Wednesday, June 11, 2008
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..
Monday, June 9, 2008
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..
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..
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..
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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..
Saturday, June 7, 2008
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.
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..
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
'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.
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 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..
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
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..
Monday, June 2, 2008
Editorial Death by kangaroo court
Ethiomedia | June 2, 2008
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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Exiled Anuak confront Ethiopian official in Minn.(Fox News)
The Anuak Justice Council in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has been pushing U.S. and Canadian authorities to arrest and try Omot for war crimes. He is expected to continue on to Canada next week. But advocates haven't been able to confirm whether he's traveling on a diplomatic visa that would grant him wide-ranging immunity....More..
Somali opposition says Ethiopia pull-out a condition for govt talks ( AFP)
"We have to agree that this issue of the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia will be genuinely adressed," said Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, deputy chair of the Asmara-based Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS).
"At least we want to get a timetable for an Ethiopian withdrawal, then we can sit face to face" with the government, he explained...More..
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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.
Ethiopa's humanitarian crisis (BBC)
Ethiopia is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since 2003. Aid agencies in Shashamina have been inundated with people suffering from malnutrition. Wendy Urquhart reports..Click here to listen.
Somali president escapes assassination bid (CNN)
But the presence of the Ethiopians has united various Islamic militant groups in Somalia, including Al-Shaabab, who are trying to oust the Ethiopian forces and gain control of Mogadishu...More..
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Somali Islamic courts deny buying arms from Ethiopia (Mareeg)
The spokesman of the Islamic courts, Abdirahim Isse Adow, said the weapons they use are seized from Ethiopian forces and Somali government troops during times of battle...More..
19 children among 25 dead in Ethiopia floods (Rueters)
ADDIS ABABA, May 31 (Reuters) - Nineteen of 25 people killed by flash floods in Ethiopia's eastern town of Jijiga this week were children, a regional official said on Saturday...More..
Thursday, May 29, 2008
RIGHTS-ETHIOPIA: Press Freedom Still Under Attack(IPS)
Razak Adam, an Ethiopian development worker based in Nairobi, says that anywhere else in the world, Kassahun's trial might simply be a story of celebrity misdeeds, but in Ethiopia, it is widely viewed as politically motivated. His music and public statements are critical of government policies and his April court appearance sparked impromptu protests in Addis Ababa, involving thousands of his fans, mostly teenagers. Such protests are a rare sight in the tightly-controlled Ethiopian capital. A similar spontaneous protest took place at the Adidas Ababa Stadium on May 4, when many of the 35,000 fans at the 16th African Athletics Championships began chanting "Free Teddy" slogans after Ethiopian runner Kenenisa Bekele won the 5,000 meter race.
"In Ethiopia, the story is deeply political and complex as it reflects not only the precarious state of press freedom; it also raises some other critical but unaddressed issues which are pulling Ethiopian society apart," Adam told IPS...More..
"In Ethiopia, the story is deeply political and complex as it reflects not only the precarious state of press freedom; it also raises some other critical but unaddressed issues which are pulling Ethiopian society apart," Adam told IPS...More..
No food, have some flags says Weyane. Source Addis Voice
At another critical time when the fangs of hunger and famine have threatened over 9 million Ethiopians and while citizens are dying an unacceptable death in the 21st century, Weyane has reportedly spent up to 5 million birr, to distribute flags across the country for what it calls "flag day celebration" in connection with the extravagant millennium party. What makes the gimmickry even more sickening, disturbing and preposterous is the fact that the regime has no respect for the poor and dispossessed people of Ethiopia as well as the history behind the Ethiopian flag, which was once a symbol of our unity, territorial integrity and the ultimate sacrifice that millions of Ethiopians have paid for their people and country. Even more, the Meles regime has recently ceded Ethiopia's Western frontier to the Sudan at the expense of the nation at large and poor farmers in particular who have been jailed, displaced and dispossessed for the sake of doing favour to the Sudanese. Given the glaring facts, tyrant Meles Zenawi is not qualified enough to distributed our national tricolour that he has defiled throughout his adult life and at this time of hunger.
