Friday, August 10, 2007
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Assistance For Ethiopia,(U.S. SENATE)
Some detainees remained in jail for over two years before being brought to trial in a manner that was incompatible with international standards of justice. Last month, they were convicted of such vague charges as “outrage against the constitution” and “inciting armed opposition”. They were stripped of their rights to vote and to run for public office. Several were sentenced to life in prison. Nothing was done to prosecute the police officers who fired on the protesters. The situation had gone from bad to worse.
Then suddenly, less than two weeks ago, the Ethiopian Government announced the pardon and release of 38 opposition leaders. I am pleased that Prime Minister Meles heeded the pleas of the Ethiopian people and the international community and released these prisoners. The fact is, none of them should have been arrested or tried in the first place. Their release was long overdue and is welcome.
I hope the government acts expeditiously to release the remaining political detainees, and bring to justice police officers who used excessive force. I also hope the negotiations that resulted in the prisoners’ release will lead to further discussions between the government and the leaders of the opposition, to ensure that their political rights are fully restored and that future elections are not similarly marred.
While this news is positive, it comes at a time when journalists and representatives of humanitarian organizations report human rights abuses of civilians, including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings, by Ethiopian security forces, including those trained and equipped by the U.S., in the Ogaden region.
Congressman Donald Payne, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, and a vocal defender of human rights and democracy in Ethiopia, inserted into the Congressional Record a June 18, 2007, New York Times article that described these abuses.
This situation is also addressed in the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2008 State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill and report, which were reported by the Appropriations Committee on July 10. The Appropriations Committee seeks assurance from the State Department that military assistance for Ethiopia is being adequately monitored and is not being used against civilians by units of Ethiopia’s security forces. We need to know that the State Department is investigating these reports. We also want to see effective measures by the Ethiopian Government to bring to justice anyone responsible for such abuses.Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
Then suddenly, less than two weeks ago, the Ethiopian Government announced the pardon and release of 38 opposition leaders. I am pleased that Prime Minister Meles heeded the pleas of the Ethiopian people and the international community and released these prisoners. The fact is, none of them should have been arrested or tried in the first place. Their release was long overdue and is welcome.
I hope the government acts expeditiously to release the remaining political detainees, and bring to justice police officers who used excessive force. I also hope the negotiations that resulted in the prisoners’ release will lead to further discussions between the government and the leaders of the opposition, to ensure that their political rights are fully restored and that future elections are not similarly marred.
While this news is positive, it comes at a time when journalists and representatives of humanitarian organizations report human rights abuses of civilians, including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings, by Ethiopian security forces, including those trained and equipped by the U.S., in the Ogaden region.
Congressman Donald Payne, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, and a vocal defender of human rights and democracy in Ethiopia, inserted into the Congressional Record a June 18, 2007, New York Times article that described these abuses.
This situation is also addressed in the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2008 State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill and report, which were reported by the Appropriations Committee on July 10. The Appropriations Committee seeks assurance from the State Department that military assistance for Ethiopia is being adequately monitored and is not being used against civilians by units of Ethiopia’s security forces. We need to know that the State Department is investigating these reports. We also want to see effective measures by the Ethiopian Government to bring to justice anyone responsible for such abuses.Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
In Africa, a poisonous standoff(The Boston Globe
The Eritreans, seeing a chance to make trouble, are supplying Islamic insurgents with weapons and military advice. Could Mogadishu become another Baghdad, with Ethiopians playing the part of the US troops in Iraq? The Ethiopians need to withdraw before that happens...Globe Editorial..
Monday, August 6, 2007
Of Lies, Promised Joy, "Shimagles," Pardons and Bananas, ( Ethiopian review)
Zenawi would like to have us believe now that the release of the prisoners “was carried out by Ethiopians, through our own national institutions, and without the need for international intervention." Really? Why did he take members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee hostage and threatened to prolong the detention of the political prisoners if H.R. 2003 was marked-up? (Just curious: Why did it take the exalted “shimagles” (elders) 20 months to get the prisoners released? If it took them 20 months to get 38 prisoners released, how many centuries will it take for them to free 50,000 political prisoners?) I will not dwell much on the obvious. The Kality prisoners of conscience committed no crimes against the state or anybody else. I invite my reader to check out my 32-page analysis of the ludicrous and asinine Kality Kangaroo Kourt proceedings.. By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam...
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Ethiopia’s global competitiveness drops three places (Sudan Tribune)
August 5, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia’s global competitiveness in the current fiscal year dropped by three places to the 123rd position amongst 128 economies, The Reporter, an English weekly newspaper, reported on Saturday.
The weekly quoted the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2007 Africa Competitiveness Report as saying that Ethiopia became the fifth least performer in global competitiveness this year, albeit an improved score the country registered in the new ranking than that of the earlier year.
Last year, the country was ranked 120th out of 125 nations covered by the same annually released report...more..
The weekly quoted the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2007 Africa Competitiveness Report as saying that Ethiopia became the fifth least performer in global competitiveness this year, albeit an improved score the country registered in the new ranking than that of the earlier year.
Last year, the country was ranked 120th out of 125 nations covered by the same annually released report...more..
