second phase is to hand it to Sudan for future short and long term benefit for Meles and his buddies...reead more..

VOA coverage of Ginbot 7’s formation (Galbeed)

The Voice of America (VOA) gave a wide coverage of the formation of the Ginbot 7 Movement on its afternoon broadcast.more

Ginbot 7, a Movement for Justice and Democracy is formed (Galbeed)

We are continuing what we began on May 15th 2005 and October of 2006 in which we promised to make the people of Ethiopia the sole source of political power, and that is why we decided to form the “Ginbot 7 Movement.”

The primary objective of our movement is to stir our country towards a stable democratic process and transition. We recognize that this effort or task will not be achieved by one political party alone, or by few political parties who share similar ideologies. It needs a willing coalition of and collective effort of all parties who feel or claim to have a stake in Ethiopia’s political future. We see the need that all stakeholders need to discuss and reach a mutual agreement on how to achieve the stated objective. Our movement is fully committed and dedicated in bringing all parties together to begin dialogue. To that end, we are already seeing promising signs....more..

Cash-strapped WFP cuts food aid in Ethiopia (Reuters)

Despite evidence of malnourishment in some drought-affected areas, a food deficit will prevent the agency from providing nutritious, life-saving food supplements to acutely malnourished children and mothers."..more..

Rising Price of Gas Impacting Daily Life in Ethiopia (Christian Children's Fund)

“We can no longer afford a proper breakfast for the whole family,” Hulagerish said. “We give priority to the youngest kids. We can’t invite guests or relatives home anymore and we feel bad when relatives visit us unexpectedly as we cannot even offer them tea.”...more..

Hundreds of Ethiopian troops have died fighting Islamist insurgents in Somalia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: A government spokesman says hundreds of Ethiopian troops have died fighting the Islamist insurgency in Somalia.

Foreign Affairs spokesman Wahide Belay said Tuesday that Ethiopia has about 3,000 troops in Somalia.

They deployed in December 2006 and drove out Islamist fighters who had seized control of most of southern Somalia including the capital, Mogadishu. But since then they have got bogged down and failed to halt the insurgents. Source: International Heral Tribune.

Report: Arrested "pirates of Ponant" related to Somali president(Waridaad)

Le Point said their identities, as members of the same Darod- Majteen clan as the president, have been confirmed by several French government sources...more..

Worldwide March for Freedom, Justice and Human Rights in Ethiopia (Anuak Justice Council)

Plans are well underway for the four-day event, Worldwide March for Freedom, Justice and Human Rights in Ethiopia, starting on May 15, 2008 and ending on Sunday, March 18, but the invitation is still open for more people to join in as organizers and support people. Teleconference meetings are being held daily to assist participants in the process....more..

Entertainment monthly’s deputy editor freed on bail( Reporters Without Boarders)

Alemayehu Mahtemework, the deputy editor of the entertainment monthly Enku, and the three other people who were arrested at the same time as him were released on bail today despite the existence of a court order authorising their detention for 14 days pending trial....more..

Ethiopia accuses Amnesty of smear campaign(Reuters)

"In light of the devastating testimony we received from ordinary Somalis who have been the victims of brutal attacks by all parties to the conflict, we expect the Ethiopian government to support a call for an international independent commission into the serious crimes being committed," a spokesperson said....more..

Somali refugees speak of horrific war crimes (Guardin UK)

The Amnesty report said: "Among the most common violations reported were an increased incidence of gang rape, and scores of reports of a type of killing locally referred to as ... 'killing like goats'."..more..

Rebels fear Puntland, Ethiopia secret pact(Afro News)

The secret pact was forged to provide arms and military training for Puntland authorities, a clear violation of the United Nations arms embargo on Somalia, ONLF complained.

Happy Mother's Day- Sweden Best, Ethiopia Worst Place for Mothers and Children(Injury board)

On the other end of the scale are countries where mothers face the greatest hardship.

Include Niger, Chad, Yemen, Sierra Leone, Angola, Guinea Bissa, Eritrea, Djibouti, Mali and Ethiopia...more..

Murder attempt against Puntland's last woman TV presenter (Nieuws bank)

"A terrible tragedy has been narrowly avoided in this country, which was in 2007, the deadliest for journalists in Africa. Bisharo Mohammed Waeys's forced descent into life under guard symbolises a serious step backwards for Somalia since the outbreak of war between the transitional government and Islamic insurgents," the worldwide press freedom organisation said....more..

