Ethiopia: Speaking Truth to the Truth-Seekers (Hffington Post)

Where Have the Ethiopian Intellectuals Gone?

....The Greek philosopher Diogenes used to walk the streets of ancient Athens carrying a lamp in broad daylight. When amused bystanders asked him about his apparently strange behavior, he would tell them that he was looking for an honest man. Like Diogenes, one may be tempted to walk the hallowed grounds of Western academia, search the cloistered spaces of the arts and scientific professions worldwide and even traverse the untamed frontiers of cyberspace with torchlight in hand looking for Ethiopian intellectuals.
Intellectuals -- a term I use rather loosely and inclusively here to describe the disparate group of Ethiopian academics, writers, artists, lawyers, journalists, physicians, philosophers, social and political thinkers and others -- often become facilitators of change by analyzing and proposing solution to complex problems and issues facing their societies. Their stock-in-trade are questions, endless questions about what is possible and how the impossible could be made possible. There are engaged and disengaged intellectuals. Those engaged are always asking questions about their societies, pointing out failures and improving on successes, suggesting solutions, examining institutions, enlightening the public, criticizing outdated and ineffective ideas and proposing new ones while articulating a vision of the future with clarity of thought. They are always on the cutting edge of social change....Read more...

Why Democracy Isn’t Working (Newsweek)

Africa’s own institutions have been unable to halt the trend, which has gained speed since a period of openness following the end of the Cold War. “The democratization process on the continent is not faring very well,” says Jean Ping, the Gabonese chairman of the African Union Commission, which has overseen a host of Pan-African agreements on democracy and human rights that many member states have either ignored or failed to ratify. “The measures that we take here are taken in a bid to make sure that we move forward. The crises, they are repeating themselves.” In country after country, the recipe for the new age of authoritarianism is the same: demonization and criminal prosecution of opposition leaders, dire warnings of ethnic conflict and chaos should the ruling party be toppled, stacking of electoral commissions, and the mammoth mobilization of security forces and government resources on behalf of the party in power. “The really powerful governments learned how to do elections,” says Richard Dowden, director of the London-based Royal African Society. That’s not to say the continent doesn’t retain some bright spots. In Ghana, presidents have twice stepped down to make way for leaders from the opposition. Democracy has flourished in Botswana and Benin, while regional giant South Africa continues to have a vibrant opposition and free press despite the African National Congress’s dominance of post-apartheid politics.
But backsliders have them outnumbered, a shift that hasn’t gone unnoticed in the West. Political freedoms declined in 10 countries on the continent in 2009, while they improved in just four, according to an annual report by Washington, D.C.–based Freedom House, which dropped three African countries from its list of “electoral democracies” last year. “Repression can take many forms, and too many nations, even those that have elections, are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty,” President Obama told Ghana’s Parliament last year. His top diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, took office last year listing the continent’s democratization as his top priority.Read more ...

Speaking Truth to Strangers (Huffington Post)

For the past two decades, Western donors and the international banks have nurtured, coddled and sustained some of the most brutal and tyrannical regimes on the African continent. They have done it rather craftily. First, they created the fictional character of the "new breed African leaders" and promoted them as Africa's saviors. They were presumably much different than the old style in-your-face dictators like Robert Mugabe, Mobutu Sese Seko, Idi Amin and the self-coronated Emperor Jean Bedel Bokassa. The "new breeders" were said to be committed to multiparty democracy, economic reforms and civil liberties. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair lionized Meles Zenawi and his ilk (Yoweri Musaveni of Uganda, Kagame of Rwanda, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa). Of course, Clinton and Blair knew they were selling the natives the same old rancid wine of dictatorship in a new bottle labeled "New African Democrats." Zenawi gloated and basked in the sunshine of Western praise and used that fame devastatingly against his opposition: "I am the one, and only one. So I am by the grace of the Western donors."Read more...

Donor darling: What Ethiopian poll can teach Africa (BBC)

Birtukan Mideksa remains behind bars after being accused of breaking the terms of her pardon.

Press freedom has also been under attack. Journalists have fled the country since 2005 and if you try sending an e-mail from Ethiopia to the Committee to Protect Journalists, it miraculously bounces back.

Filming on the streets of Addis Ababa, it was hard to find people prepared to say on camera that they supported the opposition - many suggested that would be asking for trouble. Read more...

