ethiobserver

Currently I am planning to establish Ethiopian Friends Eye Foundation (EFEF) to treat many of our people who suffer from various eye diseases including trachoma, cataract, glaucoma, Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) etc…, 80% of which are preventable. There is also Onchocerciasis in Ethiopia which the Carter Foundation has been involved in the study of the disease. I have seen some patients in the western part of Ethiopia who suffer from Ocular Onchocerciasis with microfilaria in the anterior chamber of the eye but there is no study yet conducted in this area.

Unlike the Ethiopian Gilgel Gibe III, these so called Environmentalists did not intervene with equivalent lobbying force to stop the construction of the Aswan Dam of Egypt and the Merowe High Dam of Sudan, also known as Merowe Multi-Purpose Hydro Project or Hamdab Dam (“Merow”). The Reason…well, Sudan is not Ethiopia when it comes to Egypt, and Asawn…well, it is Egypt’s dam. After all, Egypt claims the totality of the Nile River water with Sudan. So, that goes for Egyptians’ trust of Sudanese and mistrust of Ethiopians. What is unfortunate is that the Environmentalists’ similar allegation against Gibe III Dam.

Moyo compares the effectiveness of aid between Europe and Africa. After the Second World War, many Western European countries received aid which had helped them to rebuild their broken economies. Due to the Marshall Plan they couldn’t only rebuild their economies within a short time; they could also become competitive and easily dominate the world market. According to Moyo and other researches, either qualitative or quantitative, before the war, many Western capitalist economies had intact economic and social infrastructures.

ERITREA: A Nation Turned into Grand Prison
Abraham Berhe abrehe@gmail.com
Customarily come the month of May, Eritrean Independence Day is what comes into the picture for any Eritrean first. Rightfully it was so. Indeed, with the ardent sacrifice and unflinching support of TPLF, on May 24, 1991 Eritrea happens to claim its national independence from Ethiopia. Now that Eritrea is free in political, legal, or in legislative terms from Ethiopia still remain a riddle until further unresolved key national issues are completely solved and its inhabitants are freed from endless military captivity.

Today, Germans are still influential in the US monetary system, industry and politics. The current CEO of the New York Stock Exchange is Duncan L. Niederauer, German. Duncan became the CEO on December 1, 2007. Timothy Franz Geithner, of German ancestry, is the 75thÂ United States Secretary of the Treasury. Well known as Kissinger protÃ©gÃ©, he worked for Kissinger and Associates in Washington, D.C., and in 2002 he joined the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). In 2003, he was named the 9thÂ President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The path to democracy and the transformation of the Ethiopian society for the better is not going to be easy. There are two broad sets of problems that characterize the hindrance of democratic transformation in Ethiopia: 1) the pugnacious nature of most Ethiopians, a legacy of a long and deeply entrenched feudal values that shape the Ethiopian psyche of confrontation and bravado. This kind of psychological makeup greatly impedes the blossoming of culture of dialogue, tolerance, and accommodation in the political landscape; 2) the opposition mobilization is confronted by dual negative inputs: a) overall organizational weakness engendered by the devastation of the Ethiopian intelligentsia by the former regime of Mengistu Haile-Mariam between 1974 and 1991; b) the cut-throat competition in power politics by the opposition within itself and against the EPRDF that has been controlling power relations at all levels since 1991.

Most of those who came to power seventeen years ago are still in office today and have not prepared a peaceful exit strategy to leave the stage. Seventeen years is a lifetime in politics. If those in leadership are unable, or unwilling to train capable people that would replace them it could be seen as a sign of failure. Leadership in government is not much different from leadership in an organization. An organization that wants to out-survive its founders needs to have a vigorous program of training many people for leadership. But the Ethiopian government still has the old guards in place, without much in integration or in the infusion of new blood. Here too a paradigm change is needed.

The African Union has called on the UN Security Council to impose sanctions against Eritrea for supporting Islamist insurgents in Somalia. It is the first time that the AU has called for sanctions against one of its own members. The organisation has more than 4,000 troops in Somalia supporting the fragile transitional government. Meanwhile, heavy fighting resumed in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Saturday, reports say. Government forces launched a fierce counter-attack on Friday in a bid to regain control of parts the city taken by militants. Move 'unprecedented'

African countries are giving away vast tracts of farmland to other countries and investors almost for free, with the only benefits consisting of vague promises of jobs and infrastructure, according to a report published on Monday. “Most of the land deals documented by this study involved no or minimal land fees,” it says. Although the deals promise jobs and infrastructure development, it warns that “these commitments tend to lack teeth” on the contracts.

