Is Rock Throwing Punishable by Death in Ethiopia?(SMNE)

Ethiopians know what this means. To outsiders, the bill may appear to be innocuous, but to insiders, they know that it will be used to intimidate and to suppress dissent. The Meles regime has become masterful at using the words of democracy—“justice”, “the rule of law”, “the protection of the people” and “the upholding the Ethiopian Constitution”, as tools of tyranny. Because there is essentially no rule of law in Ethiopia, minor infractions can be inflated into serious ones, ill-defined laws can be tailored to justify what are actually politically-motivated charges and the innocent can be targeted with trumped up charges....more..

Ethiopia's Opposition Holds First Rally Since 2005(VOA)

The government used force against the protesters, killing at least 193 people. Many activists were jailed following the riots and a number of opposition leaders were sentenced to prison terms ranging from several months to life. Some were later pardoned. ...more...

EthioPlanet.com EXCLUSIVE Photo: Princess Kemeria(Ethioplanet)

“They also have plans to open an orphanage in her hometown of Jimma, and to create in Addis Ababa, a museum of African history,” the source added...more..

Ethiopia Dismisses Calls for UN Investigation of Rights Abuses(VOA)

In his letter to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Genocide Watch President Gregory Stanton said Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and others in his government were probably aware that they too could one day be brought before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity...more..

Nkrumah At 100 - Lessons for African Leadership(The Ghanian Journal)

The African delegation to the London G20 summit was led not by Gaddafi the chair of the AU but by Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi, who is chair of NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa’s Development) and a good friend of the West. NEPAD is at best a substructure of the AU and Zenawi’s presence is illustrative of the ease with which many outside Africa are able to pick and choose how to deal with the continent. During the Beijing China Africa Forum the Chinese were able to deal with African countries as individuals while the AU was treated as observer....more..

Reading the tea leaves (galbeed)

Will a president who emphatically opposes torture, arbitrary denial of due process and reaches back in history to criticize the injustices inflicted on the slaves and Native Americans lend a hand of friendship to support torture, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ethiopia?..more..

EDITOR NOTE

Dear netters,

The name of the blog changed from Ethio4all which was out there for last three years to inform all what is going on in our mother land Ethiopia to All4Ethiopia which more meaning full and reflect our struggle & fight for our mother land; all of us have to work toward unity, democracy and just for our people for strong & united Ethiopia.

The web address also changed to reflect that.

Thank you all

With a Friend Like This (NewsWeek)

In the past year alone, Meles's ruling party has rigged elections, effectively banned independent human-rights groups, passed a draconian press law and shrugged off calls for an investigation into alleged atrocities in the restive Ogaden region. Yet in the same period, his country has become one of the largest recipients of U.S. aid in sub-Saharan Africa, getting a cool $1 billion in 2008. The Bush administration claimed that Ethiopia was the linch-pin of its regional counterterrorism strategy and a vital beacon of stability. But the evidence increasingly suggests Washington isn't getting what it pays for, and is supporting a brutal dictator in the process. Candidate Obama pledged to strengthen democracy in Africa; if he's serious, this is a good place to start....more..

Ethiopian Exchange Student Makes Big Impact at Signal Mountain (WRCBtv)

Let's talk about when it rains. I didn't have an umbrella. Like other rural Ethiopian students, I had to use the leaf of the Inset plant to cover myself on my way to and from school. The Inset plant looks like a banana plant and it is a major crop that southern Ethiopians use to feed their families. Even though times were tough, I never gave up because my teachers always supported me....more..

Eritrea and Ethiopia leaders make worst dictators list (Jimma Times)

Meles Zenawi - A former guerrilla leader, Meles shows no signs of sharing power with anyone. In January, his government passed a law forbidding any NGO that receives more than 10% of its budget from abroad from doing human rights work in Ethiopia. Despite Meles’ excesses, the U.S. considers him an important regional ally and continues to train his military....more..

British foreign aid: To poor people or oppressive governments?(GBN)

So how is this working out in practice? In 2007, the UK gave 20 percent of their total bilateral ODA in the form of budget support to 13 countries: Tanzania, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, Vietnam, Malawi, Zambia, India, Sierra Leone, Nepal, and Nicaragua. (Source)

Of this list, only Ghana and India were classified as “free” by the annual Freedom House ratings on democracy (according to either the 2007 or 2008 rating). For the 11 other countries that did get British budget support, how much is there “country ownership” when the government is not democratically accountable to the “country”?....more...

Cry Me a Lake: Crime Against Nature - By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam (Abgida)

Who is responsible for the death of Lake Koka? And Amina’s husband and children? Did Chromium, Cadmium, Arsenic, Microsystsis Aeruginosa kill them? No. Official neglect and indifference killed them. Those who claimed to have the public trust, but turned a deaf ear, blind eye and muted tongue, are responsible. Those who slammed the official door in the face of the Ammudde resident who complained about “drinking a disease” are responsible.. ...more..