Ethiopia: Medrek Rejects Election Results (AllAfrica)

..."Why does the EPRDF call an election every five years and put itself, the public, and us in trouble," Merera said.Read more

Spotlight on the Struggle of Birtukan Mideksa: Ethiopian Human Rights Activist in the Global Women's Movement (Huffington Post)

....Much of Birtukan's time in prison has been spent in solitary confinement. The only people allowed to visit Birtukan are her mother and her four-year-old daughter. Before her arrest, Birtukan was the main provider for her family, who is now suffering not only emotionally but also financially from Birtukan's imprisonment. She is not allowed to meet with any legal representation and the government refuses to listen to her needs. There are even reports that she is being denied medical treatment, despite numerous requests for a physician. The Red Cross and other humanitarian officials are being denied access to the prison, and the exact treatment of Birtukan is unknown.Read more...

Ethiopian Opposition Coalition Calls for New Vote (VOA)

..Ethiopian Justice and Democratic Forces Front General Secretary Garasu Gassa says the promise of fair elections turned out to be a "joke."Read more...

‘Of Elections and Diapers in Ethiopia ‘ (Awramba Times)

...But there is an olive branch extended to the opposition wrapped in condescending cordiality and paternalism. Now that the opposition has been vanquished, they will be allowed to lick the crumbs off the table (and the shoes of the victors) as long as they keep their tails between their legs. “We make this pledge to all the parties who did not succeed in getting the support of the people, during this election, that whether or not you have won seats in the parliament, as long as you respect the will of the people and the country’s Constitution and other laws of the land, we will work by consulting and involving you in all major national issues. We are making this pledge not only because we believe that we should be partners… [but also] you have the right to participate and to be heard.” In other words, we will let you speak, if we want to; and we’ll shut you up when we want to. Your political existence depends on our good will, whim and fancy. Read more...

Nineteen more, Prime Minister Meles (Foreign Intrigue Blog)

By Ed Royce U.S Representative

,...Clearly, our real allies are the brave Ethiopian men and women fighting the rot of years of Meles' unchecked reign. Aid them. Sadly, power has gotten to the point of absolutely corrupting Meles' 19-year rule. Read full story..

ከምርጫው በስተጀርባ - አንዳንድ ነጥቦች (ተስፋዬ ገብረአብ){Cyber Ethiopia})

ግንቦት 25፣ 2002 በፕሮፌሰር ይስሃቅ ኤፍሬምና በአትሌት ሃይሌ ገብረስላሴ የሚመራው የሽማግሌዎች ኮሚቴ መለስ ዜናዊን አጊኝቶ አነጋግሮት ነበር። ሽምግልናው ተቃዋሚዎችንና የመለስን ቡድን ማቀራረብ የሚል ነው። ኮሜቴው በራሱ ተነሳሽነት ተንቀሳቀሰ ወይስ በመለስ የእጅ አዙር ግፊት አይታወቅም። መለስ ዜናዊ ግን ለሽማግሌዎቹ ኮሚቴ የሚከተለውን ቃል ሰጥቶአል።

1. ተቃዋሚዎች ‘ምርጫው ተጭበርብሮአል’ ብለው ወደ ፍርድ ቤት ለመሄድ የሚያስቡትን በመተው፣ የኢህአዴግን ማሸነፍ በይፋ እንዲቀበሉ።

2. ይህን ከፈፀሙ አንዳንድ የሚንስትርነትና የአምባሳደርነት ቦታዎችን ሊያገኙ እንደሚችሉ።

3. ይህን ድርድር ከተቀበሉ ብርቱካን ሚደቅሳም ከእስር እንደምትለቀቅ።

ፖለቲካ ቁማር ነው። የሽማግሌው ቡድን ከተቃዋሚዎች ጋር የሚያደርገው ውይይትና ድርድር ወዴት እንደሚያመራ በቅርቡ የምንሰማው ይሆናል። መለስ ከሽማግሌዎቹ ጋር ባደረገው ቆይታ፣

“መረራን አጥብቃችሁ ምከሩት!” ሲል ለይቶና አፅንኦት ሰጥቶ መናገሩን ሰምቼያለሁ።Read more...

Ethiopian parties reject poll results (Daily Nation)

...“The situation was full of intimidation and irregularities deliberately orchestrated by the ruling party” Mr Beyene said.Read more...

Ethiopian Opposition Leader Faces Fierce Ruling Party Challenge (VOA)

..."If Meles's interest is to cling to power at all cost, like all African dictators from [Central Africa Republic's Jean-Bedel] Bokassa to [Uganda's] Idi Amin to [Ethiopia's] Mengistu Hailemariam, he can continue the game, and Meles can take the country down with him. Winning elections without public support, winning elections by cheating people, winning elections by fraud really should end in Africa," he said.read more...