While it is saddening to see emaciated and hunger-stricken citizens on TV screens across the globe once more as a result of the failed policies of the government to provide enough food and water, Weyane wastes time, money and energy to distribute millions of flags to add colour to its endless millennium party as if there is no urgency to save millions of famished Ethiopians. The Meles regime has also spent over 400 million birr to organise the recently held local elections that were hallow and desperate tyrannical farce to ensure absolute political and economic control over the oppressed and hunger-stricken people of Ethiopia.
Famine is no longer a natural disaster in the 21st century, but a failure of governments that never care. Such horrendous acts of inhumanity are outrageous and tantamount to genocide and crimes against humanity that Ethiopians across the world should strongly condemn and reject.
[AV]
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One million flags to be distributed during flag day celebrations
Daily Monitor [May 27, 2008] Necessary preparations are underway to mark the Flag Day by distributing more than one million different kinds of flags through out the nation, the Addis Ababa millennium office and Ayat Share Company jointly announced on Friday.
Speaking at a joint press conference at the Millennium office, Kiros Haileselasie, Director of Addis Abeba millennium office told journalists that the intended programs of the celebration would be accompanied by a "bold participation" of all members of the society.
"We prepared it to send out our respect and care for our flag and country to the next generation.
We are not the only source of this celebration," he added stressing the need for public participation.
An estimated 3-5 million Birr cost needed for the preparation of the celebration is to be covered by Ayat Share Company, the largets real estate company in Ethiopia.
Under the agrement with the Millennium office, the company will cover the costs of the flags, musicians, booklets and poems of the anthem that will be distributed to dwellers of the capital Addis Ababa and other regional cities and towns.
Ayalew Tesema, owner of the funding company said the celebration would be a good opportunity for him personally and his compnay to contribute to his country.
"I am giving only my money but there are people who scarify their life and I promised to support the celebration each year." He added that the preparation of the flags and the "thousands of CDs" with the national anthem is almost complete.
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Children starving in Ethiopia again
By Anita Powel | May 21, 2008
SHANTO, Ethiopia (AP) — This year's poor rains have nearly killed Bizunesh.
The 3-year-old weighs less than 10 pounds. Her long limbs, weak and folded like a praying mantis, cannot carry even her slight weight. She cannot speak. She doesn't want to eat. Health officials say she is permanently stunted.
"She should be bigger than this," said her mother Zewdunesh Feltam, rocking the listless child. "Before there was maize, different kinds of food. But now there is nothing ... I beg for milk from my neighbors."
The U.N. children's agency said in a statement Tuesday an estimated 126,000 Ethiopian children urgently need food and medical care because of severe malnutrition — and called the current crisis "the worst since the major humanitarian crisis of 2003."
The U.N. World Food Program estimates that 2.7 million Ethiopians will need emergency food aid because of late rains — nearly double the number who needed help last year. An additional 5 million of Ethiopia's 80 million people receive aid each year because they never have enough food, whether harvests are good or not.
In Shanto, a southwestern agricultural area that grows sweet potatoes, recent rains arrived too late to save the harvest.
The crisis here is vivid. A feeding center run by the Irish charity GOAL has admitted 73 starving children in the past month.
Some, like Bizunesh, are frail and skeletal. Others, like 4-year-old Eyob Tadesse, have grossly swollen limbs in a sign of extreme malnutrition.
Eyob, whose mother said he used to be a lively, talkative child, sat in a stupor, unable to speak, not moving even to brush away the flies that swarmed over his face. The sunny room humid with a recent, too late, rain shower was made gloomy by an eerie silence despite being full of sick children. Chronic malnutrition can affect children for life, stunting their growth, brain development and immune systems, which leaves them vulnerable to a host of illnesses.
Many mothers said their families were trying to survive on a gluey, chewy bread made of the root of the "false banana" plant — one of many wild or so-called famine foods that Ethiopians depend on in times of trouble.