Haile Gebrselassie wins New York City Half Marathon in 59:24 to keep unbeaten record (Herald Tribune)
NEW YORK: Haile Gebrselassie won the New York City Half Marathon in 59 minutes, 24 seconds Sunday, cruising away from elite competitors two-thirds of the way through the race to win his eighth half marathon in eight attempts.
Gebrselassie, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Ethiopia, pulled away from Abdi Abdirahman of the United States shortly after they emerged from Central Park along with two-time Boston Marathon champion Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya.
"I was dreaming just to run in New York City. The dream has come true this morning," Gebrselassie said. "Wow, I'm so happy!"
Hilda Kibet of Kenya won the women's race in 1:10:32, outkicking defending champion Catherine Ndereba by 1.15 seconds. Nina Rillstone of New Zealand, a surprise leader until the final 500 meters (quarter-mile) when the two Kenyans passed her, was 2.60 back in third.
Near the 13-kilometer (eight-mile) mark, the Somalia-born Abdirahman surged ahead to leave Cheruiyot behind, and then Gebrselassie left Abdirahman behind for the final eight kilometers (five miles) of the 21-kilometer (13.1-mile) race...more..
Ethiopia's dirty war,( The Guardian)
While the west agonises over Darfur, another humanitarian and human rights disaster is brewing in the Horn of Africa.
In June, the Ethiopian government launched a major military campaign in the Ogaden, a sparsely populated and remote region on Ethiopia's border with Somalia. The counter insurgency operation was aimed at eliminating the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a rebel group which has been fighting for years for self-determination for the Ogaden's predominantly Somali population.
In less than two months, Ethiopia's military campaign has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis. Human Rights Watch has learned that dozens of civilians have been killed in what appears to be a deliberate effort to mete out collective punishment against a civilian population suspected of sympathising with the rebels.
Villages have been attacked, sacked and burnt. Livestock - the lynchpin of the region's pastoralist economy - have been confiscated or destroyed. A partial trade blockade has been imposed on the region leading to serious food shortages. Relatives of suspected rebels have been taken hostage. Thousands of civilians have been displaced, fleeing across the borders of Ethiopia into northern Kenya and Somaliland.
Last week, with little objection from the international community, the Ethiopian government expelled from the Ogaden the International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the few neutral observers of the crisis left in the region. ..more..
In June, the Ethiopian government launched a major military campaign in the Ogaden, a sparsely populated and remote region on Ethiopia's border with Somalia. The counter insurgency operation was aimed at eliminating the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), a rebel group which has been fighting for years for self-determination for the Ogaden's predominantly Somali population.
In less than two months, Ethiopia's military campaign has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis. Human Rights Watch has learned that dozens of civilians have been killed in what appears to be a deliberate effort to mete out collective punishment against a civilian population suspected of sympathising with the rebels.
Villages have been attacked, sacked and burnt. Livestock - the lynchpin of the region's pastoralist economy - have been confiscated or destroyed. A partial trade blockade has been imposed on the region leading to serious food shortages. Relatives of suspected rebels have been taken hostage. Thousands of civilians have been displaced, fleeing across the borders of Ethiopia into northern Kenya and Somaliland.
Last week, with little objection from the international community, the Ethiopian government expelled from the Ogaden the International Committee of the Red Cross, one of the few neutral observers of the crisis left in the region. ..more..
Ethiopia unveils new find of fossils, (Zeenews)
scientists said on Tuesday they have discovered hominid fossil fragments dating from between 3.5 million and 3.8 million years ago in what could fill a crucial gap in the understanding of human evolution.
Ethiopian archaeologist Yohannes Haile Selassie said the find included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton and were unearthed in the Afar desert at Woranso-Mille, near where the famous fossil skeleton known as Lucy was found in 1974.
"This is a major finding that could fill a gap in human evolution," he told a news conference in Addis Ababa.
"The fossil hominids from the Woranso-Mille area sample a time period that is poorly known in human evolutionary study." ..more..
Ethiopian archaeologist Yohannes Haile Selassie said the find included several complete jaws and one partial skeleton and were unearthed in the Afar desert at Woranso-Mille, near where the famous fossil skeleton known as Lucy was found in 1974.
"This is a major finding that could fill a gap in human evolution," he told a news conference in Addis Ababa.
"The fossil hominids from the Woranso-Mille area sample a time period that is poorly known in human evolutionary study." ..more..
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Lift-off to a new life,(SundayMail)
Ironically, it was while agitating for freedom and democracy in his home country of Ethiopia that Abebe Fekadu lost his own.
In 1996, the young activist had spent three months in an Addis Ababa prison for demonstrating against the imprisonment of political prisoners.
"It was hell. There were a hundred people in one cell. They beat us with electrical wire, handcuffed us with our hands behind our back. They did to us the worst things that you can ever do to another human being."..click here to read more...
In 1996, the young activist had spent three months in an Addis Ababa prison for demonstrating against the imprisonment of political prisoners.
"It was hell. There were a hundred people in one cell. They beat us with electrical wire, handcuffed us with our hands behind our back. They did to us the worst things that you can ever do to another human being."..click here to read more...
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