Those who Came Divided Abroad Must Return Home United! Forward with the Democratic movement in Ethiopia! Ethiomedia)

With the TPLF/EPDRF is it now a case for the opposition a case of total mistrust because it is the case of once smitten twice shy? It is very difficult to take at face value the democratic credentials of the ruling TPLF/EPDRF coalition given the way the great achievements of May 2005 were derailed. They have to do a miracle to change the reality, perception people hold and remember: It is the TPLF/EPDRF that unleashed repression on the people they seemed willing to allow to vote in the first place. How would we know they will not do the same: invite the people to vote and repress when the result goes against their expectations to persons who are in the various opposition parties? What real risk can the opposition take given that the TPLF/EPDRF can behave in such contradictory fashion with carrots and sticks again and again? Can the opposition take a risk? Will the TPLF/EPDRF change and abandon the stick of reprisal and repression for the carrot of democracy? Whilst in principle there is no reason why the TPLF/EPDRF cannot change, the onus of proof lies in the TPLF/EPDRF to show that it is prepared to behave democratically and not militaristically. Until this demonstration the opposition would be always taking a risk unless it plays by the rules set by the ruling coalition! Click here to read more in PDF file

Bertukan Mideksa's Oct. 28 speech - a must listen (Ethiopian Review)

Kinijit leaders will arrive in Toronto on Nov. 1 (Ethipian Review)

Calling Our Ethiopian Ally to Account for Abuses (The Jewish Daily)

A farmer from Ogaden told a reporter that Ethiopian soldiers had strangled his wife to death with a rope; the wife had been nursing the couple’s one-year-old son when she was killed. A 25-year-old woman told The New York Times that Ethiopian soldiers visited her village each night and picked a new girl to be gang-raped. A staff member of Doctors Without Borders said she saw Ethiopian soldiers chasing women and children away from water-wells.....more

Birtukan-Mania is spreading fast in Ethiopia (Blog) (Jimma Times)

Anyway, Birtukan is capturing the hearts of many people. Those who used to say Birtukan Medeksa is Oromo only in her name are now praising her because of her plans for an all-inclusiveness of her CUD party. Until now, some Oromo and other southern people were supporting her CUD party just because they hate the ruling party. But if Birtukan manages to change the one-ethnic face of CUD, her party will unquestionably win any election in Ethiopia. Her party’s Amharic name "Kinijit" meaning Unity has been seen as a unity between Amhara and Gurage ethnicities, but now it can become a unity among all ethnicities. At least that is what most people hope....more

Clerk shot, killed at East Dallas gas station (DalasNews)

Two men armed with handguns entered the Fina Food Mart No. 1 in the 11400 block of Garland Road shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, Dallas police said. Both men fired their weapons at Abate Z. Hailu, 43, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said....more

Kinijit - the democratic armada - to sail back home from US (Ethiomrdia)

Once respected as the charismatic leader of the opposition party, Hailu Shawel fell from grace when he turned down frequent invitations from the Bertukan-headed delegation to join them, and instead aligned himself with Kinijit International Council (KIC), a group he single-handedly created while he was in prison but lacks recognition by the rest of the Kinijit leadership, and from bad to worse, is largely seen as a corrupt group alleged to have squandered Kinijit funds....more

Ethiopia denies plot to attack Eritrea (Reuter)

"The Ethiopian government denies the allegation of a plot to invade Eritrea in November," Wahade Belay, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Reuters....more

Rep. Smith Speaks Out for Human Rights in Ethiopia (Ephoc Times

Human rights abuses in Ethiopia, including the injuring and killing of hundreds of peaceful protesters and the detention of thousands, are well documented. Amnesty International reported that the government has subjected opposition party members to beatings, detention on trumped up charges, harassment and disappearances, according to 2007 report of Freedom House. Journalists and editors of the independent press routinely face harassment and prosecution for alleged violations of strict press laws in Ethiopia, according to the "findings" section in the bill HR2003.....more

Journalists Say Press Freedoms Lacking in Ethiopia (VOA)

CPJ says that eight newspapers were banned, two foreign journalists were expelled, and a number of websites were blocked last year. Websites critical of the government are still being blocked.

Observers say Ethiopians now have little choice on the quantity and quality of information they are able to get from the media....more

Analyst Sees Ethiopian, US Pressure Behind Somali Prime Minister Resignation (VOA)

“This was a long time in coming and what finally prompted the resignation was unquestionably Ethiopian pressure. This was Ethiopia’s game. They were making the decision as to who would stay and who would go in the TFG. They were trying to manage the long running split between President Abdullahi Yusef and Prime Minister Gedi. And in the end I think they came to understand that Gedi had to be replaced,” he says....more

Their khat deemed legal, Ethiopian immigrant couple wants it back (Herald Tribune0

When they are fresh, khat leaves contain cathinone, a chemical that produces euphoria when chewed. Cathinone is illegal under Minnesota and federal law.
But within 48 hours of harvest, the leaves' chemical composition tends to break down to the point where they contain a much milder chemical called cathine. That is what is usually found in graba, the dried khat leaves, which users often steep in tea to get their high....more

Hundreds protest Ethiopian presence in Mogadishu (AFP)

This is an uprising against the Ethiopian colonialists and its stooges," said another demonstrator, who declined to give his name. "We will continue day after day until they leave our country because we don't need them."...more

UEDF calls for national dialogue (Ethipian Review)

Heavy fighting in Somali capital (BBC)

Local elders described the Ethiopian offensive as a genocide and have appealed to the international community to intervene. ...more

Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of plotting to invade (Reuter)

"Intelligence agencies ... say that (Ethiopia) is intending to launch an invasion against Eritrea in the first week of November 2007 with the blessing of the U.S. Administration," the statement said....more

Oromo rebels welcome US appeal for talks with Ethiopia (Sudan Tribune)

The Ethiopian regime has shown that, left to its own devices, it will continue to pursue a war it can not win in Ogaden characterized by a policy of collective punishment tantamount to genocide. As such, the international community bears a moral responsibility to intervene in order to hold this regime accountable for its actions...more

N.J. lawmaker battles Ethiopia (North Jersey)

"You can't have people languishing in prison whose only crime was winning an election," Smith told another questioner who said Ethiopia was a democracy that needed to be supported instead of criticized....more

The origin of the leadership crisis in Kinijit - by Andargachew Tsige ( Ethipian review)

Kinijit Central Council member Ato Andargachew Tsige explains the origin of the ongoing leadership crisis inside Kinijit in this 15-page article in Amharic. Click here to read

Ethiopia PM in opposition warning (BBC)

The accusations came after opposition leader Bulcha Demeksa complained about widespread arrests and harassment in the Oromia region in the southern central part of the country.

Mr Meles said the government was aware that some senior leaders of opposition organisations were members of the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). ...more