It's not known how many children have died or are starving now. Local and international aid and health workers say between 10 and nearly 20 percent of Ethiopia's children are malnourished — 15 percent is considered a critical situation. In 2006, Ethiopia had 13.4 million children under age 5, according to UNICEF.
Samuel Akale, a nutritionist with the government's disaster prevention agency, said the hunger will get worse. "The number of severely malnourished will increase, and then they'll die."
WFP officials say the drought has affected six of Ethiopia's nine regions, stretching from Tigray in the north to the vast and dry Somali region in the south, though not every part of each region is affected.
Spokesman Greg Beals said the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is preparing an appeal for additional tens of millions of dollars.
"This is a real crisis that needs to be addressed," he said.
Ethiopia is a country with a history of hunger. It's food problems drew international attention in 1984 when a famine compounded by communist policies killed some 1 million people. Pictures of stick-thin children like Bizunesh were broadcast onto television sets around the world.
This year's crisis is far less severe. But drought and chronic hunger persist in Ethiopia, a Horn of Africa nation known for its coffee, a major export. In 2003, droughts led 13.2 million people to seek emergency food aid. Drought in 2000 left more than 10 million needing emergency food.
Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80 percent of people live off the land, and agriculture drives the economy, accounting for half of all domestic production and 85 percent of exports. But many also go hungry because of government policies. Ethiopia's government buys all crops from farmers at fixed low prices. And the government owns all the land, so it cannot be used as collateral for loans.
Aid agencies say emergency intervention is not enough and are appealing for more money to support regular feeding programs.
"What we're doing at the moment is waiting until children get severely malnourished, taking them into the feeding program, getting them back to a level of moderate malnutrition and then watching them cycle back," said Hatty Newhouse, a nutrition adviser from GOAL.
There are fears that the next harvest also will fail.
"We are crying with the mothers and the children," said Akale, the nutritionist.Gambella Genocide suspect visiting Minnesota (Ethiomedia)
Omot Obang Olum, the governor of Gambella region who is visiting Minnesota on Friday, stands accused of serious crimes against humanity, the Anuak Justice Council (AJC) said, calling for the trial of the individual it said was among those key officials who were responsible for the Gambella Genocide...More
Zimbabwe says Ethiopia’s Mengistu will remain its guest (Sudan Tribune)
May 27, 2008 (HARARE) — Ethiopia’s former Marxist ruler Mengistu Haile Mariam, sentenced to death by his country’s supreme court, will remain in Zimbabwe under the protection of President Robert Mugabe’s government, a government minister said on Tuesday...More..
Statement issued by Eritrea-based Somali opposition Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS) [Mareeg Online]
...Eritrea is our friend and we owe a debt of unforgettable gratitude to it, but decisions about Somalia will have to be made by Somalis themselves. We ask the Eritrean government to reconsider the unacceptable position it has taken and it should know that the collapse of the alliance that was set up in Eritrea serves neither its interests nor ours...More..
Ethiopia bomb on Derg anniversary (BBC)
It broadcast a statement by the leader of a Somali militant group, which said the explosions were aimed at "the Ethiopians, the enemy of Islam"...More..
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Ethiopia, Uganda deny breaking U.N. Somali arms ban(IHT)
"I can assert that none of the AMISOM commanders is involved in any form of arms trafficking in contravention of the U.N. arms embargo," said Captain Barigye Bahouku, spokesman for the mission.
Both Ethiopia and Uganda said they would investigate the claims if provided with evidence...More..
UN accuses Ethiopia, Yemen and Eritrea of arming Somali rebels, Woyane and TFG Commanders are the Biggest Ammunition Suppliers (ethio-Borsaye)
"But during this mandate period, the monitoring group received information on sales of arms by prominent officials of the security sectors of government, Ethiopian officers and Ugandan officers of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)."More,,,
Friday, May 23, 2008
Ethiopian Western Boundary Protection Force (Quatero))
Mengistu was waging war with Melese and in no time Sudan army threaten our people like now by burning villages and arrest Ethiopians because they know very well that Ethiopian army will get an excuse to get deep inside their territory to fight Sudan army and TPLF command structure. ...Full text...