Many think the Nile basin will be the most likely site of a future “water war”
because the Nile embodies “all the challenges that transnational management of
fresh water could possibly present.”9 Predicting the eruption of violent conflicts over water involves balancing a series of factors that are outcome determinative: the degree of water scarcity in a region, the number of states sharing a water resource, and the particular power dynamics between affected states.10 On the basis of this model, the Nile would seem to be the paradigmatic case of a “water war” waiting to happen.

Japan will spearhead a drive at the Group of Eight summit to prevent “farmland grabbing” in developing countries and encourage responsible investing in agriculture. The move shows growing fears among leading nations that rich countries such as Saudi Arabia or South Korea, which are not self-sufficient in food production, are investing in overseas land, particularly in Africa, to boost their food security.

The Council of Ministers has approved a directive that will allow Eritreans who were expelled from Ethiopia on the eve of a border war, to reclaim their property, to work here, to withdraw their money which is in the banks, and to involve themselves in trade and commerce as local investors. On Monday, the Minister of State in the Government Communications Affairs Office, Ermias Leggesse, told journalists that unless the Eritreans are in one way or another involved with the state and security agencies of the government of Eritrea, they will be allowed into Ethiopia, invest in the country and develop their property.

U.S. Insists Eritrea Stop Fomenting Violence in Somalia
14 May 14, 2009 - 2:05:02 PM
Press Releases
Ian Kelly Department Spokesman, Office of the Spokesman
Bureau of Public Affairs Washington, DC May 14, 2009
The United States urges the Government of the State of Eritrea to stop fanning the flames of violence in Somalia. Over the past week, extremists in Mogadishu have repeatedly attacked the people of Somalia and the Transitional Federal Government in pursuit of a radical agenda that can only promote further acts of terrorism and lead to greater regional instability. Eritrea has been instrumental in facilitating support of the extremists to commit these attacks. This support must cease immediately. Eritrea’s support for anti-government forces in Somalia is a serious obstacle to the possibility of a more normal relationship with the United States.
The United States calls on all parties to the conflict in Mogadishu to implement an immediate cease-fire and permit humanitarian assistance to be delivered safely.
Source: U.S. Department of State:

afrol News, 7 May - Ethiopia has signed a financing agreement with France amounting to 210 million Euros for the implementation of the Ashegoda Wind Power Project in Tigray State.The agreement was signed today by the Chief Executive Officer of the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo), Mihret Debebe and ambassador of France to Ethiopia, Jean-Christophe Belliard.

AI calls on Ethiopian govt to reveal fate of political prisoners
afrol News, 5 May - The Amnesty International (AI) has today called on the Ethiopian government to immediately disclose the names and fate of more than 35 people believed to be held by its security forces on political grounds since 24 April. The group has further said it had learned that additional arrests were reportedly been carried out over the past several days, with further arrests expected. According to AI, many of the victims are believed to have been arrested for their alleged involvement in planning a thwarted attack on the government, while others appear to have been arrested for their own or family members’ peaceful political opposition to the government.

Ethiopia - Egypt: A tug of war over the Nile basin
Egypt makes offers but Ethiopia won’t budge
Despite a generous offer made by visiting Egyptian minister of Water Rosources and Irrigation, Dr. Mohamed Nasr Eldin Allam, Ethiopian Minister of Water Resources, Asfaw Dingamo, has stood by his government’s firm stance to continue with its decision to protect the upper riparian (Nile basin) countries. The Ethiopian position seeks to limit Egypt and Sundan’s indiscriminate use of the Nile’s water resource. The Egyptian Minister visited Ethiopia this week.

In a quiet dinner party in Ghion Hotel this past April, amid friends and family, among long time associates and colleagues, in the presence of prominent government officials and dignitaries, Professor Richard Pankhurst was awarded a recognition plaque and an honorary title of “Dejazmach Benkirew” for his well deserved, long and arduous work of bringing home the Axum Obelisk looted by Mussolini, and for having it erected in its original spot.