Meles Zenawi is back to business (Ethiomedia)

In fact, survival as a country is the most critical problem facing Ethiopia at the moment. In addition to his humiliation and repression of its citizens, Meles Zenawi is continuing his despicable task of violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ethiopia. He is holding Ethiopia hostage and functioning as a patronage for foreign interest in the country and the region. He has always fought and stood against the national interest of Ethiopia as a reaffirmation of his allegiance to his foreign backers and financiers...more..

The causes of the current Ethiopian soaring inflation rate( Ethiomedia)

In fact, this is not the first time that Mr. Zenawi deceptively used the millions of destitute Ethiopian peasants to his political advantage. As Kahsay Berhe in his 2005 book aptly put it, all that Meles Zenawi has done, beginning in the 1970s, is control the socioeconomic life of the peasantry (see pp. 74-76). Not only is Meles Zenawi controlling the life of the peasantry, but his party has also been extorting the peasantry by levying its exorbitant and...more..

Elections, Qatar, Commodity Exchange and Teddy Afro –(Quatero)

....When there is too much noise from the regime, you know something is up. You have to be alert to separate the chaff from the grain. They just throw everything at you. This time their main aim was to deflect attention from the sham ‘election’ they were orchestrating. It was considered to be a non-event by everybody except the regime....more..

Solve Ethiopia’s governance crises (Business Daily Afrivca)

Why the regime prefers to go through the motion of an election, when it has literally zero interest or commitment to honour the choices and voices of the people particularly when they vote for opposition party candidates, strikes any impartial observer as nothing else but activities that are supremely diversionary, opportunistic, cynical and immoral. It is the regime’s indulgence which appears to be a cruel joke on the people....more

Somali children freed from mosque (BBC)

...Among the dead were religious leaders from the Tabliq Sufi sect, which had stayed out of the conflict.

The UN emergency relief co-ordinator John Holmes has called for action against those involved in the attack....more..

Amnesty urges Ethiopia to probe Mogadishu mosque executions (AFP)

...Seven of the 21 killed at the mosque were reported to have had their throats cut, a form of illegal execution practised by Ethiopian troops in Somalia," it said...more..

Somalia/Ethiopia: Deliberate killing of civilians is a war crime (African Press Organization)

“Deliberately killing civilians is a war crime,” said Amnesty International. “We call on the Ethiopian government to ensure an independent investigation is carried out into the raid on the mosque and the subsequent treatment of those detained by its forces.”..more..

Ethiopia denies Amnesty’s accusation of killings at mosque (The Peninsula

Some moderate Islamist leaders in Somalia have postponed plans to attend UN-sponsored peace talks after the mosque incident and an escalation of fighting in Mogadishu...more..

Army slit throats in mosque, says Amnesty (Herald sun)

"Eye-witnesses report that those killed inside the mosque were unarmed civilians taking no active part in hostilities," Amnesty said.

"Seven of the 21 were reported to have died after their throats were cut - a form of extra-judicial execution practiced by Ethiopian forces in Somalia.". ...more..

Internet Enemies (Reporter Without boarder)

The government in May 2006 blocked access to opposition websites and the most read blogs. The information ministry said at the time that “technical problems do occur from time to time (...) but [that its] intention was not to censor". The blog platform, Blogspot.com, was blocked preventing Internet-users from communicating and getting out information about the situation in the country. The Ethiopian blog and news portal Nazret.com, was also blocked....more..

Berhanu, Andargachew and others resign from Kinijit(Ethipian Review)

PRESS RELEASE

Elections and desiganted losers (Ethiomedia)

..I have seen people in democratic countries as they walk out of election booths with their heads held high and walking majestically knowing full well that their votes count towards the ownership of their governments. For God's sake, how can you have elections when you don’t have choices to make and even if you choose you are not sure what the authorities do with your vote? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Paradoxically, Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s Comical Ali, is in full gear telling everyone left and right that all problems of the elections are caused by the opposition, the designated losers. I am always flabbergasted by the density of this man’s head and the boldness with which he speaks. It is like a raPublish Postpist accusing his victim of making noise....more..

The “Sleeping Giant” is half awakened (Addis Voice)

... “Election results will be quicker than in Zimbabwe” Bereket Semon, Chief of the Political Bureau of the EPRDF. I guess Mr. Bereket is right, and in deed election results are much quicker in Ethiopia than in Zimbabwe because Bereket’s party new super-computer has the capability to accurately forecast election results weeks ahead of the election....more..