From refugee to Red Cross boss (Ottawa Citizen)
"I think it's a great choice," says Conrad Sauvé, secretary general of the Canadian Red Cross.
"Bekele was involved in the public field, he was a diplomat, he was in prison for five years, and he's done 20 years of humanitarian work -- how better prepared can you be to do this work and deal with vulnerable people than to have lived through those different phases?...more..
Drought, high food prices hit Ethiopia (The News)
“This is a real crisis that needs to be addressed,” he said. Ethiopia is a country with a history of hunger. Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80 percent of people live off the land, and agriculture drives the economy, accounting for half of all domestic production and 85 percent of exports. But many also go hungry because of government...more..
Somali rebels vow to expel Ethiopians(Presstv)
"The UN is not impartial. We don't want to pursue this [peace] process. Our plan is to continue the struggle. It is important to expel the enemy from all areas," added Aweys...more..
Save the Children responds to severe food shortages in Ethiopia (relief Web )
The ongoing food crisis in Ethiopia has been exacerbated by recent drought and rising food prices. Shortages of required medical provisions and gaps in response mechanisms have led to particularly challenging times for many children and families. Save the Children is working to provide additional nutritional support, community-based care, water and sanitation improvements, seed provisions, and emergency livestock interventions....more,,,
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Children Dying in Drought-Stricken Ethiopia(VOA)
Humanitarian agencies are rushing emergency aid to drought-stricken central Ethiopia, where a sudden deterioration in food supplies has led to surge of child mortality. At least 23 children have died at hospitals and emergency feeding centers during the past three weeks, and authorities say countless others have died at home for lack of treatment. In this first of two reports from the hardest-hit area around the town of Shashemene 250 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports conditions are expected to worsen over the coming months....More
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Somali talks end with no meeting (BBC)
After four days meeting UN diplomats in Djibouti, the two sides agreed to attend further talks in two weeks time.
The opposition insists it will not engage in direct negotiations until the government agrees a timetable for Ethiopian troops to leave Somalia....more
The butcher of AAU comes to DC in a wheelchair (Ethiiomedia)
Endrias Eshete and Ambassador Samuel Assefa are old time drinking buddies and close friends of Meles Zenawi’s family. Samuel is a personal tutor and chaperon of Meles’s older daughter. When she was admitted to Georgetown University in Washington DC about two years ago, Meles removed the previous ambassador...more
The consequences of denial and the stubborness of the mind (Ethiomedia0
Blaming someone else: For instance some people say, the TPLF came to power by using force; they divided Ethiopia along the ethnic and regional partitions; and are responsible for all the ills in the country. There is no denial that there is a serious problem, but that problem is blamed entirely on the TPLF. By so doing the individual or communities have defended themselves against the need to take any action to remedy the situation. By so doing these individuals have put the sole responsibility of fixing the problems of Ethiopia on the regime which has made no secret from the onset that it is its sworn duty to destroy Ethiopia!.more..
The merchants of death and destruction in Somalia (Ethiomedia)
A report by Alain Lallemand of LeMonde claims that the Ethiopian Army and Ugandan ‘Peace Keeping’ they are supposedly fighting against. If this is not strange enough for you the so-called Somali government Army is also part of this unholy alliance. They are gunrunners in their own right. They resale the arms seized during raids. You can read the English translation at:(http://www.ethiopianreview.com/content/2477)....more..
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..
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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..
Monday, May 12, 2008
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..
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
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..
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..
Sunday, April 27, 2008
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
Friday, April 25, 2008
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..
"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..
Saturday, April 19, 2008
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..
Friday, April 18, 2008
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..
Thursday, April 17, 2008
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..
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
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..
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
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.”North Korea , Burma or Iran United States ’ foreign policy; places like Pakistan , Egypt and more recently Ethiopia
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..
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
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..
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
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
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
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