ICC warrant raises questions on leaders targeted (AP)

And they question why only Africans have been charged since the ICC — branded "the white man's court" by Sudan's information ministry — began its work six years ago. A temporary court, the tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, indicted Slobodan Milosevic in 1999 while he was still president of Yugoslavia...more..

Birtu-Can! Yes, We Can!(ECADF)

Col. Dewars concluded, “Detention conditions of prisoners are a disgrace and make the Federal Police
vulnerable to the Human Rights lobby.” He “recommended that the Government should investigate this
situation with the intention of improving the current appalling conditions inside Ethiopian prisons, which
must brutalise prisoners and their goalers equally. It is recommended that senior Ethiopian Ministers
and Police Officers visit the prison that I visited.”...more..

Seeking Paths to Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue and Consultations ( wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) {Galbeed}

By Alemayehu G. Mariam February 23, 2009

Our conception of civic dialogue and consultation (wu-yi-yit and me me-ka-ker) among pro-democracy Diaspora Ethiopians is based on four simple ideas: 1) Ordinary Diaspora Ethiopians can be effective agents of change in their motherland if they share a common understanding of the problems and challenges, and collaboratively and decisively act to address them. 2) To be effective agents of social change, Diaspora Ethiopians need to unlearn ingrained habits of debate and argumentation and re-learn skills of civic dialogue and consultation. 3) The dialogic and consultative processes require openness to perspectives and views that are very different from our own; and stakeholders must make a commitment to respectfully and genuinely engage others with different ideas, backgrounds and communication styles. 4) The outcome of Ethiopian Diaspora dialogue and consultations depends on building trust, dispelling stereotypes, and the creation of an environment of teamwork and partnership founded on fairness, candor and honesty....more...

ARREST IN $27 MILLION FRAUDULENT TAKEOVER OF NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA’S CITIBANK ACCOUNT (USA DOJ)

After supplying Citibank with the bogus Corporate Resolution and Authorization documents, AMOS and his coconspirator caused instructions to be sent to a Citibank payments unit in Buffalo, New York, directing Citibank to wire funds from NBE's account to various accounts controlled by AMOS and his coconspirators....more..

Ethiopian parties form alliance, accuse government (Reuters)

The new alliance includes the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) and the Unity for Democracy and Justice party (UDJ), whose jailed 34-year-old leader Birtukan Mideksa is seen by regional analysts as the foremost opposition figure...more...

Guantanamo in Ethiopia (Crossed Corocodiles)

In January 2007, after the Ethiopian invasion, and US bombing of Somalia, at least 85 different people from at least 25 countries, including the US, were part of Africa’s first mass rendition of prisoners. At least 18 of these were children under the age of 15. They were people trying to flee the fighting in Somalia by crossing into Kenya, and were arrested by the Kenyans. They were then held without charge. They were flown by Kenya to Somalia, and were taken on from there to Ethiopia. In Ethiopia they were subjected to lengthy interrogations by Americans, who also took DNA samples from them. They were questioned repeatedly, for months....click here for more...

Who will Tame Africa's First Ladies?(African Executivr)

While first ladies such as Michelle Obama, Laura Bush and Hilary Clinton are renowned for helping their husbands, African ones are known for tearing them down. It must be noted that the First Lady crisis in Africa is caused by lack of rule of law and people-geared constitutions. ...more..

Mr. Meles is posturing

February 15th, 2009 | Categories: Ethiopia

By Paulos Milkias

I do not believe that Ethiopia's dictator Meles Zenawi is going to quit. He is simply posturing. Here are reasons why?

An official who is determined to quit will not qualify it by another possibility. An excellent example to announce quitting: “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president." This, as you know, was President Lyndon B. Johnson's announcement on March 31, 1968, after the setbacks of the Tet Offensive and the violent student demonstrations against the war in Vietnam made his life unbearable.

Mr. Meles is saying he has decided to quit but will respect his party's decision regarding it. Anybody knows that neither the current TPLF leadership nor what remains of the EPRDF officialdom can survive for long without Mr. Meles' political machinations. What he is saying is, I will say I will quit and my party caucus will put pressure on me through parliament. Then I will have little choice but to respect their wishes!

Second, he says he will quit as Prime Minister but will remain as the party leader. That is impossible in the present political framework in Ethiopia. If he has to resign as Prime Minister, he also has to resign from the Party leadership. Ethiopia has adapted a parliamentary democracy. In parliamentary democracy, the party leader is automatically the Prime Minister. Do not forget that the Front Benchers are selected and directed by the party leader. The Back Benchers also seek direct guidance from the party leader whose dictates they follow without fail.

Mr. Meles' posturing is more in tune with that of Gamal Abdel Nasser. When the Egyptian President’s army was decimated in the Six Day War by June 9, 1967, Nasser tendered his resignation as President in a televised broadcast only to “change his mind” when his decision was “rejected” by Egypt's National Assembly totally controlled by his National Democratic Party

. So, come 2010 elections, rest assured that history will repeat itself.

(The writer, Dr Paulos Milkias, can be reached at pmilkias@yahoo.com)

Source: Ethiopian Review