Locusts storm Ethiopia (afrol)

afrol News, 18 April - Locust breeding and swarms have been reported near Konso and the Rift Valley in southern Ethiopia, despite the increased rainfall over the last week across the country, Food Emergency Warning System alerted...more..

A brother and sister from Ethiopia found a home with Sask. parents desperate for their own family (Canada)

One of the oldest countries in the world - Ethiopian dynastic history is traced back to 1,000 BC - it's also one of the most destitute. More than 80 per cent of the population lives on less than $2 US a day. Nearly two million people have either HIV or AIDS. The life expectancy is just 49.23 years, 194th out of 217 countries and barely ahead of Afghanistan, Rwanda and Sierra Leone....more..

Ethiopia's Election Panel, Opposition Trade Accusations (VOA)

"Our hopes and aspirations for democracy have been dashed, and at this moment we appeal to our members, supporters and the people of Ethiopia in general to support us in our peaceful struggle against this emerging absolutism and disregard for the supremacy of the law," said Bulcha Demeksa...more..

Ethiopia: Gov’t blames rebels backed by Eritrea for deadly city blasts (Somainet)l

The ONLF has got nothing to do with this at all," spokesman Abdirahman Mahdi said by telephone from London. "These attacks happened in Addis, far from our area of operations. And besides, it is not our policy to harm civilians....more..

Ethiopians see consolidated Stalinism in latest elections (Ethipmedia)

When Stephen Sacker of the BBC's Hardtalk questioned the impartiality of the National Electoral Board following the deadliest 2005 elections, Meles Zenawi said he had no influence on Board members who were elected by a certain president about 10 years ago.

The journalist followed up his question with: "who was the president a decade ago?" "I was," came the surprise response, which prompted Sacker to stare Meles in the eye, and said, "You have been in power for 14 years?"..read more for the answer.

Another Ethiopia opposition party pulls out of polls (Reuters)

OFDM election observers were callously mistreated. They were refused entry to polling stations. Our observers were pushed like they were intruders," Bulcha told reporters. "Under these circumstances, the OFDM has decided to withdraw from the local election of April 20, 2008.... more..

Power Politics Trumps Democracy in U.S.-backed Ethiopia (The indypendent )

“I was in an isolation cell at that time. They came for me in the middle of the night,” Nega recalls, calmly explaining how one night he was blindfolded and dragged by his armpits into another room he can only refer to as the “torture chamber.”

“They flip you over onto your back with your feet in the air, and then hit you on the bottom of your feet, and everywhere with an electrical cord. I couldn’t move for weeks afterward.”

Nega’s story echoes accounts of intimidation, arrests and beatings recounted by journalists in many parts of the world. Alarmingly, these accounts of iron-fisted censorship emerge not only from the notoriously repressive regimes that often make the news such as North Korea, Burma or Iran. Just as often they come from the political darlings of the United States’ foreign policy; places like Pakistan, Egypt and more recently Ethiopia....more..

Ethiopia: The one hundred years homework (africanpath)

Here is where the "Fire and Straw/Esatina Chid" that worried Meles Zenawi and made him speak in animated mode in his parliament. He knows that coming together of all political groups without preconditions is going to shorten the one hundred years homework we were given by Isayas by many years...more

Ethiopia opposition alleges intimidation at polls (Herald Tribune)

This week, a report on the current polls by U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said its researchers noted "systemic patterns of repression and abuse that have rendered the elections meaningless in many areas". More..

Unrest simmers in Ethiopia's Ogaden (Aljazeera)

Human Rights Watch says that civilians have borne the brunt of the military response, with whole villages razed to the ground as well as public executions, rapes and torture...more..

UNICEF urges birth registration as kids' right in Ethiopia( afriquenligne)

.."These children are deprived of their basic rights, and with no documentary evidence to prove how old they are or even who they are, they are likely to join the millions facing discrimination and the lack of access to basic services such as health and education," said UNICEF Country Representative Bjorn Ljungqvist...More..

Rights group says it is 'too late to salvage' upcoming Ethiopian elections (iht)

..."It is too late to salvage these elections, which will simply be a rubber stamp on the (the ruling party's) near-monopoly on power at the local level," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Still, officials must at least allow the voters to decide how and whether to cast their ballots without intimidation."...More...

