|
Symposium
on Current Ethiopian Issues
The joint Committee consisting of the Ethiopian Unity Diaspora Forum
(EUDF), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), the Ethiopian
Peoples Revolutionary Party (EPRP – D), extends its invitation to all
Ethiopians in the Diaspora and Friends of Ethiopia to the Symposium on
Ethiopian Current Issues, of March 27, 2010 to be held at Meriden Hill
Hall, Howard University.
Microsoft
Launches IE 8 in Ethiopia
Posted
on Tuesday 16 March 2010 - 15:53
YohanesProfileHomepage186
messages
Andualem
Sisay, AfricaNews reporter in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
 Microsoft
has launched Internet Explorer 8 in Ethiopia in a bid to protect internet
cafes users' details from being stolen. The new product will address
issues of security and safety on the net while surfing, according to the
giant software company. Internet Explorer 8, which was recently released,
is the latest version of Microsoft’s popular Internet browsing software
and has been designed specifically to make your online experience more
secure.
Eritrea Still Aiding Somali Rebels
Written by Arieh O’Sullivan
Published Monday, March 15, 2010
Eritrea supports Somali rebels to weaken its Ethiopian
foe in defiance of UN sanctions.
Eritrea has continued to support and arm anti-government Islamist groups
in Somalia in violation of a UN Security Council resolution, a new UN
report says. A report expected to be released by the UN’s
Monitoring Group on Somalia notes that while Eritrea appears to have
scaled down its military assistance to Islamist insurgents, it has not
completely stopped it.
THE VETERANS ARE LEAVING!
Source
Addis Fortune
Many veterans of the Revolutionary Democrats, particularly the senior
leaders from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and Amhara
National Democratic Movement (ANDM), have not been enlisted to run for
either the regional councils or the Federal Parliament. From Sebhat Nega
to Mulugeta Alemseged and Teklewoyni Assefa to Debretsion Gebremichael
(all council members of the TPLF), many have been left out from the list
of candidates their organisation has fielded for the forthcoming national
elections. This move is seen by political pundits as the start of a
succession process that the incumbent recently said it would embark upon,
with a three-phase process taking five years. The other mass of departures
from the electoral game is seen at the top leadership of the ANDM, where
the four most prominent veterans of the armed struggle - Addisu Legesse,
Bereket Simon, Tefera Walwa and Taddese (Tinkishu) Kassa - were all
dropped out of the electoral contest.
NEWS
RELEASE: በዓማርኛ
በነፃ
መክተቢያ
የግዕዝኤዲት
ገጽ
Littleton,
Colorado, February 22, 2010
ONLINE
GEEZEDIT FOR TYPING IN AMHARIC
Today,
ABSHA/ECS of Colorado announced the release of GeezEdit Typing Online, a
FREE ETHIOPIC application to type the Amharic alphabet available at http://freetyping.geezedit.com
GeezEdit Typing Online is an incredibly simple application to use due to
innovative two key stroke technology. Patent pending technology
allows you to use a maximum of two keystrokes to type any letter in the
Ethiopic alphabet. Other Ethiopic applications make you use up to
six keystrokes to type single Ethiopic characters and some can’t be
repeated without introducing space. GeezEdit Typing Online allows
you to save time and type any Ethiopic character, numeral, symbol or tonal
mark with two keystrokes at most.
EGYPT
TO BUILD DAMS IN ETHIOPIA
By
G. E. Gorfu
This
could be a new tactic to continue the old struggle and control the flow of
the River Nile. So, as we welcome this new development, Ethiopia should
never let its guard down, but keep a suspicious and jaundiced eye at the
new development. We should prepare to negotiate with Egypt but only from a
position of strength and not from weakness. And united with the Riparian
Nations, we are very strong. We should demand that Egypt cease and desist,
aiding and abating Eritrea’s Isaias, the OLF, the ONLF, and any other
insurgent groups if they really mean business.
Eritrea
– The Need for Reality Check
Abdullah
A. Ado – Email: abdullahadoa@gmail.com
Gone are the hay days of the 1990s when
Issayas and his cronies had direct access to and control over valuable
Ethiopian resources; when they enthusiastically jumped and started sucking
all Ethiopian resources with full speed until May 1998 as if there is no
more tomorrow. At that time, only when Issayas Afewarki, in person, picked
his usual fighting-spirit against the EPRDF-regime inside Ethiopia, for
failing to maneuver the regional politics in his likings, the border
skirmishes occurred to remain unresolved to this very day. So those
Eritrean highland opposition in Diaspora who think they can still
partially trust Issayas Afewarki as their sole savior are simply
committing a strategic mistake and a political suicide by allying
themselves with this sworn enemy of the Eritrean silent and salient
majority.
Eritrean
refugees left stranded in Venezuelan airport face threats of deportation
In
a few short years following independence from Ethiopia in 1991, Eritrea
has deteriorated from a promising young democracy into one of the most
repressive regimes in Africa, where thousands are alleged to be detained
arbitrarily in inadequate facilities where conditions are life threatening
and torture is rife. According to United Nations estimates 63,000
Eritreans sought asylum abroad during 2009, with around 1,800 people a
month braving the shoot-to-kill policy to cross into Sudan. United Nations
(UN) sanctions have recently been placed on Eritrea for its part in arming
Somali Islamist rebels.
Eritrea's
president declares me 'insane'
We hadn't even arrived in Eritrea when I started to get a sense of the man I had been sent to interview.
Our flight from Dubai airport was delayed.
Nobody told us for how long or why. Four hours later, when the plane finally arrived, we found out the president had decided to borrow it for the morning, on a whim.
We were on our way to one of Africa's most secretive regimes. Granted a rare interview with the Eritrean president, Isaias Afewerki, a man constantly ranked in the top 10 of the world's worst dictators and accused of helping turn the Horn of Africa into one of the most volatile regions on the planet.
QS
International Temporary Committee’s First Goal Scored
It is with great pleasure that we announce our first success where
you joined us in signing the petition to stop the planned demolition of
Queen Sheba Elementary School. Our Committee Member, Dr. Tilahun Beyene,
who just returned from Adua has reported to Committee Members that Adua
Administration has scraped the demolition plan and accepted the
preservation of the school. All those who signed the petition should
congratulate themselves on this first step on the revival of our school to
its former glory, where it used to be one of the top schools in the
nation.
The Great Confusion - The Poverty of Development Economics
Fekadu Bekele
In
order to build a harmonious society, we must abandon such kinds of
buildings that are common in many Arab and Asian countries. Such kinds of
buildings do not reflect the wishes of the masses and they disturb the
human mind. We must turn to city buildings which incorporate all aspects
of human life, and bring imaginations to human soul. Forty
or fifty story buildings are not necessary in
Africa
, and maintenance costs cannot be affordable. For an aesthetical building
style we can use the knowledge of foreign forces that are ready to work
and live in
Africa
TALK TO AL JAZEERA
President Isaias Afwerki
Twenty years after the liberation from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Africa's youngest nation, has emerged as strategically vital to the stability of the region and the wider global agenda.
Eritrea is struggling to balance the needs of its people with the perceived threats to the nation.
Al Jazeera's Jane Dutton conducts a rare interview with Isaisas Afwerki, the president of Eritrea.
Al Jazeera confronted him with the allegations about Eritrea's ties with Iran, Hamas, al Shabab in Somalia and rebel groups in Sudan and Houthis in Yemen.
When asked about Eritrea's relation with Ethiopia today and the border dispute he said: "This border issue war was a senseless conflict instigated by the US.
 Abdirashid A. Sed
Monday, 01 February 2010
“Eritrea is the only country which did not recognize the Somalia
government.” Ambassador Abdirashid A. Sed, Special Envoy of the TFG of
Somalia.
EU
Considers Observing Ethiopia Election as Campaign Heats Up
Peter
Heinlein | Addis Ababa
A
European Union exploratory team is visiting Ethiopia to determine whether
to send an observer mission to monitor national elections in May. The
election campaign has taken a negative turn amid questions about whether
the vote would be fair. A series of televised debates opened last week
with a furious exchange among parties vying for seats in Ethiopia's
parliament. The ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front
dominated the airtime, taking 67 minutes of the three-hour broadcast.
Other parties were limited to 22 minutes each.
The
Success of SPO of Ethiopia vs. the Bet and Switch Politics of the
Opposition Camp
By
Girmay Seyoum (seyoumgirmay@yahoo.com)
February
15, 2010
|Fitzroy,
Australia
Truth
be told, Special Prosecutor’s Office of Ethiopia, which was established
on August 8, 1992 by law (Proclamation No. 22/1992), has done a terrific
job by bringing 5,119 suspects to court and having 3,583 people convicted
and sentenced.
According to SPO, not only the office had these 3,583 people got
convicted and sentenced but also most of the convicted Dergue officials,
except the ones who were sentenced to death and life in prison, had
completed their prison sentences and were freed from prisons.
Dr. Richard Pankhurst - Historian
By Indrias Getachew
For most readers of Addis Tribune Dr. Richard Pankhurst is a very familiar name. He has been a regular contributor of features on various periods and aspects of Ethiopian history for the past six years. He is one of the steadfast pillars of this publication and we believe that this tribute is long overdue.
Although he is not an Ethiopian by birth or citizenship I believe that his contributions to our country are so extensive and enduring that he is deserving of some sort of honorary Ethiopian title. His career in Ethiopia has entered its fifth decade.
By
BASSEM MROUEThe Associated Press
Thursday, February 11, 2010; 8:05 AM
BEIRUT
-- The cause of last month's Ethiopian Airlines crash into the
Mediterranean appears to  be
neither a technical problem nor an explosion, a top Lebanese official said
Thursday, without elaborating on what it actually could be. The
Boeing 737 crashed on Jan. 25, just minutes after takeoff from Beirut
during a fierce thunderstorm. All 90 people on board died. Asked
whether the reason behind the "catastrophe" was a pilot error,
Transportation Minister Ghazi Aridi said that no final conclusion could be
reached until the cockpit voice recorder, retrieved Wednesday, is
analyzed. He said the recorder is still missing a key part and divers are
searching for it. Crashed
Ethiopian jet's second black box found .
Foreign nationals attacked with "impunity"
Written by The Zimbabwean
Friday, 12 February 2010 14:18
Two
years after xenophobic violence erupted across South Africa killing at
least 62 African immigrants including Zimbabweans displaced 100 000
others, Amnesty International says there remains a culture of impunity for
crimes against refugees and immigrants in Africa’s largest economy
reports IRIN:
Eritrea
- Panic over UNSC-Sanctions & AU-Support
Abdullah
A. Ado – Email: abdullahadoa@gmail.com
Tyrant
Afewarki’s recent panic and his previous weeks’ bluffing reactions in
defiance to repeated requests by the international communities are all
astonishing. Looking this episode from a closer context, let us resort to
serious discussions. Throughout January 2010, immediately after the
sanction became known world wide, Afewarki, his PFDJ-junta and Eritrean
highlander sympathizers alike were boasting of their contempt; claiming
that the UNSC-embargo has no impact on Eritrea and they care less about
it. They even were belittling the Western democracy as hypocritical and an
unacceptable theme. These same people along with tyrant Afewarki have
suddenly turned 180-degrees around and are pretentiously acting in the
Western mode of democratic conferring as if to say they accept the Western
style of democracy; and even dare to hold world-wide demonstration
show-offs demanding to withdraw the UNSC-sanctions.