Above the ground, vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) looks much like other coarse, clumplike tropical grasses with, at first glance no apparent attributes. But looking closer, and particularly beneath the surface, the unique deep rooting system gives some indication of the value of this plant. At a recent conference reviewing 20 years of Ethiopian experience of the Vetiver System (VS), and in particular the use of vetiver grass hedgerows for on-farm soil and water conservation, more than 150 delegates agreed that the use of VS in Ethiopia should be scaled-up, as well as introduced for non-farm purposes.

Ethiopia is once again in the grip of a food crisis, thanks god it is not a full-blown famine. If mass hunger were simply the result of not being enough to eat, the remedy would be obvious: more food. Who can be surprised that our country is short of food? The spike in the food price may have reflected high foreign demand as much as low domestic supply. It is in disbelief that we cannot feed our self and beg the world for aid, but Saudi Arabia gets first taste of its Ethiopian-grown harvest to feed its population. Who can believe that, something is gone wrong on our agriculture policy? What is our priority?

Saudi Arabia has announced the arrival of the first food crop harvested in Saudi-owned farms abroad, in a sign that the kingdom is moving faster than expected to outsource agricultural production. Rice, harvested in famine-hit Ethiopia by a group of Saudi investors, was presented to King Abdullah recently and comes as other countries are still in the early stages of investing in overseas farms.

The looting which followed was indeed so　considerable that Tewodros’s citadel was stripped of virtually everything of any cultural importance – after which the entire settlement was burnt to the ground. The booty taken by the Napier Expedition from Tewodros’s capital included gold crowns, the icon of the Qwerata Re’esu, or Christ with the Crown of Thorns, the Emperor’s great seal, numerous gold, silver and bronze crosses and religious paraphernalia, regal tents, over five hundred Ge‘ez manuscripts, many of them beautifully illustrated, and a wealth of archival material, including Tewodros’s tax records, data on marriage and property, and copies of his correspondence with a variety of his officers of state.

A year after the Liberal leader’s forthright speech a letter arrived in London from no less a figure than the Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV. On ascending the Imperial Ethiopian throne in 1871, he lost little time in raising the issue. On 10 August　1872 he wrote to Queen Victoria and to the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Granville, requesting the return of two items looted from Magdala. One was a Ge’ez manuscript of the Kebra Nagast, or Glory of Kings, which told the story inter alia of the Queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon. The other was the Kwer’ata Re’esu, an icon of Christ with the Crown of Thorns, which Ethiopian rulers had for hundreds of years taken with them on campaign.

Ethiopia PM warns anti-hunger effort at risk

Ethiopia's prime minister has warned that a British-backed effort to stave off starvation in the country is in danger of collapse without a dramatic increase in international aid.

Meles Zenawi, the strongman who has ruled the African republic for 18 years, represented Africa at the G20 summit in London last month. He led calls from African countries on international officials that met in Washington last weekend to quickly hand out the $500 billion (£342 billion) pledged in London for developing countries. "The economic downturn means there is no cash to give more support to the vulnerable," he told The Daily Telegraph at his offices in Addis Ababa.

Part II: Mental Problem- from the Ethiopian Context

As Schiller and Schopenhauer affirm, nature does not know how to jump. Likewise, societies could not be easily transformed from one stage to the other by revolutionary means or through bloodshed, but only through evolutionary processes. The city of Weimar is the result of such kind of a philosophical struggle. In this case, philosophy is very crucial and enables those who are engaged in political struggle to understand the complexity of their society. After all, philosophy is the basis of all knowledge. Those societies that are not engaged in philosophical discourse will at the end lose the vision of building a harmonious life. Their fate will be disintegration and chaos.

Ethiopian Christians and Believers in North America

He had been the most dominant figure in Ethiopian music for more than half a century and will receive a state funeral later this week.The country's radio and TV stations broke into their programmes to broadcast tributes.

He started singing in the days of the Emperor Haile Selassie, and was for a time the lead singer in his imperial bodyguard band.