Second Opposition Faction Preparing Boycott of Ethiopia Vote (VOA)

"We went in for the sake of peace and stability in our country," said Bulcha Demeksa. "We did not want to be the cause of any crisis. But when the government shows no willingness to cooperate, and wants to be the only party which governs ethiopia, then we have no hope. We cannot work with this kind of party. We have to quit and show the world we are not able to work with them."..More..

Land clashes kill 18 in Ethiopia(Reuter)

ADDIS ABABA, April 9 (Reuters) - Clashes over grazing and farm land killed 18 people last week near the southern Ethiopian town of Wondo-Genet, police said....more...

Ethiopia's Inflation Accelerates to 22.4% in February on Food (Bloonburg)

..Inflation expanded from 19.4 percent in January, the Addis Ababa-based agency said in a report today. Food prices climbed 30.2 percent on an annual basis, from 28 percent in January, according to the report...More..

Ending Ethiopia's U.S.-Backed Somalia Occupation (black star news)

Many Human Rights groups have also documented the impunity with which Ethiopian troops have operated in Somalia in the past year. In August 2007, Human Rights Watch released a major report titled Shell-Shocked: Civilians under Siege in Mogadishu documenting the crimes against civilians committed by all the warring factions during March and April of 2007.
The report specifically documented the deliberate shelling by Ethiopian troops of densely populated areas including hospitals, the looting of private property and the mass arrests and detentions of civilians. ..more..

Who is Birtukan? (Ethiopolitics)

By Addis Admass Magazine - Amharic interview ...Click here to read more

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2007( US.Department of State)

rregularities, including intimidation of voters and election observers, marred polling in many areas. The government and EPRDF also announced the "final" election results before the NEB released them. Observers reported killings, disappearances, voter intimidation and harassment, and unlawful detentions of opposition party supporters, particularly in the Amhara, Oromiya, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples regions. The Carter Center expressed concern over reports of improper vote counting and tabulation, stating that its observer teams had "found evidence that ballot boxes have been moved improperly, were improperly secured, or that party agents were barred from polling stations or were not allowed to observe the entire count." It also reported "election day and postelection intimidation and harassment." The head of the European Union's Electoral Observation Mission issued a preliminary report stating that the postelection complaint review process "did not live up to international standards," citing irregularities in key areas. In spite of these criticisms, international observers noted that the elections, and particularly the preelection campaign season, were an important step forward in the country's democratization efforts.....Full text

Meseret Defer breaks record in Stuttgart (Eurosport)

The Ethiopian 5,000 metres Olympic gold medalist blitzed the field with a world best time of 8 minutes 27.93 seconds, having set the world's fastest time of 8 mins 23.72 seconds over the same distance at the same venue the year before....more

Ethiopia: "Mum, Were We Meant to Suffer All Our Lives?"(Allafrica)

Nadifo Gababa fled to Kenya from her home in Ethiopia in 2005. The Ethiopian authorities claimed that she was financially supporting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) -- an organization formed in 1973 to fight for the rights of the Oromo people of Ethiopia. OLF accuse the Ethiopian government of decades of human rights abuses against the Oromo. Gababa feared arrest....read more

West 'embraces sham democracies'(BBC)

HRW said the West was often unwilling to criticise the autocrats for fear of losing access to resources or commercial opportunities, or because of the perceived requirements of fighting terrorism. Read more

Honor among thieves (Ethiomedia)

“The threat of Western sanctions as a response to the current crisis in Kenya is very, very misguided. If it is presumed that the Kenyans will democratize in order to eat the peanuts of development assistance from the European Union, for example, it would be a big mistake.” read more

"Be fair, Ato Meles!" Ethiomedia)

"Be fair, Ato Meles!"

ADDIS ABABA - This meeting took place at Addis Ababa University about three years prior to the ill-fated 2005 elections. An honest, fearless and courageous scholar tells Meles Zenawi that it is too late to talk about the dangers of ethnic politics. But he says,clik here to watch video clip

Kinijit past, present, future - Andargachew Tsege (Ethiopian Review)

Jan 27, 2008

Ato Andargachew Tsege writes about learning from Kinijit’s past and planning for the party’s future. Click here to read

Ask Now, Praise Later - the Motive of Seye Abraha (Oromoindex)

By Ebissa Ragassa

Modern Ethiopian politics is an illusion created to confuse and fool the mass through many possible ways of event control. This is a new method that the public has not been aware of yet; it is through controlling events (from the local to the national levels) that the TPLF employees manipulate the Ethiopian peoples. A false event is implanted by the government to create a chaotic state; when the public gets confused and becomes desperate for help, it runs back to the government and accepts any deals the government slaps on the table. In the process, freedom, progress and critical thinking are sacrificed, and the citizens become blind followers. ..more