Eritrea
- Panic over
UNSC-Sanctions & AU-Support
Abdullah
A. Ado
If
Diaspora supporters continue to act against internationally decided and
well-deserved UNSC and AU consensus, and go out to rally on February 22,
2010 as instructed by the tyrant, then you are in fact demonstrating
guilty of treason for opting to rescue tyrant Afewarki (a known terrorist
at home and exporter of terrorism to Al-Shabab as identified by the UNSC
and AU thus far).
Ethiopia’s
Forty Tons of Gold
By G. E. Gorfu Jan. 29 2010
In spite of many recent advances in mining, gold mining remains one of the dirtiest mining activities, far worse than coal that may look black and dirty. Gold did not bring the Congo wealth or peace; on the contrary, its people are destitute and in misery. And western nations that get the final product do not seem to care as long as the gold and all other precious minerals continue to flow in their direction. We must learn from this terrible state of affairs still taking place in the Congo to avoid a similar fate. Here is a video from 60 minutes to watch and educate
onself.
Flight ET409 Air Crash Exposes Lebanon's Racist
Underbelly
An Ethiopian, wracked with grief, unwittingly wondered into shot only to be literally hauled out of view by the Lebanese crew. Had she been Lebanese, it is unthinkable she would have been treated like this. Much has been written on the plight of migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. The relatives of one Ethiopian victim said that their daughter was on the way home to Addis Ababa for good after years of being beaten by employers. To witness the neglect of friends and relatives left behind in Lebanon will offer Ethiopian families no comfort.The BBC even commissioned a special report on the Lebanese diasporas in Western Africa. No such article was mooted for the reverse demographic.
“One
man eats, another says grace!” – Eritrean Highland-Lowland Splits
Abdullah A.
Ado – Email: abdullahadoa@gmail.com
To those of us and
many other who share our arguments as lowlands and disenfranchised, that
our grievance is worthwhile to listen to, should map our ways forward in a
house that is Just, peaceful and equal representation for all, like any
civilized 21st century democracy should function, then we would be foolish
not graciously accept the olive branch to be involved in an a nation
building, National unity
Ethiopian
Banker Leads Development Agency for Obama Administration
As
chief of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Daniel Yohannes, is the
highest  ranking
Ethiopian American in Obama's government.
An
Ethiopian immigrant is making history as the highest Ethiopian-American
official in the Obama administration. Daniel Yohannes was born in the
Ethiopian capital. He completed his elementary school at Addis Ababa’s
Nativity Boy’s School and later transferred to St. Joseph’s, a
prestigious Catholic high school in Addis Ababa. “In those days people
of my generation were idealistic, full of energy, with a lot of love for
each other, as well as love and respect for our parents, elders, and
teachers,” Yohannes says Yohannes tells about some of the successes.
Ghana, he points out, is making commercial agriculture more profitable and
reduce the cost of transporting food from rural areas to markets. In
Lesotho, the MCC is helping the children of HIV-positive mothers live long
and healthy lives by renovating health care centers and establishing
clinics to distribute anti-retroviral medicines. And in Burkina Faso, 400
classrooms have been built exclusively for girls.
Israel’s
treatment of Ethiopians ‘racist’
Jonathan
Cook, Foreign Corresponde
NAZARETH,
Israel // Health officials in Israel are subjecting many female
Ethiopian immigrants to a controversial long-term birth control drug in
what Israeli women’s groups allege is a racist policy to reduce the
number of black babies.
The contraceptive, known as Depo Provera, which is given by injection
every three months, is considered by many doctors as a birth control
method of last resort because of problems treating its side effects.
Letter
of Condolences on the late Artist Eyasu Berhe
A
statement from the Union of Tigreans In North America
 Artist Eyasu Berhe died at the age of 53
My
deepest sympathy goes out to you and your family as they struggle through
the grief and sadness. We held deep your memories within our heart, you’re
our shining prince. Life brings tears, smiles and sadness. The tears dry,
the smile fades, but the music and drama you have given us lives forever. Though
there are no words to ease the pain, now you are at peace. Our thoughts
are with you and your family at this time of loss and sorrow. Bereket
Kiros
Protecting
Ethiopia?: On Outside Support for Human Rights
By Donald Levine
January 20, 2010
It
is in this age-old spirit that some Ethiopians warn today of new dangers
of encroachment in their country and in Africa generally. This fear may
well be exacerbated by recent leases of expanses of land to Saudi Arabia,
India, and Egypt, and by published reports that some 50pc of Chinese
businesses reportedly operate in Ethiopia illegally.
Fear of outsiders spills over into anxiety about undue dependence on them.
Ethiopians were historically proud of their self-sufficient lifestyle. In
a renowned Amharic novel of the 1940s, Enda Wetach Qiretch by Assafā
Gabra Māryām, perhaps the most poignant scene is when one
protagonist laments the erosion of Ethiopian self-sufficiency by importing
so many things from abroad. The relatively self-sufficient geberé or
pastoralist remains a model that a majority of Ethiopians continue to
embrace.
Haiti:
Our Great Friend in Need
Tecola W. Hagos January
18, 2010
We urge our Ethiopian
brothers and sisters to give and help as much as possible to the victims
of this horrendous devastation. The suffering of every single Haitian is
ours as well. Let us remember how our Haitian brothers and sisters,
without exception, helped our cause during the Fascist Italian aggression
and occupation of our beloved country
Ethiopia
in 1935-41.
Please, participate actively in every way you can by denoting money to
charitable organizations, and by volunteering to Work in the recovery
process in
Haiti
. Please, contact the Red Cross, the Haitian Embassy et cetera for such
humanitarian purposes. Let us use our wide network of families, friends,
neighbors, colleagues, and community members for such purpose. It is our
duty to help our fellow human beings in time of their greatest needs, and
it is also our obligation of gratitude to the kindness shown to us by
Haitian in our time of great need.
Passion
and Interest: The Faking of Tigrean Nationalism
Messay Kebede January
18, 2010
To
downgrade the ethnic equation, Jawar analyses Meles and co. as cold
calculators of their interests. He forgets the hatred they nourished for
decades toward Ethiopia, a hatred such that it clouds their judgment and
prevents them from seeing other options, for instance the alternative of
Ethiopian nationalism. Where there is ethnic politics there is also
emotional syndromes that are not accountable in terms of interests.
Despite serious efforts, scholars have failed to reduce ethnic politics to
rationality, that is, to the calculation of interests by elite groups.
More often than not, alongside material interests primitive sentiments
emerge, such as hatred, fear, mistrust, which elites use to mobilize
people and from which violent confrontations often spring.
Eyeing Abyssinia
Egypt stakes out a special place in Ethiopia, writes Gamal
Nkrumah
Ethiopia has no intention of circumventing the will of Egypt by building the new dams. Instead, Ethiopian officials explained that they wish to interest Egyptian investors into putting their money into such ventures. Egyptian officials readily resolved to accede to Ethiopia's wishes albeit conditionally. "We have agreed to the offer as long as it doesn't affect Egypt's Nile water quota," Minister of Irrigation Mohamed Allam told reporters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The Ethiopian compromise, publicly acknowledging Egypt's right to its quota of Nile water, is an answer so obvious that one wonders why it was not on the table already. Now that it is, Ethiopia's pragmatism may produce better results.
Africom - Latest U.S. Bid to Recolonise the Continent
by Tichaona Nhamoyebonde
political scientist based in Cape Town, South
Global Research, January 10, 2010
Why
should the current crop of African leaders accept systematic
recolonisation when they have learnt a lot from colonialism, apartheid and
racism? Why should the current crop of African leaders fail to stand
measure for measure against the US administration and tell it straight in
the face that Africa does not need a foreign army since the AU is working
out its own army.
AFRICAN UNION UNION AFRICAINE
UNIÃO AFRICANA
The
Chairperson of the Commission expresses the hope that 2010, which is the
Year of Peaceand Security in Africa, whose motto is “MAKE PEACE HAPPEN”, will
witness remarkablestrides in the journey of the Sudanese people towards peace, security and
stability.
Addis Ababa, 9 January 2010
Tekeze
Hydro-Power Inauguration Ceremony - Part 01
The
Washington Post
Obama
travels to Asia
News
and updates from the trip
Racial
rethinking as Obama visits China
Increasing
diversity, born out of boom, forces Chinese to confront old
prejudices
By
Keith B. Richburg Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday,
November 15, 2009
As
a mixed-race girl growing up in this most cosmopolitan of mainland
Chinese cities, 20-year-old Lou Jing said she never experienced
much discrimination -- curiosity and questions, but never
hostility. So nothing prepared Lou, whose father is a black
American, for the furor that erupted in late August when she beat
out thousands of other young women on "Go! Oriental
Angel," a televised talent show. Angry Internet posters
called her a "black chimpanzee" and worse. One called
for all blacks in China to be deported. As the
country gets ready to welcome the first African American U.S.
president, whose first official visit here starts Sunday, the
Chinese are confronting their attitudes toward race, including
some deeply held prejudices about black people. Many appeared
stunned that Americans had elected a black man, and President
Obama's visit has underscored Chinese ambivalence about the
growing numbers of blacks living here.
IRGC
surfacing in Assab in Eritrea
Thursday, 12 November 2009
By Reza Shafa
 On
Sunday an opposition leader in Eritrea told AFP that "Iran is
using Eritrea as a base to provide weapons to Shi'ite insurgents
in Yemen." "They (rebels) are receiving their arms from
Iran through Eritrea," Bashir Eshaq, head of external
relations for the opposition Eritrean Democratic Alliance, told
AFP in an interview."The weapons arrive in Eritrea's coastal
towns - mainly Assab, and from then onwards, Huthi rebels smuggle
the arms to Yemen at night," he added. The Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its arm the Qods Force had
been planning for a long time to use Assab as a foothold in Horn
of Africa for its extraterritorial activities mainly to harbor
terrorism and use its strategic location to hold hostage any
passage through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. The strait is situated 3
km from Eritrea and Yemen. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait (“Gate of
Tears”), is the closest spot to the Gulf of Aden, which connects
the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, and is in fact
the passageway for oil tankers and cargo ships in the African and
Southwest Asian regions.
LEBANON:
'Clear pattern' of migrant-worker deaths alarms rights advocates
November
10, 2009 | 6:11 am Source
Los Angeles Times
On
Oct. 21, 26-year-old Zeditu Kebede Matente of Ethiopia was found
dead, hanging from an olive tree in the southern Lebanese town of
Haris. Just two days later, her compatriot, 30-year-old Saneet
Mariam, died after falling from the balcony of her employer’s
house in Mastita, just north of Beirut.
Fear
and secrecy cloak Eritrea, Africa's hermit nation
By Shashank Bengali, McClatchy Newspapers Shashank Bengali,
Mcclatchy Newspapers – Mon Nov 9, 4:48 pm
ET
ASMARA, Eritrea — In this lonely corner of the world, the first
sign of distress is the luggage. When one of the few international
flights that are still operating here touched down one recent
afternoon, the returning passengers emerged from baggage claim as
if from a big shopping trip. Old metal trolleys squealed under the
weight of mundane items: tires, a laptop computer, tubs of
detergent and duffel bags crammed so tightly with food that tin
cans bulged through the fabric.