Ethiopia: 'To Be? Or Not to Be?', Meles Undecided Over Next PM Post

Addis Abeba — The question of whether Prime Minister Meles Zenawi would continue to assume his position as Prime Minister of Africa's second most populated country may be what every one wants to know as the country approaches next general elections. But that has remained to be a conundrum, prompting more curiosity among his followers, and opponents alike. In a number of interviews with local and foreign media, Meles has spoken about the matter -only in a rather obscure way, giving way to more suspicions and speculation. His reticence about the matter has put people in darkness as far his fate as Prime Minister and EPRDF, as ruling party, is concerned.

Regarding my article which I wrote about the G-20 summit, some Ethiopians are not satisfied with the way how I have analysed certain things. Some attacked me for having racist outlook like the Europeans, because I wrote that the African problem is not a monetary one, but a mental problem which is the main cause for the low economic performance of the continent. I wrote it in such a way not to irritate my readers, but to tell them what is happening on the ground and not to blame other forces as we always do.

Ethiopia can, and does, still use other types of mines in its border zones, notably along its still tense boundary with Eritrea. But these are mines triggered by vehicles, unlike the anti-personnel devices which are triggered by a footfall, whether of an animal, an adult or even a child. The devices are often designed to maim rather than kill, to create as much of a burden as possible on an advancing army. Although the stockpile may have gone, some of Ethiopia's border areas are heavily mined and it has until 2015 to clear anti-personnel mines already in place

I would like to inform you that your statements are "fighting words”-those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. “It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.” Individuals who propagate hate, false accusation, and character assassination like you need to bring their actions to a halt for the sake of our people.

The revival of a plan by Djibouti to charge Ethiopia an extra $22.5 million a year in port tariffs will push up inflation in the land-locked country, a senior Ethiopian business leader said on Friday. Ethiopia pays $700 million annually in port fees to the tiny Red Sea state, which has been its main gateway for imports and exports since it lost the ports of Assab and Massawa when Eritrea won its independence in 199."Ethiopia will pay Djibouti a total of $722.5 million for port services annually. We consider this a huge burden and the government must seek an alternative."

London Summit – Leaders’ Statement 2 April 2009
1. We, the Leaders of the Group of Twenty, met in London on 2 April 2009.
2. We face the greatest challenge to the world economy in modern times; a crisis which has

deepened since we last met, which affects the lives of women, men, and children in every

country, and which all countries must join together to resolve. A global crisis requires a

global solution.
3. We start from the belief that prosperity is indivisible; that growth, to be sustained, has to be

shared; and that our global plan for recovery must have at its heart the needs and jobs of

hard-working families, not just in developed countries but in emerging markets and the

poorest countries of the world too; and must reflect the interests, not just of today’s

population, but of future generations too. We believe that the only sure foundation for

sustainable globalization and rising prosperity for all is an open world economy based on

market principles, effective regulation, and strong global institutions.
4. We have today therefore pledged to do whatever is necessary to:

The two leaders who represent two strong EU Member countries, feel this time that they have full confidence that history is no more on the side of the Anglo-Americans, and especially the new American administration that is lead by President Barack Obama, will not frustrate the European vision of bringing a workable solution to cope with the present financial and economic crisis. It is no secret that President Barack Obama is attracted by the welfare state model of the European type which is until now proved to be a workable model which could keep social harmony within the western capitalist model. It is believed that the laissez fair model of the Anglo-American type, which is especially accentuated in the 1980s, and propagated world wide as the only viable solution which could bring economic growth to all countries which apply it, become disastrous. The Popes of the free-market ideology are now on the defensive; and they are crying that the state must intervene to curve the economic down turn before it resulted into major depression.

We would like to inform you that we have made repeated requests to the Ethiopian Government in order to address your concern. However, we have not heard anything from the Ethiopian Government to this day. We also understand the gravity of the situation once such disease begin to spread inside Ethiopia as it has done in the West African countries.

Reports of the crisis comes as reports from Western governments and human rights organizations point to an economic melt-down made worse by ever-tightening controls and human rights abuses against so-called dissidents, especially religious groups. With the U.S. State Department recently issuing an emergency report on Eritrea , sources in the region describe the country as in the grip of a food crisis - with the government stopping people from accessing the most basic of supplies.

The first, the Gilgel Gibe dam (also called Gibe I), was completed north of the Gibe III dam site in 2004. The Gibe II project is a power plant associated with the Gibe I dam that is still under construction.