The challenge of shaping Ethiopia’s sustainable future(sudan Tribune)

One of the appealing consequences from the rise of knjit was the possibility of re-framing national politics on the foundation of citizenship and not ethnicity or vernacular specificity. Knjit appeared to promise the emergence of social capital based on a movement that involved citizens’ votes, expressions, voices. It created a new political space that fired the national imagination...more

Ethiopia: Does it matter, Dialogue or outrage for the Kinijit's sickness?(africanpath)

What Hailu and the other Fives have done after their release is destroying the Kinijit spirit by their examples we heard in their interviews and deeds. They might be educated people but not good leaders in any measurement you take...more

Happy New Year to every one!

We will be back with new energy for the year 2008

From Ethio4all family

Eid mubarak to our Muslim brothers and sisters
all over the world

From Family of Ethio4all

Rice appeal to Ethiopia on Ogaden (BBC)

But at the moment, there is one major irritant to the relationship - a bill known as HR2003, which would restrict US military assistance to Ethiopia because of its poor human rights record.

It has already been approved by the US House of Representatives....more

Beggars and choosers(Ethiomedia)

Meles said, “H.R. 2003 is a curse. The U.S. Congress is making a law for Ethiopia about what kind of an election board it should have, what it should look like. We have a parliament here. Why should the U.S. Congress pass such a law?” The answer is simple. Congress does not want American tax dollars to be used to kill, torture, maim, imprison and persecute Ethiopian citizens. It has nothing to do with telling Meles how to run his show, or usurp the powers of his parliament. It has everything to do with NOT using American aid to massacre unarmed protesters, indiscriminately bomb civilian populations, and deny Ethiopian citizens basic human rights....more

Ethiopia: Oromo Opposition Calls Current Assab Status “Most Unjust”(Jimma Times)

Bulcha, whose party has run for and won some parliament seats in Oromia, however remarked a means where the two countries can share. Without this, he says the current status quo is wrong and believes in an international approach to solving the issue. “It would be one of the most unjust international decisions if it was decided that Assab should be owned and control....more

Terror is a tactic.Interview with Nir Rosen (Uruknet)

Question: The humanitarian situation in Somalia is steadily worsening. The UN reports that nearly 500,000 Somalis have fled Mogadishu and are living in makeshift tent cities with little food or water. The resistance--backed by the former government--the Islamic Courts Union-- is gaining strength and fighting has broken out in 70% of the neighborhoods in Mogadishu. Why is the US backing the invading Ethiopian army? Is Somalia now facing another bloody decades-long war or is there hope that the warring parties can resolve their differences?.. Full Interview

Dueling Dictators (News week)

f there were an award for the most pointless war of the last 25 years, Ethiopia and Eritrea's 1998-2000 border battle might well take the prize. An estimated 70,000 people were killed, another 750,000 displaced, and by the time of the ceasefire two of the poorest countries on earth had each spent over a half billion dollars fighting over a few dusty miles of parched scrubland. As if that weren't bad enough, the two dictators who oversaw that disaster are now leading their countries dangerously close to a rematch...more

Eritrea-Ethiopia deadline expires(BBC)

A deadline for long-time foes Ethiopia and Eritrea to agree their shared border is to expire at midnight.

The date was set a year ago by the Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission which was created following a bloody border war between the two countries.

The commission says if it fails to hear anything it will consider the line it has drawn as the official border...more

Journalists from Zimbabwe, Mexico, Ethiopia, Iraq gain recognition (Mediaforfreedom)

The IWMF also recognized Ethiopia’s Serkalem Fasil, who was jailed and, under deplorable conditions, delivered a child prematurely. She was incarcerated because of articles her publications carried that were critical of the government during the May 2005 elections. According to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, only China and Cuba have a worse ranking than Ethiopia for their treatment of journalists...more

U.S.'s Rice to visit Ethiopia in rare Africa trip(Reuter)

Tensions have been rising in recent months between Ethiopia and its neighbor Eritrea over its disputed border, with Eritrea accusing the United States of siding with Addis Ababa. (Reporting by Sue Pleming; editing by Philip Barbara)...Full Text

Ethiopia's Meles denies rights abuses in Ogaden(Reuter)

ncreasingly under pressure from the West over his rights record in recent years, Meles says the ONLF is lying, and is a terrorist group sponsored by arch-enemy Eritrea.