A
Chat With Prof. Kjetil Tronvoll
Awate - Awate Team
By Awate Team - Nov 04, 2009
On October 22nd, Professor Kjetil Tronvoll’s report, ‘The
Lasting Struggle for Freedom in Eritrea’ was presented by the
Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights (OCPHR) at a seminar held
at Håndverkeren in Oslo, Norway. The report, which was
commissioned by OCPHR, was the result of two years of preparation
by Mr. Tronvoll. Former Norwegian Prime Minister and now the
president of the Center, Kjell Magne Bondevik, opened the
conference which was attended by more than 100 people including
Eritreans.Prof. Tronvoll’s comprehensive report provides an
extensive insight into the causes and the current human right
situation in Eritrea. Eritreans activists hope that concerned
international entities get more serious in dealing with the
violations of the Eritrean government. So far, the West in general
has been undermining efforts to resolve the situation by insisting
on appeasing the Eritrean government in the hope of engaging it.
የአፍሪቃን
የጠለቀ ችግር
ለመወያት በአ.አ
ከ29-10 እስከ
31.10.2009
ስብሰባ
ተካሄደ! እኛስ
ምን እየሰራን ነው?
Old
ways endure in remote rural village in northern Ethiopia
Source: WorldFocus
A
museum is being erected in Bonga, Ethiopia — the birthplace of
coffee. But because small-scale farmers are fragmented and
disorganized, they are reaching the potential of the coffee crop.
Worldfocus correspondent Martin Seemungal reports from
Ethiopia’s coffee country, where farmers are deciding to plant
corn and khat, a leafy drug that is chewed with stimulating
effects somewhere between caffeine and cocaine.
Barack
Obama and the Flying Circus
By
Ivan Simic-There is no way to avoid Obama and his flying circus,
no matter where we live, they are everywhere not just in the US,
they are in Europe, Asia, Pacific, Africa, Middle East and even
the North Pole. They are filling front pages of the world
newspapers and making breaking news around the world, and that
entire not ones a day, but several times a day. It appears there
is just no room for other country leaders, Presidents, novelists,
scientist, and artist. It is like they do not exist, like Obama is
the only important one in this contemporary world.
ሰሞኑን
በአዲሱ ዐመት
የፓርሊያሜንት
መክፈቻ
ንግግራቸው ላይ
የኢህአዴግ
ፕሬዚደንት
አቶ ግርማ፣
የኢትዮጵያ
ኢኮኖሚ ባለፉት
ስድስት ዐመታት
ከአስር
በመቶ(10%)
በላይ
እንዳደገ
ሲያበስሩ፣
እንደዚህ ዐይነቱ
ዕድገት በምዕራቡ
ኢኮኖሚ
ውስጥ
እንኳ ሊደረስበት
ያልተቻለ
እንደሆነ በደስታ
ገልጸዋል። ይህ
ዐይነቱ ዕድገት
ሊታይ
የቻለው
የዓለም ኢኮኖሚ
አስቸጋሪ ሁኔታ
ውስጥ በሚገኝበት
ወቅትና፣
እንዲሁም ደግሞ
የውስጥ
ችግር ከፊታችን
ላይ ተደቅኖ
በምንገኝበት
ወቅት ሲሆን፣
አዎንታዊ ውጤቱ
የያዝነውን
የኢኮኖሚ ዕድገት
ፈለግ
የሚያረጋግጥ ነው
ብለዋል። ይህ
ዕድገት በአዲሱ
ዐመት
በዚህ መልክ
እንደሚቀጥል
ሲያስረዱ፣ የዋጋ
ግሽበትም ከአስር
በመቶ በታች ዝቅ
እንደሚል
አብስረውልናል።fekadubekele@gmx.de
IDEA
Viewpoint October 19, 2009
It
is in light of the overall Ethiopian reality and the alternative
rationale discussed above that the United States must restructure
its ambiguously suspended foreign policy and sort out its options.
It can no longer continue to support a dictatorial regime that
thoroughly disregards rule of law, incarcerates members of the
opposition without due process of law, and governs with
neo-patrimony and espionage.The United States cannot always coach
and cushion desperado regimes within the framework of a statist
government-to-government relations, without due regard to the
peoples’ interest. In fact, as Robert P. Putnam so aptly puts
it, “political science must have a greater public presence,”
and “the concern of fellow citizens is not an optional add-on
for the profession of political science, but an obligation as
fundamental as our pursuit of scientific truth.”4
America, of course, does not have legal obligation for Ethiopia
and Ethiopians, but it definitely may have a moral obligation, if
indeed its foreign policy, as per the liberal tradition is tainted
by ‘reasoned and ethically inspired education’.
Withdrawal
of Book Review and Commentary [Henze’s Book]
By Tecola W. Hagos
As
a result of my rereading and reconsideration of material
overlooked by me and on the basis of new information as indicated
below, I have withdrawn my recent review and commentary of
Henze’s book. [Paul B. Henze, Ethiopia in Mengistu’s Final
Years: The Derg in Decline, Vol. I, Shama Books,
Addis Ababa
:
Ethiopia
, 2007; Ethiopia in Mengistu’s Final Years: Until the Last
Bullet, Vol. II, Shama Books,
Addis Ababa
:
Ethiopia
, 2007.] Moreover, as an issue of regional policy, the whole
scheme of fracturing and land locking
Ethiopia
was absurd and against well established principles and norms of
international law—against principles of jus
cogens. As it turns out the Governments of the
United States
and that of
Britain
are now threatening
Eritrea
with international United Nations backed sanction. By undermining
Ethiopia
the West has “cut its own nose to spite its face” and plunged
an upright people, “the blameless Ethiopians,” into
unnecessary great hardship and permanent conflict. I hope the
Obama Administration would correct the injustice in land locking
Ethiopia
, cutting its Afar people in two, and illegally constituting a
hitherto nonexistent “State of Eritrea” to take all of the
coastal territories of
Ethiopia
as a strategic ploy by the
United States
which strategy has backfired. After all,
Ethiopia
historically is the only
Sovereign
State
that has legal and factual rights to all of the Afar coastal
territories on the
Red Sea
and the islands thereof.
Britain
calls for sanctions against Eritrea
By
EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer,
Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 8, 9:39
pm ET
UNITED NATIONS – Britain called Thursday for U.N. sanctions
against the tiny Red Sea nation of Eritrea for supplying weapons
to opponents of the transitional government in nearby Somalia in
violation of a U.N. arms embargo.
One
in four is Muslim, study says
A report from an American think-tank
has estimated 1.57 billion Muslims populate the world - with 60%
in Asia.The report, published on Wednesday, also found that
Ethiopia has nearly as many Muslims as Afghanistan.
WHO
WAS JOHN KIRKHAM?
G.
E. Gorfu
In
most battles victories are won by the cumulative advantages that
one army has over another. Sometimes that can be due to military
discipline, larger numbers, the strategy an army adopts in combat,
or the valor and style of its leadership. However, when two armies
are closely matched in everything else, the superiority of weapons
might become the only decisive factor.
East
Africa: Signs of Conflict Emerge Over the Nile's Waters
Paul Goldsmith October 5, 2009 Source East
Africa:
Ethiopia's Blue Nile supplies the lion's share of the Nile's
water: Over 60 billion cubic metres of the annual average of 84
billion cubic metres of water reaching the Aswan Dam in upper
Egypt originate in the Ethiopian highlands. On the surface, these
hard figures appear to harden the future prospects of
upstream-downstream conflict, but they also conceal forces that
run deeper than the interests of individual nations. The Nile
Basin Initiative was launched in 1992 to mitigate the accumulating
demographic and developmental pressures on the system's finite
water resources.The NBI brought all the riparian states under one
umbrella to address the transnational issues of managing the Nile
system's water, and to develop win-win solutions for negative
scenarios, including the potential impact of climate change.
By
Gebre Tsadik Degefu
Egypt
Controls Most of Nile's Water
Newsweek
Thanks
to a 1929 agreement between Britain--acting on behalf of its
East African colonies--and a newly independent Egypt, Cairo
holds the rights to two thirds of the Nile's water, as well as
veto power over upstream projects. The disparity is stark:
Ethiopia is the source of 60 to 80 percent of the Nile's flow, but
uses less than 1 percent of it because Egypt says no to
large-scale irrigation projects. And though Ethiopians might be
tempted to circumvent the anachronistic arrangement, they can't.
Egyptian officials work "behind closed doors" to block
funding for upstream projects, according to David Shinn, a former
U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia. The Nile states want to re-negotiate
the ancient treaty, but Egyptian officials have stalled for years.
And there's no sign they'll slake their neighbors' thirst any time
soon.
Africa
Experiments With Climate Insurance -- for $5 a Year September 30,
2009, By EVAN LEHMANN of ClimateWire
NEW YORK -- Ethiopian farmers are buying
drought insurance with a muscular currency: their own labor.
The experiment is designed to protect
about 200 farmers in the village of Adi Ha from dry spells that
can wither small fields of teff, a grass with grain seeds, about
once every five years. A hunger crisis can follow. The insurance
policies are as tiny as the fields, often about an acre. Each
farmer pays the equivalent of about $5 a year, many of them
promising to work for about 10 days on irrigation trenches or
other projects in return. The policy will pay up to $25 in claims.
Without it, a family can go into debt for years, reducing future
harvests. The risk might become more acute as atmospheric
greenhouse gases threaten to make Ethiopia's rainy season more
erratic, possibly causing periodic drought or disrupting
traditional growing seasons.
Isaias
Afewerki and his secret dealings with the the CIA!
We found a credible information in an an interesting paper posted
on the Eritrean website Azmarino
Independent: http://tig.delina.org/tig/qofusenedat/212--1974-
whose author is the the martyred Tesfankiel Jorjo - aka
Wedi Jorjo. Since the original posting on www.delina.org
is a scanned version of the paper, a supporter of ETHIOPIAN
OBSERVER re-produced the
paper in pdf-format and sent it to us for re-posting with the
permission of Azmarino
Independent. Among other
interesting issues, the paper perfectly exposes by undressing the
unlimited pretentious attacks against America, particularly
the CIA, by the megalomaniac dictator in Asmara. Besides, the
paper is a useful reference and an additional source for any
writer/researcher who is interested to learn generally about the
creation of the various Eritrean groups and particularly the
nature of Dictator Isaias Afewerki and his dealings with the
CIA, Ras Asrate Kassa, etc. We thank Azmariono Independent
for their kind cooperation.
President
Obama Nominated Daniel
W. Yohannes, Originally from Ethiopia, as CEO of the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
The
Obama Administration could not have picked a better
suited person to lead this highly appreciated project not
only by the people of the Unted States but also by the whole
world.
Daniel W. Yohannes is President and CEO of M&R Investments,
LLC, a privately-held investment firm specializing in real estate,
financial institutions and the green energy sector. Previously, he
served as Vice Chairman of U.S. Bank for the Commercial Banking
Group, Consumer Banking Group and as Head of Integration for
Community and Public Affairs. In this role, his responsibilities
included leading the integration of U.S. Bank and Firstar, which
resulted in the 6th largest bank in the country. From 1992 to
1999, Yohannes was President and CEO of U.S. Bank (formerly
Colorado National Bank), where he grew the Colorado franchise from
$2 billion to $9 billion in assets. From 1977 to 1992, he worked
at Security Pacific Bank (now Bank of America), where he held a
number of leadership roles.
'Violent
Eruption' Brewing May Spill Into EA
Kevin J. Kelley 14 September 2009
"But while the ruling EPRDF
promises democracy," the 40-page analysis continues, "it
has not accepted that the opposition is qualified to take power
via the ballot box and tends to regard the expression of differing
views and interests as a form of betrayal."