The new Gibe III dam is expected to produce 6500 GWh of energy a year, and surplus energy is expected to create 300 million euros (£282m; $407m) in revenue, according to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo), the sole provider of power in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: USAID Injects U.S. $12 Million into Rural Micro Finance

The programme, dubbed PSNP PLUS, is funded by the USAID and implemented by Care. The latter has four organizations under it for the implementation: Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Relief Society of Tigray (REST) and Save the Children UK (SC-UK). The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) will provide technical assistance.

Mr. Abraham Yayeh commented on the report and told us "that the contents of the report cannot be totally disqualified and is nearly accurate except that it lucks some facts." For example, according to Mr. Yayeh, "the former TPDM Chairperson, Mr. Fesseha Haile Mariam was not murdered by the Ethiopian Intelligence" - as reported by Awate.com. Mr. Yayeh indicated that: "the TPDM Foreign and International Relations office have credible information that Mr. Fesseha was assassinated in cold blood by elements of the EPPF, which is a group purely made-up of ethnic-Amharans, and with the collaboration of an Eritrean army officer, a Colonel." Mr. Yayeh also said: "I did not disassociate totally from the TPDM-proper but from the TPDM-faction that is under the shoes of Shabia and long time before the cold murder of the TPDM Chairman."

Like most dictators who fear competition, President Isaias Afwerki constantly reshuffles his cabinet, commanding officers and governors, an excercise he is engaging in once again. What has not been reported is that he is set to carry out a similar task with the Eritrea-based Ethiopian opposition groups. Three individuals have been assigned with this task: Mr. Yemane Gebreab, the political director of the ruling and sole legal party, the People’s Front for Democracy & Justice (PFDJ); Brigadier General Tekle Kiflay and Colonel Teame (aka Mekele.)

For decades relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom was described as perfect, special and unbreakable. This unique relationship is best known trough the remarkably close political, military, diplomatic and cultural relations. However, when it comes to this unique relationship, many things are left out and ignored.

It is a shame that we Ethiopians often throw our history away and it is foreigners that often write down, keep archives, and teach us our own history. Please see these collections of Mr. Jim Marshall here in Los Angeles, and if interested to contact him, let me know! G.E.G

Leon County Judge Nina Ashenafi Richardson, who was the first African-American to head the Tallahassee Women Lawyers and later the first African-American woman to lead the Tallahassee Bar Association, has a long record of community involvement. (Special to the Democrat) A native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Richardson moved to the U.S. as a youngster with her family. She and her sister were raised by their father, who taught ethnomusicology in the College of Music at Florida State University and served as the director of the Center for African-American Culture.

An important issue is that the government's focus in the last several years has been fairly narrow in terms of promotion of industries. It has focused on basically three export industries: flowers, textiles and leather goods. It has brought some successes. But perhaps it is time to think a little more broadly. We also think that it may no longer be necessary to subsidize new flower growers. Why do you have to subsidize flower growers while the potential has already been well proven and the supply chain well established? Things are easier for those who come after many of these pioneer flower farmers. The first few probably deserve incentives because they were taking huge risks. So why not now change the scheme? Pioneering investors in any sector deserve support.

OBAMA AND ETHIOPIA, 5: TIME FOR FRESH THOUGHT, NEW DEPARTURES?
Donald N. Levine, University of Chicago
The Obama vision may inspire Ethiopian leaders–in religious, in schools, in government, and in civic organizations–to temper the mindless drives toward material consumption and narrow self-interest imitated from modernized societies with new forms of conscience and civic virtue. If something on that order happens, the name Ethiopia may come to symbolize once again–as it did for ancient Greeks, the writers of the Old and New Testaments, and of the Islamic Sira–a land of people who manifest exceptional justice, righteousness, and virtue.

Ethiopian refugee teaches students lessons of life

SUNNYSIDE -- Mawi Asgedom urged Sunnyside teenagers to set goals, work hard and focus on battles greater than their latest schoolyard spats.

"No matter what happens to you in life, don't complain," he told about 200 Sunnyside High School English and history students Wednesday in the school's auditorium. Asgedom, 32, was born in northern, rural Ethiopia during a civil war that lasted nearly 30 years. Rebel groups often conscripted boys as young as 12 and men as old as 65, he said, into battle against a socialist military junta.

