Humanitarian crisis hits Ethiopia (Guardian)

Aid workers also reported seeing soldiers chasing women and children away from wells where they were drawing water. Mr De Filippi said the government had refused even to allow MSF a window of 24 hours to take drugs to an area called Fiq, which has not received medical supplies for six months....more

Ethiopia: Millennium for Whom? (Sudan Tribune)

In an eerie twist of irony, in just over a week, on the same day when USA commemorates the 9-11 victims, Ethiopia will celebrate a Julian millennium. This celebration comes about seven years after the rest of the world celebrated Y2K. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government has already invested more cash on this single event than the Derg, annually celebrating its own rise to power, or Haile Sellasie celebrating his infamous birthdays while the people starved to death, literally. In this country, there is fondness to self-celebration without backing it with success of any sort. There is also a short memory to history; those who condemned the lavish birthday parties of Haile Sellasie and used this impropriety to rise to power later started more lavishly celebrating their own rise to power. And those who condemned the Derg for celebrating its murderous rise to power are now doing their own celebrations with even more glamour and cost. 16 giant LED screens have arrived from China and I also read that artist Beyonce will lead the New Year’s concert with pop-star Janet Jackson and rapper 50 Cent. Lavish indeed for a country that ranks 170 out of 177 in the United Nation’s Human Development Index. However, whether or not this millennium is a travesty or worthy event, whether or not this indeed is a good investment of the poor taxpayer’s money should generate an interesting debate which I am sure will be instructive. For now, let us focus more on the use of the calendar....more

Ethiopia rights group says government has detained activists (Google)

The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) said three members of its branch in Nekemte, 220 kilometres (135 miles) west of Addis Ababa, were detained on August 23 after police came to search their homes....more

Ethiopians unwanted in Ethiopia; hard to believe but true (Ethiomedia)

In the name of all those affected by the embarrassing discriminatory action taken by the Ethiopian government against its own professionals and educated citizens, I hereby pose my request to the Ethiopian government and his minister for capacity building, Tefera Walwa:

"Why did you make this shameful secret agreement to exclude Ethiopians and German citizens of Ethiopian origin living in Germany from participating in their country?s development? How long are you going to depend on foreign aid whereas your educated people are longing for the opportunity to work in and for their country? What is the reason that made you neglect your own people?...more

GOSSIP (fortune)

Those around the Sheikh have gathered the usual suspects in the roster of their local performers: there is Aster Aweke and Amelmal Abate as Ephrem Tamru and Tsehaye Yohannes are included. If there is any new blood there, it is latest sensations such as Gossaye Tesfaye and Abinet Agonafir. Interestingly, there will be an exceptional presence of Teodros Tadesse, whose photograph is missing from the poster organizers published, who has been absent from the home turf for over a decade now.

And there is a giant missing from the group of local performers. Mahmoud Ahmed will not be entertaining his fans at home, travelling overseas for the Ethiopian millennium bash. Does this reveal any strained relationship between the singer and the Sheikh and those around him? The latter might have felt that Mahmoud became an international figure following recognition and his receiving of prestigious award from the BBC, according to gossip.

The number of people anticipated to dance the last day of the millennium is also subject of discussion at the gossip corridors. Only less than 10 days away from the New Year, the much talked about influx of Diaspora is disappointingly low. Judging from a mini-party held at the Sheraton on Friday night, it is rather limited number of people from the Diaspora that are making their presence felt; and majority of them are from European countries.....more

Ethiopia: Rate of Ethiopia Brain-Drain Alarming - Study (Allafrica)

In the case of Ethiopia where it said effects of brain drain have reached to an unaffordable stage, the study commended government efforts to attract and facilitate Diaspora engagement, but said more needed to be done.

The study found however poor provisions of accurate and timely information, weak efforts to improve Government-Diaspora relation and difficult bureaucratic procedures as major weakness.

"My question now is where do we go from here. We need to work strategically and coordinate our activities," said Temesgen Hailu, President of the Association for Higher Education and Development (AHEAD) "Africa has to take the lead. We need to identify, develop and implement projects that facilitate Diaspora engagement" he urged participants....more

Somali opposition figures to unite in Eritrea (Reuter)

"We need a common agenda, platform and vision. This conference will not solve all the problems of Somalia. We should create a consensus approach including those who disapprove of this conference," he told Reuters by telephone.

"The failure of the last conference (in Mogadishu) was that it ignored key political leaders and positions and the venue was not correct," he added.

Tussles over leadership posts in a new opposition umbrella group may surface in Asmara, analysts say. Organisers insist the new grouping will not be dominated by Islamists, whom Ethiopia and the United States have accused of having ties to al Qaeda.

"The policy and strategy of the new organisation will be decided by the new leadership and not by the Islamic Courts," Abdirahman Warsame, representative of Somalia's diaspora community, told reporters in Asmara...more

Ethiopia soldiers to stop delegates from attending opposition conference (Garoweonline)

The group that includes delegates plans to participate at a "reconciliation conference" organized by opponents of the Ethiopia-backed interim government in Mogadishu.