Feeling threatened by the emergence of a significant opposition,
the ruling party resorted to repressive measures prior to the 2005
national elections.One paradoxical aspect of the report is its
finding that the ruling party's authoritarian actions have not
prevented opposition groups from proliferating in recent years.
Front accepts Meles's request to step down
Reporter
(source) September 9, 2009
After a long and what inside sources say was “a democratic
debate that was free of ethnic or party differences...," the
Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) accepted
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's request to step down as party and
government official, and decided on a gradual replacement of
leadership in the front.
The
replacement process however, according to state media reports
quoting the EPRDF decision, is to be carried out in a gradual
"relay" process so as not to create a leadership vacuum.
Meles is said to have aggressively argued his point that the elder
generation of liberation fighters should hand over power to
younger leaders in the party.The implementation of the replacement
however is to be done in a manner that part of the older
leadership is to step down in the initial stages of the coming
five years, another part in the mid of the same coming five years,
so said the decision of the front quoted by the Ethiopian
Television."After having reviewed and considered the request
made by the chairman of the front, EPRDF's council has decided
that Prime Meles Zenawi is to step down from his position at the
end of the coming five years," the same report said.
DEFIES
ALL COMMON SENSE, REASON & STATUS
By
Genet Mersha, September 5, 2009
Making
the country attractive to foreign investors within reasonable
bounds is essential. At the same time, that very policy must have
the brain, the ears, the eyes and the hands, above all, principles
to ensure that the same opportunity exists for enterprising
citizens, the very backbone of the country’s
development and future. After all, that is the only path for
Ethiopians to become productive citizens and emerge as competitive
people in the world market. As it stands now, although the
government has dismissed it, the World Bank in its report has
rightly cast Ethiopian workers as the least competitive in the
world, even by Sub-Saharan African standards. Nonetheless, whether
or not we like it is a factual conclusion by that low labour
productivity in Ethiopian industries is a reflection of how much
our country has been undercapitalized. We should not allow this to
become the permanent feature of our farms. The consequences would
be too difficult to fathom with many farmers throwing away their
rudimentary implements to move to the cities.
Anxiety
of Cloud computing just does not compute:
Abel Ghirmai September 1, 2009
Unfortunately,
during the incubation period for this teacher initiative, there
has been a lot of incomplete and inaccurate information regarding
the details of the laptop initiative in Ethiopia. While some folks
are examining benefits and possible opportunities, others who are
perhaps ill informed and overly cynical, are rallying to find
flaws in the project by injecting unpleasant emotions and vibes
way before the project even gets off the ground. As I am sure you
are aware of it, pessimists are always reluctant to support
efforts that might further any social cause, unless of course they
are the direct beneficiaries.
Ethiopians
Owe a Lot to African Americans
IDEA
Editorial
August
24, 2009
For
quite sometime now, Ethiopians knew very well that the minuscule
group of Aiga Forum have been engaged in false reports about
Ethiopia in an effort to embellish the policies and performances
of the incumbent political regime in Ethiopia. If one unsuspecting
curious researcher reads Aiga Forum and/or Walta Information
websites, s/he would conclude that Ethiopia has attained an
economic development comparable to the Asian Tigers, or even to
that of Japan. Some Ethiopian propagandists, in fact, have been
telling the world that the GDP growth rate of Ethiopia has hit an
11% record. The unsuspecting reader may be lost in the décor
wilderness of the propagandists, but the fact of the matter is
that Ethiopia is still a famine-prone country and it also ranks at
the very end (in the 170s range) from 190 countries in terms of
World Development Report of the World Bank and the Human
Development Index of the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP).
Critiquing
the Decision and Award of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims
Commission
By Tecola W.
Hagos
 I
emphasize the fact that it must be understood that the Claims
Commission was constituted pursuant to Article 5 of the Algiers
Agreement of 12 December 2000, an Agreement that many Ethiopians
consider to be illegal. A number of Ethiopian scholars consider
the Algiers Agreement as a kind of fig leaf to cover a fundamental
anti-Ethiopia movement bent on fracturing Ethiopia into several
mini-states. It was signed by representatives of two individuals
fully involved in that goal since 1976 in liberation movements
that succeeded to overrun the Military dictatorship of Mengistu
Hailemariam. The Algiers Agreement was signed by Meles Zenawi and
Isayas Afeworki in Algiers, two dictators who do not represent the
people of Ethiopia or for that matter the people of Eritrea either
respectively.
The
Lighter Side: What Do Republicans Really Want?
By Scott Blakeman, Political Comedian - August 20, 2009
Those
liberals ask why we're the only industrialized nation without
national healthcare. And we tell them, because we're better than
everyone else! Do you really think we're going to support a
government run public option just because a bunch of French people
like the idea? We'd rather eat a bucket of Freedom Fries than
spend a minute in that left-wing foreign-speaking country.
PRESS
RELEASE
August 17, 2009
ERITREA-ETHIOPIA
CLAIMS COMMISSION RENDERS FINAL AWARDS ON
The armed conflict between these two Parties caused serious injury
and damage to the people and infrastructure of these two
countries, which the Commission recognized are among the poorest
on earth. While the compensation awarded to each Party is
substantial, the Commission recognized that it is probably much
less than each Party believes it is due. The Commission stated:
“The difficult economic conditions found in the affected areas
of Ethiopia and Eritrea must be taken into account in assessing
compensation here.”
Rights
watchdog: After U.S., Israel is least egalitarian country in West
Source
w
w w . h a a r e t z . c o m
By Tomer Zarchin
The
report also found that the economic situation of people with
handicaps in Israel is the worst among the Western countries.
Their average income is less than 70 percent of those without
handicaps, and, in addition, 85 percent of Israeli employers do
not hire people with handicaps. Also, 37 percent of Ethiopian
immigrants are employed in low-paying jobs, as compared to veteran
Israelis. In addition, the report found that the privacy of an
increasing number of workers is invaded through their employers'
calls for a sweeping exemption from medical confidentiality, the
monitoring of phone calls and e-mail, compulsory polygraph tests
and the use of surveillance cameras. Moreover, many of the Prison
Service facilities violate the basic rights of detainees and
prisoners, in part by excessive use of force, severe overcrowding
in the jails and poor hygienic and sanitary conditions.
Letter
Report from Former President Negaso Gidada, Disruption of a Public
Meeting.
16th August, 2009 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: To All, Mob Disrupts UDJ
public Meeting !!!!
For
me, this is a clear indication that there is no pre-election
leveled playground for political parties in Ethiopia. This
confirms that the complaints of the opposition political parties
that there is no democratic political space, is absolutely true.
How can the opposition political parties participate in the coming
election process, which may begin in November 2009 if they are not
free to move around freely to open their offices, recruit members,
and hold public meetings to explain who they are and for what they
stand for?
Ethiopian
Israeli Filmmaker Pulls No Punches
Shmuel Beru, who arrived in Israel in 1984 in the first wave of
Ethiopian Jewish immigrants, tells his people's story in the
award-winning 'Zrubavel.' But not that many white Israelis are
listening.
By Edmund Sanders Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 14, 2009 Ethiopia's resilient prime minister
The
two sides of Meles Zenawi
The
Economist
August
13, 2009
So
Mr Meles is up against it, at home and abroad, but apparently
relishing the challenges. A general election is due next year. He
had previously hinted he might step down after it. More recently,
he has sounded less sure, dismissing such speculation as
“boring”. Some say he may leave his prime ministerial post but
stay on to chair his ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary
Democratic Front. He seems likely, in whatever guise, to call the
shots—with decreasing dissent.
Experts
worry about negative consequences
INTERNATIONAL
AGRCULTURAL LAND DEALS AWARD
ETHIOPIAN VIRGIN LANDS TO FOREIGN COMPANIES
By
Genet Mersha, 12 August 2009
During
the last one year, the international media have reported with
noticeable frequency on international agricultural land deals in
Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, land is under government control and,
therefore, cannot be sold or bought. Of the dozen or so African
countries engaged in such deals, for varied reasons the cases of
Ghana, Madagascar, Mali and the Sudan have also attracted similar
attention.Perhaps the only commonality between
Ethiopia and these countries is that they are all far ahead of
others in that experience, as they have concluded several
international farmland lease deals in the past five years.
Nevertheless, much of the information is still under wraps.
Travel
Advisory
The
real reasons for Hillary Clinton's trip to AfricaCultivating
Friends: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Talks with Kenyan
President Mwai Kibaki.
By Katie Paul | Newsweek Web
Exclusive
Aug 5, 2009
The
Obama administration is putting Africa front and center this
summer, hoping to demonstrate that the continent will no longer be
sidelined in American foreign policy. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton touched down in Nairobi on Tuesday night, kicking off a
seven-country tour of Africa's major capitals. That comes on the
heels of Obama's address last month in Ghana, which, as
administration officials keep telling us, marks the earliest and
biggest commitment of U.S. diplomatic attention to the region of
any modern presidency.
Tough Talk
Barack
Obama hasn't stood up to Africa's despots.
By Jason McLure | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 5, 2009
They
were fine words. But not much else. Obama didn't single out any
particular leader for criticism, and he gave the speech in Ghana,
one of Africa's handful of functional democracies. In her own trip
to Africa this week, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit
bright spots like South Africa, Cape Verde, and Liberia. But she
also has a perfect opportunity to name and shame the continent's
worst leaders. There's only one problem: she's going to blow it.
Gilgel
Gibe III: No problem We are now thinking of Gilgel Gebe IV&V
Ben D 08/04/09
Social
justice is core values of a people-centered development. It is in
the long-term self-interest of all actors, whether from China or
the West, to promote and protect such values rather than to hide
behind the hypocrisy of other actors.
Obama’s
Vision for Africa is Short of Substantive Vision
IDEA Editorial
July 13, 2009
Some of the
most important points Obama raised in his speech are, “no nation
will create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy”;
“Africa does not need strong men but strong institutions”;
“development depends on good governance” etc. We agree with
Obama that good governance or a committed and visionary leadership
will ultimately play a crucial role in the transformation of the
Continent. Sometime in the early 1980s, the famous Nigerian
novelist Chinua Achebe said, “the Nigerian problem is the
unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the
responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the
hallmarks of true leadership.”
Helping
world’s hungry to promote peace and stability
afrol News, 10 July - By helping the
world’s hungry, who now number one billion, the international
community can also secure a more peaceful and stable future for
all, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the leaders of the Group
of Eight (G8) industrialized nations today in L’Aquila, Italy.
The annual G8 meeting, which wraps up today, has reportedly agreed
to mobilize $20 billion over three years for a comprehensive
strategy focusing on sustainable agriculture development to ensure
global food security.
 I
Want to Hear From You
Dr.
Aberra Embaye
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.
Uneasy
Choice: Where do we stand on Gibe III Dam?
By
Tsegaye Mulushoa
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.
Dead
Aid: Why Aid did not help Africa! A Better way without Aid!
Fekadu
Bekele
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.
Pertinent
Historical Question: Which Country Really Rules the World?
By Ivan Simic
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
protégé, 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 9th President of the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Democracy,
the Ruling Party, and Opposition Mobilization in Ethiopia
Ghelawdewos Araia June 1, 2009
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.
The
Need for Paradigm Change - I
By
G. E. Gorfu
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.
AU
calls for sanctions on Eritrea
Saturday, May 23, 2009
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'
Africa
almost giving land away, says UN
Financial Times, May 24, 2009
Javier Blas
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.
By
FASIL AMDETSION
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.