The Ethiopian Consulate General office in Los Angeles has now made available an online application form for Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation ( EEPCO) Millennium Bond. Prospective buyers can now fill the form and send their application online or type, print and mail the form to the Consulate General office. For an on line application form and instruction please click at application
The new consulate web site www.ethioconsulatela.org has also an online visa and passport application forms as well as sample power of Attorney letters.

Semere Kesete writes regarding Shabia's current campaign of resettlement (read displacement) of Eritrean citizens from Highland Eritrea to the Barka region in Lowland Eritrea. Semere Kesete is a former President of Asmara University Student Union until he was jailed by the Eritrean regime in 2002. He, miraculously, escaped from Shabias's prison with the help of one Mehari, a prison guard. Both Semere and Mehari arrived safely in Tigray and from there both of them were immediately granted political asylum and finally resettled in Sweden. Semere, a graduate in Law from the "former" Asmara University, now a merger of the infamous Sawa military and ideological training center, is currently pursuing his post-graduate studies in the United States of America. Besides, he is an active participant in the Eritrean opposition struggle for the re-liberation of the Eritrean people, this time from a domestic Mussolini. Some critical Ethiopian and Eritrean observers believe that Shabia's Isaias is obliged to wage his recent displacement campaign all of a sudden simply to deny easy escape-access to Eritreans living in villages close to the Ethiopian border. At present, there is a massive inflow of Eritreans crossing to Ethiopia as living and political conditions in Eritrea worsens from time to time and as tension mounts based on legitimate speculations of another round of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ethiopia takes Africa film honor
An Ethiopian film about the regime of the country's former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam has won the chief prize at Africa's main movie awards ceremonyTeza was the unanimous winner of the Golden Stallion of Yennenga at the event in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Director Haile Gerima's award was accepted by his sister Selome, who also co-produced the film. The silver award went to South African film Nothing But The Truth, and Algerian comedy Mascarades was third.
The audience award went to Burkina Faso film Le Fauteuil, while Moroccan film-maker Leila Kilani's documentary about political oppression in her country won its category. Selome Gerima said during the week-long Fespaco event in the west African city that their film had taken 14 years to bring to the screen. She added it made Ethiopians remember what life was like under Mengistu, who ruled the country from 1974-91. The film focuses on a scientist who goes back to Ethiopia under the dictator after living in Germany.

Selamawi "Mawi" Haileab Asgedom is a Harvard graduate, author, public speaker, and refugee of Ethiopia and Eritrean origin. Mawi was born in Ethiopia in 1976. His family fled to Sudan to avoid the war in Ethiopia; they stayed there in a refugee camp for three years. Mawi's family came to the United States in 1983 when his family was sponsored by World Relief in Wheaton, Illinois. After graduating from high school Mawi went to Harvard where he graduated with top honors in American History. Mawi gave the commencement address at his graduation in 1999, and has since dedicated his life to uplifting teenagers through writing and speaking. He is the best selling author of Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy's Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard and The Code: The 5 Secrets of Teen Success.

There is a strong believe in the United States that the American Revolutionary War was a good war which brought freedom to the people and gave birth to the US. Yes, it was, but only for the new American nation. Many Americans forgot the other side of this war, like the fact that the war started as the war between Kingdom of Great Britain and British rebels in the North America and extended out to the Europe and the European colonies, ending as a global war between Britain, France, Spain and the Netherlands (Dutch Republic).

By Fekadu- As a development economist you must have some philosophical background. Philosophy is the key to knowledge The more you understand philosophy the more you know yourself If you have a philosophical background your feelings, thinking and actions will have purposes. As a development economist you have to question the purpose of life in this world, and the essence of belonging to a given society. As an educated person you have to understand that you are responsible for your society. What you are doing, especially in the field of economic planning touches every part of the society. In this case your way of thinking and handling must not damage the social fabric of your society.