Fearing Ethiopian arrests, the group postponed their secretive trip to Eritrea, the sources said. Ethiopian military officers met with clan elders and local government officials in Dhusamareb to discuss security arrangements....more

MSF denied access to Somali region of Ethiopia (alertnet)

"Last week, we asked the authorities to grant us access at least for 24 to 48 hours so we could provide medications and material to Fiq health centre. We know that the health centre and the wider district are suffering from a serious shortage of drugs as the last supplies arrived six months ago" , said Loris De Filippi, operational coordinator for MSF Belgium in Ethiopia. "But once again, the authorities refused to let our team move from the capital city Jijiga to Fiq by road or even by plane"....more

Villages deserted, burned in Ethiopia's Ogaden - MSF (Reuter)

"In the three worst-affected areas now off-limits to MSF, he added, there was one doctor for 400,000 people. Drugs were scant, natal care was minimal, and there were problems of respiratory infections, diarrhoea, malnutrition and tuberculosis in an area already prone to famine, De Filippi said.

Ethiopia calls the ONLF -- whose numbers are estimated at several thousand -- a terrorist group backed by foe Eritrea.

ONLF rebels say they are fighting for greater autonomy for their homeland, an arid region on the Somalia border which is mainly populated by nomadic herdsmen....more

ETHIOPIA: Government denies ‘blocking’ NGO (Irinnews)

A spokesperson for the Ethiopian government told IRIN that MSF was "exaggerating the situation" and that the government had "never blocked any NGO" from the region.

Meanwhile, a UN humanitarian assessment mission continues its visit to the area, which began on 30 August. International aid access to the remote and arid region bordering Somalia, where government troops are cracking down on the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), has been limited, sometimes due to insecurity, for months. The ONLF has claimed the government has been intimidating communities before they meet the UN mission, but has also declared a ceasefire for its duration. ...more

Somalia's Islamic Courts movement "intact" (Reuter)

"When the Islamic Courts came in, things changed. Tribes were united, the port and airport opened, weapons were collected, we even stopped piracy," he said by telephone during a trip to Doha.

"The movement changed people's lives for the better...The Ethiopians and Transitional Federal Government have created violence and genocide...So the support for the (Islamic Courts) movement is more than before." Many in Mogadishu and elsewhere in south Somalia credited the Islamists last year for bringing peace to areas knowing little but warlord rule and anarchy since 1991, when the Horn of Africa nation descended into chaos with the fall of a dictator.

But Somalis, who are generally moderate Muslims, also complained of hardline practices by the SICC such as enforcing dress codes and banning public viewing of films....more

Ottawa declares Sept. 11, 2007, Ethiopian Millennium Day (Ethiopian Review)

As we prepare for the celebrations, it is with great joy and enthusiasm that we received the declaration of Larry O’Brien, Mayor Ottawa, of one of the most beautiful cities of the world, announcing September 11, 2007, as “Ethiopian Millennium Day.” (see the declaration here)

The Ethiopian Community Association of Ottawa seizes this opportunity to thank Mayor O’Brien for his recognition of the festivals of Ethiopians aPublish Postnd Ethio-Canadians in Ottawa...more

Ethiopia sets insignificant minimum wage, pension rise (Lemali)

Uncontrolled prices under the commonplace misinterpretation of Ethiopia's newly found free market economy make the minimum wage rise a drop in the ocean....more

ETHIOPIA-SOMALIA-YEMEN: People traffic set to escalate

The port of Bossaso has been widely documented as a point of departure for migrants and asylum seekers from East Africa, with some coming from as far away as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Most are seeking employment in the Gulf states - particularly Saudi Arabia.

"Tens of thousands of people will pass through Bossaso in a single season," the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) head of office in Hargeisa, Iulian Circo, told IRIN. "This is not something that happens underground. The trafficking infrastructure is there, and the authorities in Bossaso are profiting from this route." ..more

Ethiopia rebels 'agree UN truce' (BBC)

The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa says there are reported to be food shortages, disease outbreaks and serious human rights violations in some areas.

In its statement, the ONLF urged "mission team members to visit all parts in order to investigate war crimes and not limit their mission to the few routes approved by the [governing] regime".

But our correspondent says it is hard to imagine that the UN team will be either willing or able to travel in central Somali region, also known as the Ogaden, without security clearance from the Ethiopian armed forces....more

Ethiopia rebels call ceasefire for UN mission

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopian rebels announced a ceasefire on Sunday while a U.N. mission assesses their claims of human rights abuses in the remote eastern Ogaden region.

"Effective immediately, armed forces of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) will cease all offensive military operations against regime troops and sponsored militias for the duration of the U.N. fact finding mission," the ONLF said.

In a statement, the rebels said all units had been told to react only if fired upon.

"The ONLF urges the mission team members to visit all parts of Ogaden in order to investigate war crimes and not limit their mission to the few routes approved by the Meles Zenawi regime."...more

Ethiopia’s Millennium Commemoration , a day of sorrow for the Oromo People.(Sudan Tribune)

The TPLF/EPRDF regime who boasts to have brought a good governance to the peoples of Ethiopia has discriminately left Oromo prisoners in jail and arresting many more while many non-Oromo prisoners are being released. What is more disturbing is that the regime is constantly harassing the rest of the Oromo people by the name of celebrating the so-called Ethiopian millennium to be celebrated on September 1, 2000 Ethiopian Calendar....more

Eritrea warns Ethiopia over border feud (Google)

"Provided the implementation of the ruling is carried out in its legality, there would be no issue for new crisis between the two countries," Issaias said, according to a statement in the government's Eritrea Profile newspaper....more

Ethiopia's Defar runs away with gold in 5,000 meters

"I wanted the gold medal, and today, I was 100 percent sure I would win," said the 24-year-old. "My tactics were to wait until the last two laps and then start my finish. In the last lap I controlled the situation in the first 200 meters and then started the kick."... Meseret Defar