Tokyo
aims to halt ‘farmland grabbing’
By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo and Javier Blas in London for
Financial Times
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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.
የአሥመራና
የሞቃዲሾ ፖለቲካ
Reporter
የአሥመራና
የሞቃዲሾ ፖለቲካ
እና ተግባር
የኢትዮጵያን
ህልውና
የሚፈታተን ነው
ጠንቀቅ!ከሁሉም
በፊት
በአፅንኦትና
በማያወላውል
መንገድ ሁኔታ
በግልፅ ማስቀመጥ
የምንፈልገው፣
የሆነ ሃይማኖትም
ይሁን የሆነ ሕዝብ
የኢትዮጵያን
ሕልውና ለአደጋ
የሚዳርግ
አለመሆኑን
ነው፡፡
የኤርትራና
የሶማሊያ ሕዝብም
ለኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ
አደጋ
አይደሉም፡፡
ምክንያቱም ሕዝቡ
የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ
ጠላት
አይደለምና፡፡
የእስልምናም
ይሁን የክርስትና
ሃይማኖት
የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ
ጠላት
አይደሉም፡፡
ምክንያቱም እኛ
ራሳችን
ኢትዮጵያውያንም
ክርስቲያንም
ሙስሊምም
ነንና፡፡
የሕዝብም
የሃይማኖትም
ጠላት የለንም፡፡
ይህ ግልፅና ግልጽ
ሊሆን ይገባል፡፡
አንዳንድ ወገኖች
የተሳሳተ ትንትና
እያደረጉ
የሕዝብና
የሃይማኖት ጠላት
እንዳለን
ሲያቀርቡልን
ተሳስተን ያልሆነ
እምነትና እርምጃ
ውስጥ እንዳንገባ
መጠንቀቅ
ይኖርብናል፡፡
Council
approves directive allowing Eritreans to reclaim property
Saturday, 23 May 2009
By a Staff Reporter
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.
Chinese
Investment in Ethiopia: Developmental Opportunity or Deepening
China’s New Mercantilism?
Asayehgn Desta
(Ph.D), Sarlo Distinguished Professor of Business
The
process of inviting foreign investors to developing countries is a
means to increase the valued-added exports of the host country.
Based on the Sino-Ethiopia Associate Africa pharmaceutical joint
venture company, it is possible to argue that both partners handle
the international marketing sector. Since the Chinese marketing
officers are well versed in some aspects of the international
marketing, they might have trained local employees in export
management and foreign marketing strategies. Also, it is possible
that local firms could have acquired international marketing
techniques by hiring some of the Ethiopian workers who might have
left the Sino-Ethiopian joint venture to start their own
businesses.
| Sunday, 17
May 2009 Reporter |
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:
France
injects money into Ethiopia's renewable energy
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.
UTNA
RECOGNIZES RICHARD PANKHURST AS
DEJAZMACH
BENKREW!
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.
Voting
for vetiver in Ethiopia
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 gets first taste of its foreign-grown harvest
by
Javier Blas
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.
Ethiopia’s
Cultural Heritage & the International Community Further
Considerations
By
Professor Richard Pankhurst
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.
The
Loot from Maqdala, 1868:Some Historical Ideas of Repatriation
By
Professor Richard Pankhurst
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.
By
Damien McElroy in Addis Ababa Telegraph
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.
Fekadu
Bekele April 30, 2009
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
emperor's singer dies
The
popular Ethiopian singer, Tilahun Gessesse, has died
at the age of 68.
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.
Yonas Abiye
14 April 2009
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.
Mental
Problem- a phrase to be clarified!
Fekadu
Bekele, PhD
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
destroys mines stockpile
By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Addis Ababa
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
Ato
Isayas Atsbaha Abay, Aiga Forum, Owner and Editor
San Jose, California, United States of America April 9,
2009
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.
Ethiopia:
Djibouti Port Fees Will Fuel Inflation
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
G-20 summit- Promises that cannot be translated easily!
Fekadu Bekele,
Ph D April 6, 2009
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.
Press
Release
www.ethiopianamericanforum.com
AN
APOLOGY TO THE ETHIOPIAN SCIENTIST
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.
Eritrea:
Church Responds to Food Crisis Worsened
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
Gibe III dam is under construction on the Omo River,
approximately 300km southwest of Addis Ababa. It is the third in a
series of cascading hydroelectric projects in the region.
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.
Addis
Fortune (Addis Ababa)
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."
Isaias
Afwerki Now Reshuffling....Ethiopian
Opposition
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.)
Deceitful
relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom
By Ivan
Simic
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
picture
1, 2,
3, 4
 Earning
the privilege of serving
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.
Interview
with Ken Ohashi, WB Country Representative
March 23, 2009
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.
By ROSS
COURTNEY Yakima Herald-Republic
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.
EEPCO
ELECTRIC POWER BOND
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.
March
13th and 14th, 2009 University of Washington's Husky Union
Bldg.
About
the Keynote Speaker
 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.
A
Historical Lecture to a Group of the American People
February 24, 2009
By Ivan
Simic-
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).
What
you should know February 21, 2009
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.
 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.
An
Open Letter to The Minister of Justice of Ethiopia
To The Minister of Justice of Ethiopia
His Excellency Ato Berhan Hailu
Please
see the attached a link to a Zimbabwe Newsmagazine and the letter
I circulated on the extradition of Col. Mengistu back to Ethiopia.
http://changezimbabwe.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1952&Itemid=2
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.
Eritrean
refugees caught between Egypt and Israel
Fri, 01/30/2009
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.
Eritrea
Police Raid Church Service; Dozens Detained
Thursday,
January 29, 2009 (10:02 am)
By
BosNewsLife Correspondents Eric Leijenaar with BosNewsLife's
Stefan J. Bos
East
Africa: UN Council Demands Eritrea Engage in Efforts to Resolve
Dispute With Djibouti
14 January 2009
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.
European
Parliament resolution on the situation in the Horn of Africa
The European Parliament- MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION 7 January 2009
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,
Ms.
Birtukan Mideksa’s Imprisonment…
G.
E. Gorfu January
8, 2009
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.
Birtukan
or the Appeal of the Heroine
By
Messay Kebede-January 4, 2009
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
AFRICAN
UNION MISSION December
30, 2008
The
African Union Commission recently launched a comprehensive Africa
Diaspora health initiative in Washington, DC. His Excellency, Dr.
Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Friday
September 26, 2008 in Washington DC, launched the Africa Diaspora
Health Initiative under the auspices of the African Union Mission
to the United States of America. The purpose of the Africa Union
African Diaspora Health Initiative is to provide a platform by
which health experts of the African Diaspora can transfer
information, skills, and expertise to their counterparts in the
African Continent through linking specific health expertise within
the African Diaspora with specific health needs in specific
geographical locations in Africa.
African
Union – United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC INFORMATION DIVISION
El
Fasher, 16 December 2008
– The first batch of the main body of the Ethiopian Infantry
Battalion, consisting of 107 personnel, arrived today in El
Geneina,
West Darfur
. The remaining 412
personnel are scheduled to arrive between 17-19 December.
The new peacekeepers will be joining 341 Ethiopian
peacekeepers already deployed in Kulbus,
West Darfur
, bringing the total number of the Ethiopian Infantry battalion to
860
Somalia:
Islamist Leader in Hiran Region Declares 'Jihad On Ethiopia'
Source: Garowe Online
(Garowe)
The
top leader of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) militia in central
Somalia's Hiran region has declared 'jihad' on Ethiopian troops
amassing along border towns, Radio Garowe reported Tuesday. Sheikh
Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma'ow, the ICU chief in Hiran, told reporters
via a telephone. "I urge the Muslim people of Hiran [region]
to join the jihad against Ethiopia, because the enemy of Islam has
returned to our land," Sheikh Ma' ow said, while speaking
from the frontlines in the northern outskirts of Beletwein, the
capital of Hiran.
The
Iran Threat Back to Page One
Iran Deploys Troops, Ballistic Missiles To Eritrea
Joseph Grieboski December 8th 2008 Cutting
Edge Foreign Editor
The Eritrean Democratic Party, an opposition party, pointed to
trepidation within the Eritrean regime, indicating that some
high-ranking members are saying that the president is playing with
fire with Iran and that the consequences for Eritrea could be
grave. Opposition groups in Eritrea are reporting that President
Isayas, with the cooperation of some Somali Islamist groups, is
going beyond mere bilateral oil supplies, and colluding to control
the Bab El Mandeb Straights in case of escalation of conflict with
the United States and Israel. Eritrea and the United States backed
opposite sides in the war in Somalia, which erupted at the end of
2006.
President
Isaias summons all members of the Eritrean Air Force to Massawa
& the EAF disobeys
Sunday, 07 December 2008 Source: asena-online.com
According
to sources from Asmara, President Isaias Afewerki has summoned all
members of the Eritrean Air Force to Masawa, the port city where
he has relocated his government. However, the members of the Air
Force who were also told to leave all their belonging in their
base in Asmara have disobeyed his direct orders in unison.
December
8, 2008
Press
Statement
Human
Rights Watch: Persisting With its Flawed Methodology and
Unsubstantiated Allegations. The
Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia must
again express its dismay that Human Rights Watch has issued
another deeply flawed report on Somalia (“So Much to Fear” –
War Crimes and the Devastation of Somalia ). This is not just
because it is published after the decision of Ethiopia to withdraw
its troops from Somalia, a fact Human Rights Watch completely
ignores; nor just because it has been published so soon after
Ethiopia made public a devastating and critical investigation of a
Human Rights Watch report on Somali National Regional State of
Ethiopia. This exposed extensive flaws in Human Rights Watch’s
methodology and conclusions. It is therefore extremely
disappointing to find that this report has continued an extensive
use of journalistic reports, drawn virtually all of its evidence
from hearsay and second-hand information gathered outside Somalia,
and from the propaganda of terrorist groups, and involves nothing
more first-hand than a few telephone conversations with anonymous
informants.
Technology
and Economic Development-A Historical Perspective
Introduction
December 8, 2008
Fekadu
Bekele, Ph D
fekadubekele@gmx.de
There
have been debates between two Ethiopian economists, the one was
supporting the policies of the Meles regime, and the other was
opposing it, and gave a
tentative analysis, why the Ethiopian economy has not grown, as
his opponent and the regime
would
claim. In the debates, between the two Ethiopian
economists, and the claim made by the
regime that the economy has grown, which was vehemently supported
by the two sister
organizations, there is no mention whether this growth has been a
science or technology
driven economic growth or not. Concerning the economic growth in
many African countries,
especially during the 60s and 70s, there have been debates among
well educated and
internationally renewed economists, like Dr. Samir Amin, that the
economic growth in many
African counties cannot be called development, since it does not
have the necessary scientific
and technological bases, which serve as the true engine of any
genuine economic
development.