Professor Richard Pankhurst February 21, 2009

Few foreigners, if any, can proudly talk about their impact on

Ethiopia

, her freedom and her international presence, as the Pankhurst family did. Madam Sylvia Pankhurst, Professor Richard Pankhurst’s mother, born in 1882 in Manchester to Dr. Richard Pankhurst and Emmeline Pankhurst, founded a newspaper (New Times and Ethiopia News) in England in 1936, which became the only mouthpiece for the war-torn

Ethiopia

against her bitter battle with the Italian fascists. At the time, when it was actually uncustomary to oppose the juggernaut fascists, the young Sylvia Pankhurst, conscious of the suffering of millions of Ethiopians, refused to back down even when seasoned politicians (who felt alliance with Mussolini was worth than any association with Emperor Haile Selassie) in England pleaded with her to discontinue her protest.

It appears that Mr. Chamisa, the spokesman of MDC, has withdrawn his earlier statement that the extradition of Mengistu was very high on their agenda, giving the reason that they will consider that issue only if it comes directly from the Ethiopian Government.

Long held in secret Eritrean jail, Isaac reported in hospital
New York, February 5, 2009--Eritrean authorities must disclose the medical condition and care being provided to jailed journalist Dawit Isaac, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today following unofficial reports saying that he was hospitalized. CPJ points out that the well-being of the long-jailed Isaac, an Eritrean with Swedish citizenship, is the responsibility of the government, which has yet to provide any information as to his whereabouts, health, or medical care.

In early January, Egypt starting deporting Eritrean refugees -- somewhere between 45 and 65 are thought to have been sent home. These refugees tried to enter Isreal through the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. And the deportations say much less about the refugees themselves than the perilous but staunch relationship between Israel and Egypt.

Urging Djibouti and Eritrea to peacefully resolve a border dispute that flared into fighting in June 2008, killing at least 35 people and leaving dozens wounded, the United Nations Security Council demanded today that Eritrea pull its forces from the contested area and cooperate with diplomatic initiatives. Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the 15-member body welcomed Djibouti's withdrawal to its positions before the dispute, which centres on an un-demarcated border in an area known as Doumeira, and condemned Eritrea's refusal to follow suit.

having regard to its previous resolutions on the Horn of Africa countries,
– having regard to the report of the mission to the Horn of Africa adopted by its Committee on Development on 8 December 2008,
– having regard to Rule 103(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas the unsolved border conflicts between Ethiopia and Eritrea and between Eritrea and Djibouti are negatively affecting peace and security in the Horn of Africa; whereas the situation in Somalia has deteriorated into one of the world's worst humanitarian and security crises; whereas the situation in Sudan is a major risk factor for security in the region,

A sad aspect in recent political arena in Ethiopia is the imprisonment of the leader of an opposition party, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa. One asks, ‘What purpose was this intended to serve?’ Was it to disrupt the regrouping of the opposition parties and for the governing party to gain ground in preparation of the coming elections? If that was the intention, it seems to have already backfired and produced the very opposite effect. Ms. Mideksa has now become a rallying point and a heroin for many people that oppose the government. Democracy, at its very minimum, requires a good deal of tolerance and mutual respect. Tolerance however seems to be in short supply these days largely due to the watershed that unfolded after the election of 2005. Many democratic venues that had opened up before that time have been shut down since. That is very sad indeed.

My view is that a retraction would have been harmful, not because the Ethiopian opinion would have failed to understand its merits, but because the EPRDF would have accomplished the three mentioned objectives with flying colors. When the now defunct Kinijit leaders were released from prison following the so-called presidential pardon, I wrote that the purpose of the whole drama of pardoning them after the court’s guilty verdict was to humiliate them. The intent to humiliate is not only a personal vendetta; it has a clear political goal as well. It creates a pernicious fissure between the people and its would-be leaders on the ground that leaders, who are not ready to sacrifice their comfort and even their life, if necessary, do not deserve to be leaders. The purpose of humiliation is to demean would-be leaders in front of the people they claim to defend

Scrutinizing the Scorpion Problematique: Arguments in Favor of the Continued Relevance of International Law and a Multidisciplinary Approach to Resolving the Nile Dispute

Ethiopia PM warns anti-hunger effort at risk

Part II: Mental Problem- from the Ethiopian Context

Ethiopian Christians and Believers in North America

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Ethiopia: 'To Be? Or Not to Be?', Meles Undecided Over Next PM Post

Ethiopia: USAID Injects U.S. $12 Million into Rural Micro Finance

Ethiopian refugee teaches students lessons of life

Professor Richard Pankhurst February 21, 2009

The Girl Effect