"Massive human rights abuses and massive deaths in the Ogaden do not and will not exist," he said.

Once a rebel leader himself, who helped topple former Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, Meles said it would be counterproductive to terrorise locals.

"After all, it is only 16 or so years ago that we ourselves were insurgents," he said. "The stupidest mistake a government does is to harass civilians."

Meles generally gets high marks from Western diplomats for his anti-poverty strategies, but is frequently criticised for authoritarian tactics handling foes inside Ethiopia...Full Text

Ethiopia accused of civilian abuse(Sacbee)

The untrained and ill-equipped draftees – including students, camel herders and tribal leaders who had never fired weapons in combat – are being thrown into pitched battles with ethnic Somali guerrillas and often suffer heavy casualties, more than a dozen refugees and ex-recruits said...Full Text

Ethiopia:The Human Development Index - going beyond income(HDRStats)

The HDI for Ethiopia is 0.406, which gives the country a rank of 169^th out of 177 countries with data ..Full Text

Somalia offensive after attacks (BBC)

At least six Ethiopian army bases came under fire:

• In the north of the city at two former factories and at Ex-Control intersection
• In the south of the city at the football stadium and an army camp
• In the central Bakara market district where there are bases along the main road.

About three civilian bodies have been found on Wednesday morning around one of former factories....Full Text

Secretary of State Kenney Commemorates the Ethiopian Millennium(Canadian HEritage)

OTTAWA, November 28, 2007 - The Honourable Jason Kenney, Secretary of State (Multiculturalism and Canadian Identity), will celebrate the Ethiopian Millennium tomorrow at an event in Ottawa.

"The Ethiopian presence in Canada dates from the 1980s," said Secretary of State Kenney. "Canada now has a population of more than 15,000 Canadians of Ethiopian heritage who have contributed greatly to our economy in the areas of finance, engineering, and particularly in medicine. It is at events such as these that we can learn from each other and about our differences while celebrating our common Canadian identity.".Full Text

UPDAE 1-UN presses Ethiopia to probe Ogaden allegations(Reuter)

Aid agencies say people in the region are suffering severe food and medical needs because of the fighting, and the United Nations says 953,000 are in need of help.

"What I was trying to do was symbolise by my visit the extent of international concern about the situation there and the depths of our concern to avert a serious humanitarian crisis there in the future," Holmes told reporters in Addis Ababa...Full Text

Starbucks to open farmer-support center in Ethiopia (SeattleTimes)

Now it is building a farmer-support center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. Like the support center Starbucks opened in 2004 in Costa Rica, it will work with farmers, exporters and others to improve the quality of their coffee so that Starbucks can buy more of it...Full Text

Soldiers continue human rights abuses in Ethiopia's beleaguered southeast, say residents (IHT)

The man also described gang rapes and public hangings in the region and said that villagers had been told not to speak to international observers. Officials in the area also said villagers had been told not to speak to outsiders, and that also was mentioned in a September report by a U.N. fact-finding mission....more

Eritrea-Ethiopia border deadline looms amid war fears (Reuter)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Tuesday said Ethiopia had no plans of fighting another war, but would make sure Eritrea "never, ever dreamed" of conflict if Asmara unilaterally launched one.

Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu reacted to the comments on Wednesday reiterating longstanding allegations Ethiopia is planning to invade. "This is just what's been said on TV screens, but we know what's happening on the ground and behind closed doors," he said...more..

Ethiopia turns waste plastic into fuel(African News)

With the objective of replicating India’s experience in other African countries, the joint venture is also on the way of installing fuel generating plants in Ghana and Mauritius. It is also negotiating with other countries such as Tunisia...more

UN to visit Ethiopia trouble spot (BBC)

..There have been persistent reports of army abuse of the civilian population but for a long time no outside agencies were able to get in to the worst-affected areas to verify the claims or to act as a restraining presence....full Text

Ethiopia:Defar wins prestigious continental award (Africa News)

Ethiopia's World and Olympic 5000m champion Meseret Defar won the premier 2007 Abdou Diouf Foundation Award for Sport Virtues in Dakar, Senegal, on Wednesday...Full Text

Ethiopia 'bogged down' in Somalia (BBC)

...Their presence is unpopular in Mogadishu and earlier this month, insurgents dragged the bodies of Ethiopian troops through the city....Full Text

PM Meles: Ethiopia Prepared for War, Wants Peace With Eritrea (VOA)