Settlers
to Ethiopian troops: Niggers don't expel Jews
Border Guard officers of Ethiopian descent report rising number of
racially motivated verbal attacks from Hebron youths; Druze
officers also suffer racist remarks
Danny Adino Ababa Published: 12.04.08,
11:39 / Israel News
Not only do they serve long and tiring hours in the reserve
forces, and not only are they forced to deal with violent clashes
with settlers, but now, Border Guard officers of Ethiopian descent
are also faced with rising racism. "Niggers
don't expel Jews! This isn't what we brought you to Israel
for!" are just some of the degrading slurs Border Guard
officers reported hearing from masked settlers. During the violent
clashes between Israeli forces and settlers in Hebron on Tuesday
"a bunch of veiled people started yelling at us: Who are you
to expel us from our home? An Ethiopian does not expel a Jew! A
nigger does not expel a Jew!" one Border Guard officer of
Ethiopian descent recounted
World
War II: 63 Years After
Ivan
Simic November
28, 200
Accordingly,
regardless of the current global financial crisis, let's take a
look how some major participants of World War II and participants
of the later conflicts stand financially today and what can we
expect from them in the future, these include: Allies Powers of
the WW II: the USA, Russia, France, the UK and China. Axis Powers:
Germany, Italy and Japan. Korean War participant: South Korea
(Republic of Korea).
MIDROC
is too big to be bullied by The Reporter ---let the Reporter do
its job of reporting
BySuhul
November 28, 2008
It’s
possible that, the Reporter’s editorial titled “Investment
Bederete” citing Midroc as one of the characters might have
been a little bit top-heavy without much foundation. But, even if
that is the case, Midroc doesn’t need a self appointed advocate
to speak on its behalf. No laws have been broken here. Besides,
nobody or no organization should be immuned from being a subject
of media reporting or public scrutiny. So, let Midroc defend
itself as it knows the facts better than G.tsadik
and Ben of EthiopiaFirst.
POLITICS-ETHIOPIA:
Disappointed But Not Defeated
Michael Chebsi
ADDIS
ABABA, Nov 20 (IPS) - She fought alongside men in the Ethiopian
liberation struggle. She fought for a free and fair society. But
today, Yewubmar Asfaw feels that Ethiopia's revolution has failed
to deliver a fair share of political power to women. In her book,
published this year in Amharic, Asfaw, 52, describes how the
liberation groups marginalised women fighters during the struggle
and after the fall of the military regime in 1991.
Africa-EU
Ministers must Act on DRC and Darfur
20 November 2008
African
Citizens call on the Ministerial Troika for an urgent Action to
protect lives of Civilians.
‘’A
zero-tolerance position must be applied on all ceasefire
violations as well as human rights abuses by any of the
parties’’ said Mr. Allioune Tine, Executive Director of
Rencontre Africaine des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO) a leading
continental Human Rights network.
‘’The
suffering has gone on too long for the population of North Kivu.
The international community must honour its responsibility to
protect civilians before DRC falls back in another general
war’’: said: Roselyn Musa, Senior Advocacy Officer of the African
Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET)
Eritrean
rebels claim killing 285 government troops
By Tesfa-alem Tekle Monday 17 November 2008 Source
Sudan Tribune
November 16, 2008 (MEKELLE) – An Eritrean rebel group, The Red
Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) claimed killing over two
hundred government troops during an attack carried last week
against a military training center inside the country. The Red Sea
Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) on Sunday said that its
fighters have killed at least 285 Eritrean military officers
including top military leaders in what it called was the most
devastating assault taken earlier this week at a military training
base in the remote central Denkelliya region of Afambo local area.
Tseghe,
of course, is a resilient woman and in spite of the early negative
encounters in Denver, true to her childhood dream, she founded the
Africa House, an African art boutique. Initially, however, housing
African House was not easy and the owner could hardly find a lease
contract and then she “never expected the ‘land of
opportunity’ to have so many closed doors” (p. 32).
Nevertheless, her mirage still lingered and thus her “faith of
humanity felt renewed” when she found a space at Cherry Creek
and she kept hope alive not knowing that her struggles against the
Tivoli landlords would continue in a different form against the
Tabor Center, a new site for Africa House. In fact, she soon got
eviction notice from the Tabor Center and she had no choice but to
hire a lawyer(s) and continue to fight. The newly hired lawyer
reassured Tseghe that he will “file an injunction in federal
court to block the eviction first in the morning.” (p. 73)
Negotiations
on a new River Nile agreement have stalled following a
disagreement among member states.
River
Nile treaty talks hit deadlock
Uganda stops sharing water data with Egypt Publication date:
Sunday, 9th November, 2008
By Gerald Tenywa and Reuben Olita
“There
is a particular clause on water security where Egypt and Sudan are
saying the states in the lower basin of the Nile should not use
water to the detriment of another country,” said Jennipher
Namuyangu, Uganda’s water minister. “The implication is that
constructing hydro-electric dams and irrigation initiatives would
have to get the consent of the other countries.” This,
Namuyangu said, had been part of the 1929 law, which includes an
agreement on the amount of water released to the upper Nile
countries.
Black
men hope Obama presidency shatters racial stereotypes
By Dana Hull Mercury
News Article Launched: 11/09/2008
Black
men endure painful stereotypes in American popular culture, which
often depicts them "singing, rapping, scoring a 
touchdown, dunking a basketball, hitting a home run or committing
a crime," according to the group YAAMS, Young African
Americans Against Media Stereotypes. The historic significance of
America electing its first black president is profound. But beyond
the poignant symbolism, many African-Americans hope Obama's
election may begin to shatter deeply entrenched stereotypes.
The
Crisis of a Democratic Civic Culture as an Impediment to
Democratic Development in Ethiopia: A Point of View
By
Tesfaye Habisso -October 28, 2008
the
struggle for political power must not be taken as an end by itself
but as a means to an end, the end being the welfare and betterment
of the whole society by designing correct, feasible and
people-centered political, economic and social policies and
programmes, and implementing them efficiently and effectively. All
in all, let us be cognizant of the stark reality in Ethiopia
today: Our prime enemies are abject poverty, diseases, massive
unemployment, lack of good governance, the absence of a robust
rule of law and democracy, and currently hunger and famine among
many millions of our people in many parts of the country. We have
no other enemies than these and let us not fret to create more
enemies for ourselves, real or imagined. Regimes and political
parties come and go; they are transient. The Ethiopian state and its
peoples, I hope, will always be there. Let us endeavor for a
better future of our country and its peoples. Let us all struggle
in unison to alleviate these perennial scourges of humanity in
Ethiopia. And if we sincerely love our people and our country, can
we prove our words with deeds by mobilizing funds and other
humanitarian assistance for the hungry and famine-stricken
citizens of our country? Can we prove our much-talked about
Ethiopian patriotism in this time and hour of material need,
irrespective of our political, ethnic, religious and other
differences, and reach out to save our people? For God and Our
Country!
Response
to Sending Cash Home: Ignorance or utter hatred
Ethioobserver
Editorial
The
statement that remittance perpetuates a culture of economic
dependency is simply humbug. Many studies suggest that remittances
are s important factors in improving the wellbeing of nations and
people. Examples from the Italian community in the
US
for the modernization and industrialization of
Italy
, the Turks in
Europe
and now both Indians and Chinese diasporas for the successful
development of their respective countries are facts, which cannot
be denied even by the most fanatical antagonist to the Ethiopian
government and people. No one-man analysis wrapped up in ignorance
or utter hatred can change the reality on the ground.
Prophesy
or Political Expediency, Barack Obama May Become the First Black
President of the United States
 Ghelawdewos
Araia October 16, 2008
Since
the Voting Rights Act, slightly over four decades have elapsed and
in due course the United States has made remarkable progress in
race relations although vestiges of racism and racial prejudice
are still well and alive. The psychology of racism is best
exemplified by the recent incident in western Pennsylvania where
some Whites explicitly and in no uncertain terms declared that
they would not vote for Obama because he is Black. This might seem
astounding but it is not altogether surprising given the deeply
rooted racially divided United States society. For all intents and
purposes, racism has subsided but it did not taper off completely
and with the coming of Obama to power, America would undergo major
restructuring in race relations and hopefully for the better.
PRESS
RELEASE
Shocking Book "Stolen Justice" Sheds Light on One
Woman's Heroic Battle for Equal Justice & the Fight against
Racial Discrimination
Tseghe
M. Foote begins Stolen
Justice by recounting her early life as an Ethiopian girl,
describing how her chance meeting with an African-American Peace
Corps. worker, eventually lead to marriage and a new life in
America. Although she ultimately divorced, Ms. Foote retained a
fierce determination to stay in America and build a thriving
business. At first she succeeded—beyond her wildest dreams.
For
a review copy of STOLEN JUSTICE ($16.99, 268 page paperback, ISBN
978-0-9701776-0-5) or to interview Tseghe M. Foote, please call
Stolen Justice, L.L.C. at (303) 623-1867 or
send e-mail to info@stolenjusticellc.com
Final
border report on Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute sent to Security Council
13 October 2008 –Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has transmitted
to the Security Council the last report issued by the independent
commission on Ethiopia and Eritrea’s common boundary. In
2002, the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission handed down a final
and binding decision awarding Badme, the town that triggered
fierce fighting between the neighboring Horn of Africa nations, to
Eritrea. But the two countries have since been at an impasse on
that demarcation. The report notes that the body’s
mandate has been fulfilled and that all administrative issues
connected to its termination have wrapped up. Security
Council terminates mandate of UNMEE
PRESS
RELEASE Ethiopianamerican
October 11, 2008
THE QUESTION OF
ASSAB AND THE ALGIERS AGREEMENT AND THE ISSUE OF TERRORISM IN THE
HORN OF AFRICA.
The question of Assab and the Algiers Agreement, are the two
burning issues of our time as far as Ethiopia is concerned.
Moreover, the presence of Al-Qaeda in Somalia concerns Ethiopians
and Ethiopian-Americans since the expansion of Al-Qaeda in the
region is against the interest of the United States and that of
Ethiopia.The emergence of Al-Qaeda in Somalia could be the turning
point in international terrorism since Al-Qaeda can use Somalia as
a training ground for terrorists as it had used Afghanistan before
November, 2001. Al-Qaeda can expand its terrorist activities
throughout the world using Somalia as its base. Ethiopia being the
major power in the Horn of Africa, it can minimize the influence
of Al-Qaeda if the United States and other major western countries
cooperate with Ethiopia in fighting terrorism.
5,000
Doctors Challenge Private-Insurance System
Over 5,000 U.S. physicians have signed an open letter calling on
the candidates for president and Congress "to stand up for
the health of the American people and implement a nonprofit,
single-payer national health insurance system." Staff Writers
The
Need to Wage a Pointed & Long-lasting Revolution for the
Equality of Women in
Ethiopia
Adal
Isaw-Life without discrimination for the Ethiopian women therefore
may be coming a bit late than I thought.
I should have known better, that, this world is a big
“manly” world-so big that it dictates on us to exceptionally
do more in all of our localities to equate the right of women with
that of men. Come to
think of it, we need to wage a pointed and long-lasting revolution
for the equality of women in
Ethiopia
.
EPLF:
THE MOTHER OF ALL CIA POLITICAL SURROGATES IN ETHIOPIA - HOW
RICHARD COPELAND (MILES COPELAND) OF THE CIA RECRUITED ISSAYAS
AFEWORKI :1969 Part one Part Two
as
told by Tesfa Mikael Giorgio
(Senai
magazine, Addis Ababa, February 1985 Eth.cal (1993) translated by
us from the Amharic, and annotated)
Open
Letter to Senator Russ Feingold, Representative Donald Payne, and
to all Members of the Congress of the United States September
12, 2008
By
Tecola W. Hagos
Mentioning
Ethiopia alone in the Feingold Bill and in HR 2003 of a year ago,
in a region where there are nations with worse records  of
violations of human rights, is a pointed insult to our Ethiopian
national pride and a serious erosion of our Ethiopian Sovereignty.