Inside Story - Zenawi: A source of stability?(Al Jazeera)

Click here to watch

Premier’s Party Sweeps Ethiopian Vote (The Newyork Times)

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: May 25, 2010

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia appeared to solidify its return to a one-party state on Tuesday, as the country’s election board released provisional results showing Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s governing party winning nearly every seat in Sunday’s parliamentary elections....more...

Repression Is Alleged Before Vote in Ethiopia (The newyork Times)

The complaints pouring out of Ethiopia echo some of those from Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, American allies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars in aid each year.
Elections are looming in each of these countries, and though such contests are supposed to be the embodiment of democracy, they often presage harsh crackdowns. Human rights groups say strongman governments across the continent continue to use a variety of tools — arresting journalists, driving out human rights monitors and jailing opponents — to eliminate any serious political threat...read more..

Five more years (The Economist)

The government’s instinct for centralised control continues to inhibit enterprise and depress growth. Ethiopia’s state-run banks are dwarfed by private-sector banks elsewhere in Africa. Mr Zenawi claims that communications are paramount, but his government has stymied the mobile-phone revolution for its own political ends. Elsewhere in Africa, the debate is about the relative merits of Blackberries and iPhones. In Ethiopia, it is simply about getting a phone. Equally devastating is state control of the internet. Connection is costly and slow. The official in charge of the internet at the state telecoms outfit appears to be a high-ranking secret-service officer. That is to combat hackers, say flustered EPRDF officials. More likely, he is employed to spy on citizens and block websites the government does not like—which include most produced by the Ethiopian diaspora...read more...

Ethiopia: "C'est la Vie? C'est la Vie en Prison!"(Huffington Post)

When Zenawi says Birtukan is in "perfect condition" and "may have gained a few kilos", he is of course mocking her. He is taking a cheap shot. It is his way of distracting attention from the universally accepted fact that she is his personal political prisoner. He gets a kick out of publicly humiliating her. He uses sleazy humor to suggest that she is sitting idly in his prison and getting fat. It is not enough for Zenawi to keep Birtukan in solitary confinement in a filthy dungeon, deprive her of basic human contact for months, deny her the most elementary human rights, torment her day and night and condemn her in public. No, no! That is not enough. Zenawi must mock and heap scorn on her and roll over laughing at the sight of her suffering. The brave young woman who stood up to him in public must be humiliated and slapped in the face in public. "Birtukan Invictus"[1] must become "Birtukan the Vanquished"....more...

Security Forces Clamp Down in Gambella as Shootings, intimidation, rumors of large-scale arrests and more troops Threaten Region (SMNE)

The Anuak and other Gambellans were first pressured to hold a public rally in protest of the VOA program’s statements—saying that the defense troops had nothing to do the massacre; however, the people refused. Now, the TPLF government has produced a petition that essentially blames the Anuak for the December 13-15, 2003 Anuak massacre, in an incredible example of the illogical leaps this government must use in an attempt to cover up the vast evidence of their own complicity.

The governor is threatening to take action if the people refuse to sign it. Because of such threats, some 200, especially women, young students, are signing it. Allegedly the goal is to obtain 2,500 signatures, which it looks like they will not accomplish in Gambella town alone so they have gone to the rural areas and have brought 350 people from all the Woredas to the town to sign and intend to keep the pressure up until they have all the signatures. If the young Anuak students do not cooperate, they may find themselves out of school, or worse yet; in jail. However, some are standing up with courage. A particularly noteworthy example came not from an Anuak, but from a Nuer man.
It may be remembered that the massacre was first called an ethnic conflict between the Nuer and the Anuak; mostly blaming the Nuer when in fact there is a conflict between them in the past, they never killed each other in this way. They usually resorted to solving their problems through their elders. The truth is, there were numerous examples where Nuer actually protected the Anuak in their homes.....more....

Ethiopia blasts US for report on rights record (Sudan Tribune)

The 2009 human rights report by the U.S. state department, accuses Prime minister Meles Zenawi-led government of illegal detention, killings, arrests, torture, violation of press and religious freedom, intermediating and restricting rights of opposition members...read more..

Forget about democracy (The Economist))

Human-rights campaigners think the limpness of America and European Union countries, especially Britain, in the face of Mr Zenawi gives him a free rein to abuse his own people. This week’s report by Human Rights Watch, a New York-based lobby, claims that, after 20 years in power, Mr Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front has “total control of local and district administrations to monitor and intimidate individuals at a household level.” With a general election due on May 23rd, opposition supporters, says the report, are often castigated as subversives by the government, denied the right to assembly, and harassed. The press has been “stifled”. Newspapers avoid writing about opposition parties or people the government says have terrorist links..read more..