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says his country is prepared for a possible war with neighboring Eritrea, and warned that an invasion by Eritrea would lead to that country's destruction. His comments came three days before a deadline for demarcating their common border. As VOA's Peter Heinlein reports from Addis Ababa, Mr. Meles also acknowledged that Ethiopia is bogged down in another conflict in Somalia....more

Remembering the martyrs of 2005(Ethiomedia)

But resistance to tyranny and oppression need not be violent or require the use of arms. Civil disobedience is a mighty weapon of patriots everywhere as they confront the repressive state, be it foreign or domestic. Gandhi defeated the mighty British army not by swords or guns, but through peaceful resistance, civil disobedience and non-cooperation. His “Quit India Movement” was the greatest challenge to British colonial rule. Martin King helped America realize the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal through mass nonviolent civil disobedience....more

Ethiopia: Dying regime with curious supporters (Biddho)

The US Administration, through its representatives at the State Department, and most vocally through Jendayi E. Frazer, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, has gone out of its way to publicly and aggressively defend and protect the minority regime in Ethiopia, as it violates international law, rejects the Final and Binding decision of the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), refuses to allow for the unconditional demarcation of the Eritrea Ethiopia border, invades and occupies sovereign territories of neighboring states, violates the human rights of the Ethiopian and Somali peoples, commits genocides, rapes and untold international crimes against humanity, tortures political detainees and employing Menghistu's scorched earth policies, uses food as a weapon of war against the people of Ethiopia...Full text

FEATURE-Ethiopia's Ogaden refugees recount horrors of conflict (Reuter)

Osman Omar Abdi's journey from the Ogaden district of Jarar began in May after, he says, his wife was shot dead in front of him, his six children scattered, and his house burned during a chaotic morning raid by foot-soldiers.

"The Ethiopians say that all the Ogaden people are part and parcel of the ONLF, they don't differentiate, so they kill everyone," he said, displaying a scar on his hand that he described as a bullet-wound.

"I heard the grandparents got three of my children. I don't know about the others," added Abdi, revealing at the end of an interview that he had been a "member of the ONLF resistance."....more

Ethiopia 'bombs' Ogaden villages (BBC)

n separate interviews reported by the Reuters news agency, the Ogadenis claimed Ethiopian soldiers had been entering villages over and over again to kill, rape and burn in a campaign to flush out ONLF rebels....more

European parliament calls for war crimes probe in Somalia (AFP)

The UN secretary general's special envoy to Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, said Tuesday that war crimes suspects in the shattered African nation should be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court to end impunity.

In April, a European Union envoy to Kenya, Eric van der Linden, asked Brussels to investigate whether Ethiopian and Somali forces had committed war crimes in their recent crackdown on Islamist and clan insurgents in Mogadishu...more

Ethiopian opposition to brief media today in DC before heading home (Ethiomedia)

WASHINGTON DC - The Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (CUDP) delegation to the United States is giving a press conference at 3:00 PM Eastern Time today November 15, 2007 on the premises of the Ethiopian Television Network (ETN)..more

Who is in power? On the horns of a dilemma (Ethiomedia)

The official word from the Ethiopian government is that they have violated the terms of their release. They are accused of abusing the government’s gesture of good will in releasing them from prison. They have been talking to Congress. They said there is no democracy in Ethiopia . They have been badmouthing the government in the international press. They said there are gross human rights abuses in Ethiopia . They are consorting with the enemy. They are working with the OLF and ONLF. Reportedly, Meles held a recent video conference with the so-called regionanl council presidents, asking them to petition the federal government to charge the Kinijit leaders with treason for their support of H.R. 2003......more

Unjustly bullying and intimidating Kinijit leaders(Ethiomedia)

Important Video Clips (Ethiopian Mdia)

Toronto and Calgary's ceremonies for CUDP leaders)

Big Marathon Payday Becomes More Than a Dream (Newyork Times)

By FRANK LITSKY

Published: November 6, 2007

Gete Wami remembered the first time she earned prize money for running.

“I went to Italy and won $500,” said Wami, a 33-year-old from Ethiopia. “I took the money and built a two-room adobe back home.”

Robert Cheruiyot remembered the poverty of his youth, when he was limited to one meal a day at age 4 and had no shoes until he was 10 or 11.

“I got my first prize money when I went to Brazil, and they gave me $5,000,” said Cheruiyot, 29, from Kenya. “I went home and gave it to my mother.