What is tragic is the fact that the people behind all this anti
Ethiopia movement are agents of our historic enemies such as
Egypt,
Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan, and now Eritrea. It
is clearly established due to his activities that Representative
Donald Payne is no different than an official agent of the
Eritrean Government. What Al Mariam and supporters are doing is
that in trying to hurt Meles Zenawi, they are hurting Ethiopia and
Ethiopians that will last a long time. Government leaders come and
go, what endures is Ethiopia. Thus one must be very careful in
fighting to oust Meles Zenawi so that one does not throw the baby
with the used bath water.
The
Need for Paradigm Change - I
September
12, 2008
By
G. E. Gorfu
It
has now been some seventeen years since a rag-tag TPLF army
overthrew the then most powerful army in black Africa, entered
Addis Ababa
, and took control of the nation. Having known the brutality of
the Derg Regime for seventeen years prior to that, I was very
cautious on what that change of government was going to mean for
Ethiopia
.
Union
of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
ማሕበር
ተጋሩ
ሰሜን
ኣሜሪካ
(ማተሰኣ)
September 3, 2008
The
Reassembling of The Obelisk of Axum is a
Victory of the Present Generation of the Black Race!
The historic re erection of the monolithic stelea of Axum is a
huge and
startling victory of the struggle of the new Ethiopian generation
witnessed as the
apex of all events during the dawn of the new Ethiopian
millennium. This historic
moment is certainly a testimony to the ultimate triumph of the
straggle waged by
black men and women the world over, who have been tirelessly
pursuing through
the endless venue of liberation and equality conspicuously
forbidden to them by
colonialism and neocolonialism.
The
New York Times August 31, 2008
Economic
View
Union
of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
Groundbreaking
to be held for “Remember the Battle of Adwa” project
ENA
By G. E. Gorfu
By
G. E. Gorfu
"Typical transactions via
BirrituExpress.com will cost much less than the western and
traditional competitors
in
Ethiopia," Dr. Munir said. According to him, the company
will, for instance, charge USD 8.29 for
transferring
a USD100 while its transfer fee for sending a USD 500 will be USD
10.29.
Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories
/200708180097.html
Union
of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
The Best and the Brightest June
30th, 2008
(A personal observation of the Amhara Region delegation
meeting in Los Angeles)
By Daniel Gizaw- The delegation also courageously spoke about the
looming famine, and the effort by the government to tackle the
problem. While the reasons for the advent of the famine are
varied, including the global high demand for food and the
tail-spinning cost of food that resulted from such a demand, the
Ethiopian government, however, is arduously working to end this
crisis immediately. By no means, at any time, did the delegation
underscore the problem, or dodge the issue, or try to play a
numbers game as was suggested by some media outlets.
Moving
Away From Confrontational Politics to Respectful Dialogue and
Constructive Engagement: A sine qua non for Sustainable
Democratization and Development. July 1, 2008
Tesfaye Habisso-In Ethiopia today, owing to our recent and
nasty brush with multi-party democracy, politics has gone awry: it
has gone from dirty to "muddy" and from a sometimes
criminal to an all times "suicidal", confined not only
to the art and science of political competition for public office
as normally expected but pervading all walks of life, including
community associations, churches, professional groups, independent
scholars, NGOs, etc. There is much evidence for the suicidal
nature of Ethiopian politics if we begin to reflect on the past
decade or so, and the present political climate in Ethiopia. But
no matter how bad and suicidal Ethiopian politics has become over
the past several years.
Who
was Bashai Awalom?
by
G. E. Gorfu
For
most people of this and even the previous generation the name
Bashai Awalom might not be one readily recognized, but the man was
a key figure in Ethiopian history during the war against the
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia of 1896. The role Bashai Awalom
played at that time was so critical and decisive to the outcome
that secured Ethiopia’s victory over the Italian invaders. So,
who was Bashai Awalom? What role did he play? And what was his
contribution? So ended the Battle of Adwa. Awalom was made Bashai,
the highest title of honor passed to him from Ras Alula who had
first been made Turk Pasha by Atse Yohannes. The contributions of
Awalom’s were recognized by the late Emperor Haileselassie, who
had erected a stone in his honor in Adwa over sixty years ago with
the words: Bashai
Awalom in Amharic
Opposition
Political Parties in Ethiopia: Which Way Forward?
by Tesfaye Habisso June 25,
2008
T o
discuss democracy and democratic elections in Ethiopia today is to
talk about the future, about hopes and fears. We are still at the
stage of democratization, embarking upon a process which, over the
past decade or so has been taking place in fits and starts, will
lead us to a more open, participatory, less authoritarian society
sooner rather than later. We have not yet reached a stage where we
can claim to have realized any semblance of a stable and
sustainable democratic system of government which embodies, in a
variety of institutions and mechanisms, the ideal of political
power based on the will of the people. Further, little in the
present or the past in Ethiopia promises the success of any such
thing, yet people today want democracy and many believe it is the
only possible solution to the twin ills of poverty and misrule.
Let us all struggle peacefully and persistently to achieve the two
fundamental freedoms of democracy and economic development our
peoples have yearned for a very, very long time. The road to those
goals is bound to be rocky and tortuous but there is no other way.
As Dennis Austin states, "No society becomes democratic
without pain; no state achieves economic development without
struggle." Dennis Austin:1995].
Failed
leadership, not a failed state
By Raffique Shah June 01, 2008
For all these reasons I am not about
to join the conga-line of critics who see us on the brink of
disaster. We do not have a “failed state”. What we have are
failed and failing leaders. We have citizens who have failed their
children, who manufactured criminals in their homes. The nation is
riddled with white collar criminals who feel they are several cuts
above bandits and murderers. Look into your mirrors, I say.
Government ministers and opposition politicians, businessmen and
labourers, policemen and doctors are all part of a “failed
society”.
Hunger,
Population, and Development: Myths and Root Causes June
16, 2008
Compiled by Tesfaye Habisso-Because the basis of hunger is
powerlessness, real change can only be achieved by supporting
grassroots movements for self-determination, rather than
continuing to prop up local elites and subsidize trans-national
corporations. Thus our conclusion : it is not a scarcity of food,
but rather a scarcity of real democracy, that keeps people hungry.
The kind of changes we propose can only be implemented following a
redistribution of decision-making power. The poor majority must
have a say in determining how productive resources are used. There
must be a redistribution of the economic, social, and political
resources which make the exercise of such power possible. This is
the essence of democracy--participation in the decisions which
affect our lives. The corollary is that strong grassroots
movements can make a difference, when they, instead of ruling
elites, receive our support.
Let’s
Shun Playing Politics for a Change and Rally for a Common Cause
(By Mulubrhan Tsehaye, June 17, 2008)-The good new is however
these narcissists are the minority and their narcissist ideals do
not reflect in any way the patriotic fortitude of the majority of
Ethiopians in and outside the country who truly understand the
situation on the ground and are genuinely determined to do
whatever they can to help and at the same time pressure the
government to rise up to the challenge and react swiftly and
effectively to ward off the looming calamity before it goes out of
hand.
Ethiopia
- Tirunesh Dibaba smashes 5000m world record
Tirunesh
Dibaba of Ethiopia, celebrates her new world record for the
Women's 5000m event, at the Bislett Games, an IAAF Golden League
meeting in Oslo, Friday, June 6, 2008. The new world record time
is 14.11.15. AP
OSLO,
Norway (AP) — Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia has broken
the world record in the women's 5,000 meters at the Bislett
Games.
Dibaba,
an Olympic and world champion, had never broken an outdoor world
mark. She was timed in 14 minutes, 11.15 seconds on Friday and
improved the old record by more than five seconds. Another
Ethiopian, Meseret Defar, set the old record of 14:16.63 last
year at Bislett Stadium. Defar did not enter Friday's race. It
is 54th world record set at Bislett Stadium since 1924 and the
first since one of track's most famous venues was rebuilt
four years ago.
The
'Obama Before Obama'
Pioneering Native Son of Louisa, Va., Blazed Trails Under
History's Radar
It
took 153 years to get from John Mercer Langston to Barack
Hussein Obama, a journey that endured the dashed hopes of
Reconstruction and the oppression of Jim Crow to arrive at a
moment that has stunned even those optimistic about America's
racial progress. An underdog black politician has secured a major
party's presidential nomination in a country where less than 4
percent of its elected officials are African Americans?
Border
Demarcation with Sudan Causes Anger in Ethiopia
By
Alisha Ryu
Residents
and community leaders in western Ethiopia say thousands of people
in several border regions have been displaced by Sudanese troops
in recent weeks, following what they describe as a secret, illegal
deal between the governments in Addis Ababa and Khartoum. Critics
say the secret deal to demarcate the border gives Sudan the right
to occupy areas Ethiopians historically consider sacrosanct. VOA
Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau
in Nairobi. The news of a boundary settlement shocked many
Ethiopians, who consider the ceded Ethiopian land to be
historically and culturally theirs. The existing border between
the two countries was drawn up more than a century ago when Sudan
was under British colonial rule.
The
Constitutional Right of Secession: A Recipe for National Disaster
or a Tool for Protecting the Territorial Integrity of a
Multi-Nation State? June
2, 2008
Tesfaye
Habisso-Many academicians and critics
have vehemently criticized and condemned the ruling party for
entrenching this right in the FDRE Constitution and for allowing
Eritrea to declare its unilateral independence without the consent
of the whole people of Ethiopia in a country wide referendum, thus
losing access to two very important sea ports--Assab and Massawa.
Many opponents of the ruling party’s political programmes
accused it of a sinister policy of “divide and rule” and
conniving to facilitate the disintegration of the multi-ethnic
empire state, wild accusations that have proved utterly false and
misguided bearing in mind the stark reality and practice of the
past 17 years under the EPRDF.
REMARKS
ON THE CURRENT ELECTIONS IN ETHIOPIA June 1, 2008
By Mathza-The purposely
orchestrated exaggerated surreal claim of winning during the 2005
election lead the then CUD to its demise. For Engineer Hailu
Shawul, wining and becoming the prime minister was ‘now or
never’ objective because of his age and fragile health. As it
became clear with defunct CUD officials’ confession of guilt
followed by happenings in the last few months that frustrated its
supporters, he manipulated the CUD to have his own way, not in the
interest of the CUD. This was the root cause of all the unrest
that eventually led to the disintegration of the CUD. Had he been
realistic, less ambitious and avoided some of the gross and
reckless follies he committed
Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi won this year’s Africa Leadership Award.
Africa Times, a US-based newspaper and the Africa Achievement
Award Committee honored Meles in a colorful ceremony held at the
Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California. H.E.
Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie, Consul General of Ethiopia in Los
Angeles received the prize on behalf of the premier.
 "Mengistu
should be able to ... answer for his personal missions and
commissions. We have international statutes, international
obligations to the Chamisa stopped short
of saying the MDC would extradite Mengistu, but added: "I've
tried as much as possible to indicate the direction we're likely
to take. "It is important that
others lean in that direction, considering the fact that the
people in Ethiopia, in order for them to have national healing ...
they would want to execute.
What
Should Be a Definition for a Millionaire? May
28, 2008
Ivan
Simic-The
world faced rapid development of global economy from 19th century
to today. It came to the point when being a millionaire is not
prestige like it was before. Now, there are plenty of millionaires
and billionaires around the globe, and because of that they needed
a new expression for themselves in order to make a distinction
between each others.