“Getting this check here, I wasn’t expecting in my life to get this.”..Full txet

Students Protest Beyonce's Ethiopia Trip (Washington Post)

By ANITA POWELL

The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 6, 2007; 12:03 PM

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Students at Ethiopia's top religious college are protesting the close ties between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the government, alleged restrictions on their speech _ and Beyonce's recent meeting with their patriarch...full text

Ethiopia, Eritrea on Verge Of Border War, Report Says (Washinton Post)

Ethiopia also has been building up its air force and jamming Eritrean radar, according to a U.S. government source, who speculated that Ethiopia may strike by air in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, hoping to topple the government there....more

VOA reports on the killing of Ethiopians in Kenya (Ethiopian review)

VOA report about the recent kidnappings and killings of Ethiopians in Kenya by Woyanne gunmen. Click here to listen

10 Ethiopian students killed, 4 journalists attacked in Kenya(Ethiomedia)

A recent report in Abyotawi Democracy, an Amharic-language organ of the ruling party of Mr. Zenawi, informs its readers that the most organized opposition forces tainting the “good image" of the government in Addis are the powerful Ethiopian Diaspora in North America and Europe, the US-based Ethiopian-American group campaigning for HR 2003 (i.e. a human rights and democracy bill pending US Senate approval), and exiled journalists and other Ethiopians based in Kenya....more

Clan elder accuses Ethiopia soldiers of killing 3 civilians (Garoweonline)

Mohamed Hassan Haad, leader of an anti-Ethiopia Hawiye elders' council, said the dead bodies of the three civilians were found today near Stadium Mogadishu, a major base for Ethiopian forces.

One of the dead victims was an old man who worked as a security guard for the independent HornAfrik radio...full history

Ethiopia rebels say killed 270 more troops (Reuter)

In its latest "military communique", the ONLF said "large numbers" of its fighters had engaged government troops in five places between Oct 26-Nov 1 due to "summary executions, detentions of nomads and senseless shooting of livestock". ...more

Coming of Age in America: Ethiopia in the Diaspora (The Ethiopian American)

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Scattered by the Winds of Oppression

Perhaps with the exception of those Ethiopians who arrived in the U.S. in the early 1970s, most who came to the U.S. over the past three decades partly did so for political reasons. Whether it is the militarized terror of the Derg or the wanton violence of the current regime, politics remains a principal cause of Ethiopian refugees throughout the world. For obvious reasons, the U.S. remains a preferred destination for the majority of Ethiopian refugees, as it was the preferred educational venue for the earlier arrivals....Ful Text

Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of invasion plans again(Reyter

Ethiopia has threatened to pull out of the peace agreement ending the 1998-2000 war based on what it says were repeated violations by Eritrea. Asmara, in turn, accuses Addis Ababa of violating the pact...more

Dr. Berhanu Nega on Chicago Public Radio (Host: Jerome McDonnell) (KinijitEthiopia)

My encounter with Berhanu Nega - Elias Kifle( Ethiopian review)

A brittle Western ally in the Horn of Africa (The Economist)

The reasons for this economic crawl are not hard to find. Beyond the government-directed state, funded substantially by foreign aid, there is—almost uniquely in Africa—virtually no private-sector business at all. The IMF estimates that in 2005-06 the share of private investment in the country was just 11%, nearly unchanged since Mr Zenawi took over in the early 1990s. That is partly a reflection of the fact that, despite some privatisation since the centralised Marxist days of the Derg, large areas of the economy remain government monopolies, closed off to private business.

...This is where Ethiopia misses out badly. Take telecoms. While the rest of Africa has been virtually transformed in just a few years by a revolution in mobile telephony, Ethiopia stumbles along with its inept and useless government-run services. Everywhere else, a plethora of South African, home-grown and European providers has leapt into the market to provide Africans with an extraordinary array of cheaper and more efficient services, now used even by the poorest of farmers, for instance, to check spot prices for agricultural goods in markets miles away. And the mobile-phone revolution has created thousands of new livelihoods; at times it seems as if every boy on a street corner is hawking a top-up card. Not in Ethiopia.

...The Ethiopian government's efforts at political control are supported by a wide network of informers and secret police. Critics say it is exploiting the jihadist terror threat to link many legitimate opposition campaigners and supporters with terrorist groups and take them off the streets. The threats from Eritrea, where a new border war could erupt at any time, and the Islamists in Somalia are real. But at this rate, argues Mr Demeksa, “the ethnic groups are on a collision course.”...Click here to read more