Awate
Interviews Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
By Awate Team - May 26, 2008
There
is one thing that has been coming up as far as Ethiopian policy
towards
Eritrea
is concerned.  Many
Eritreans say that
Ethiopia
has a landlocked-country complex. Can we comfortably say that this
complex is not there perhaps because
Ethiopia
now has several access to other ports?
I
cannot tell you that every Ethiopian shares my view, but I can
comfortably tell you that my position, my view, is a majority
position. And that is the position of the government. My view is
this: the Ethiopian imperial system has been dismantled and
replaced by the federal system that we have in place. For
Ethiopians, a constitutional country established on the the
basis of the right to self-determination that really expressed
desire of its people was the sine-qua-non for the
maintenance of the country. All those Ethiopians who do not want
to be Ethiopians simply have the right not to be
Ethiopia
or else we could die…
Response
to Dr. Said Hassan: On the cause of the current Ethiopia soaring
inflation rate May
17, 2008
By Teshome A-Based on the above observations I decided to look
into detail to the four major reasons as identified by the writer
“Increase in money supply, increase in money supply from abroad,
shortages-both food and finished product, budget and current
account deficit”. In addition of defining the concepts of each
variable I will use the possible data to show the real picture in
the country. Then accordingly I will leave the judgment to my
readers about the writer’s
analysis. The other point the writer failed to mention was the
poor functioning of local market and institutional barrier which
happen to be the main contributors of inflation. Any way let me
leave these for the writer to reflect on and proceed to my main
point.
Response
to Dr. Said Hassan:
On
the cause of the current Ethiopia soaring inflation rate
By
Teshome A.1
May 10, 2008
For
the last few months I have been reading various commentaries
written by different people regarding the cause of inflation in
Ethiopia2. I appreciated the commitments and efforts of these
writers who came out with different reasons based on the available
information and knowledge they have on the topic. Such different
argument is usually common in understanding the cause of inflation
or any economic variable, because the change in the price of any
particular good based on many factors opens the door for most
people to express their expectation in a way they understand the
economic developments in the country. It is obvious that there is
no Economist who argues that his/her explanation is the only way
to justify the source of inflation in Ethiopia unless he/she is a
pseudo Economist. That is why I was glad to see many Ethiopians or
non-Ethiopian professionals debate on the cause of inflation and
its remedial measure in the country.
FACTBOX-What next after rebel attack on Sudan's capital?
May
11 (Reuters) - Below are answers to some key questions
about the Darfur rebel attack on Sudan’s capital.
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
The
sound of gunfire continues on the western edge of the suburb of
Omdurman, across the River Nile from Khartoum. There have been
reports that the Justice and Equality Movement rebels are sending
reinforcements to back up a first assault that was repelled by
government troops, but sustaining a fighting force over 600 km
(400 miles) from rear bases is likely to prove difficult over
time. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s government has extended
a curfew indefinitely, saying it wants to track down pockets of
rebels in the city.
EPRDF
Support Forum Denounces Amnesty International Smear Campaign on
Ethiopia.
(May
8 2008)
Amnesty International seeks to attract attention by going
as far as it can so that policies of those
nations it is targeting are changed. In this case, Amnesty
International is seeking to change
the great helping hand that Ethiopia had lent Somalia at the
behest of TGS. Amnesty
International is also being lobbied by various groups including
OLF and ONLF, so that, these
terrorist groups get what they have failed to achieve through
terrorism by the pressure that
Amnesty International brings forth on Ethiopia. In other words,
what these terrorist groups
failed to achieve with the help of mad Congressmen from New
Jersey is being tested by Amnesty
International.
Archaeologists
find Queen of Sheba's palace at Axum, Ethiopia
Hamburg,
Earth Times (May 7 2008) -
Archaeologists believe they have found the Queen of Sheba's palace
at Axum, Ethiopia and an altar which held the most precious
treasure of ancient Judaism, the Ark of the Covenant, the
University of Hamburg said Wednesday. Scientists from the German
city made the startling find during their spring excavation of the
site over the past three months. Ethiopian
tradition claims the Ark, which allegedly contained Moses' stone
tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, was smuggled
to Ethiopia by their son Menelek and is still in that country.
Finding
Solace in a New Setting at EPRDF-SF May
6, 2008
Adal Isaw-Dancing on middle
age, and going back as far as my memory lane can take me with
tears in my eyes, I have made it a habit, a ritual if you will, to
scan the part of my brain to remember my comrades in arms and
wonder all the time if I am swimming in a post traumatic syndrome
of some sort. But lately, I have found that, I have no trauma of
any sort. My trauma-like syndrome was induced by my own failure to
substitute the comrades that I have lost with another new comrades
in a new setting.
SOME
OPPOSITONS’ ENDLESS HOODWINKING, DENIALS AND LYING March
29, 2000
By Mathza-The
so-called highly educated, particularly those whose names are
preceded by a ‘PhD’ find it difficult to measure up to him.
Whatever irrational things they say and foolish steps they take
are indications of inferiority complex and frustrations. In their
relentless character assassinations, there are no stones they have
not turned to blemish his name, condemn every thing he says and
does, deny all the progress made under him, belittle his
outstanding performance at the international level, and call him a
stooge because of his outstanding ability to obtain international
assistance based on convincing policies, plans, programs and
strategies. And recently they boycotted the elections simply
because they, as was evident, realized that the 2005 protest vote
against EPRDF was not going to repeat.
The
Connection
By
Dr. Yohannes Kiros March
15, 2000
“As
they say better late than never for the Ethiopian government to
show its dislike against countries by severing its diplomatic
ties.
Simple
messengers but is dependent on the deep-rooted intrigues of the
countries around. Self-interest, misconception about Ethiopia
spread by the hate mongers inculcated in their own minds for years
against “the Christians”, though the Ethiopian people has all
the representatives of the major religions, makes the fight
against terrorism extraneous if those funding and protecting them
are not prevented through joint collaboration. The work of Qatar
as a peace broker nation between Eritrea and Sudan, Sudan and
Egypt, Eritrea and Djibouti way back during the Eritrean invasion
in 2000. After that period Qatar has been on the offensive by
laying and winning the bid for the Port of Djibouti and
immediately letting to skyrocket the tariffs for import and export
commodities to Ethiopia. Here is follows an article, which
appeared in March 2000 in Ben’s homepage and refused by Walta
information center about the regional interplay among the
prominent members of our Arab neighbors and financers. This point
makes even more fastidious in view of the current shipment of
weapon to the odious regime in Zimbabwe by China. Mind you
Djibouti port or Port Sudan owned by private entrepreneurs owned
by these murky and hateful regimes in our region! “
SKY
ROCKETING PRICES
Ato Eyobed Tibebu Lisanework is interested in finding out your
views on the various issues raised on his paper
China
salaries overseas Chinese for anti-Tibetan protests
By
Phurbu Thinley Saturday, April 19, 2008
The
Global Human Rights Torch Relay,
scheduled to pass through 37 countries, arrived in Minnesota (MN)
State on April 16 on its America leg of the ongoing relay. The
torch arrived after passing through New York earlier on Sunday.
The organizers of the torch relay hope to draw attention to human
rights concerns in Tibet, as well as the Chinese government's
persecution of the Falun Gong, Buddhists, rights advocates and
others.
THE
SAGA OF AFRICAN UNDERDEVELOPMENT April
18, 2008
The
Saga of African Underdevelopment examines in careful detail the
economic conditions in Africa during the pre-colonial and colonial
periods. The authors argue eloquently that most of the development
paradigms that were used to transform African economies, under
free trade imperialism or under colonial and postcolonial periods
were incompatible with the African system of thought and
traditional production systems or mode of production. Following
this, they propose a bold development strategy to reverse the
dismal economic performance of African countries in the post
independence period.
Come
and enjoy a wonderful picnic with your family, friends and
neighbors Events: Barbeque, Sport and much more Date: June 28,
2008 (Saturday) Place: Sunnybrook Park, Toronto
2075 Bayview Avenue
(Leslie & Bayview ave.)
Time 1200 PM
By G. E. Gorfu
33rd
Anniversary of T.P.L.F
Marked Colorfully in the DC
Metro
Area.
Tigrayan
Association in Toronto: 1395 Lawrence avenue
West. P.O.Box 20064 Toronto,
Ontario M6L 3C8
The
Tigrayan Association in Toronto will commence its annual general
meeting.
All
Tigrayans are invited to attend this important meeting that is
crucial for
the
future of our community.
Place:
St.Michael Church
120
Broadview Avenue
(Broadview
& Queen Street
Date:
March 08, 2008 (Saturday)
Time:
0200 PM Tigrayan Association in
Toronto
 Ambassador
Taye and Dr Araya Woldegiorgis
UTNA
Press Release Lekatit 11
VOA
Interview
Gebru
Asrat and Aregash Part1
Union
of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
Groundbreaking
to be held for “Remember the Battle of Adwa” project
ENA
By G. E. Gorfu
By
G. E. Gorfu
"Typical transactions via
BirrituExpress.com will cost much less than the western and
traditional competitors
in
Ethiopia," Dr. Munir said. According to him, the company
will, for instance, charge USD 8.29 for
transferring
a USD100 while its transfer fee for sending a USD 500 will be USD
10.29.
Source:
http://allafrica.com/stories
/200708180097.html
Union
of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
Union
of Tigreans in North America (UTNA)
Press Release
Washington,
D.C., August 13, 2008: The Union of Tigreans in North America
(UTNA), a U.S. based civic organization, emphatically condemns the
recent insidious remarksmade by Mr. Elias Kifle regarding the
proud and God-fearing Tigrean people. On August 11th, 2008, he
posted an article entitled, “That Day! What will happen to
Tigreans?” on
www.ethiopianreview.com. Such statements have no place in
today’s Ethiopia where equality of nations and nationalities is
unambiguously guaranteed by the constitution. Hence, Mr. Kifle’s
reckless attempt to sow hatred among the Ethiopian people is just
wishful thinking.
Why
Socialism?
by Albert
Einstein
Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy
is not yet socialism. A planned economy as such may be accompanied
by the complete enslavement of the individual. The achievement of
socialism requires the solution of some extremely difficult
socio-political problems: how is it possible, in view of the
far-reaching centralization of political and economic
power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful
and overweening? How can the rights of the individual be protected
and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of
bureaucracy be assured?
Moving
Away from Confrontational Politics to Respectful Dialogue and
Constructive Engagement
By Tesfaye Habisso August
11, 2008
Let
us endeavor for a better future of our country and its peoples.
Let us all struggle in unison to alleviate these perennial
scourges of humanity in Ethiopia. And if we sincerely love our
people and our country, can we prove our words with deeds by
mobilizing funds and other humanitarian assistance for the hungry
and famine-stricken citizens of our country? Can we prove our
much-talked about Ethiopian patriotism in this time and hour of
material need, irrespective of our political, ethnic, religious
and other differences, and reach out to save our people? For God
and Our Country!
Georgia
vs. South Ossetia: From Conflict to Major War
Ivan
Simic August 11, 2008
According
to Russian officials, their main aim was to defend Russian
citizens in South Ossetia, and force the Georgian government to
accept peace and restore the status quo. Russian officials also
stated that its army was acting within its peacekeeping mission in
South Ossetia, and in line with the mandate issued by the
international community. Tbilisi also stated that it was now
responding to Russia's aggression.
Radovan
Karadzic: One Way Ticket to The Hague July 28, 2008
Ivan
Simic-In 1995, Karadzic was indicted by the International
Criminal Court along side with Colonel-General Ratko Mladic
(currently at large). He is accused of personal and command
responsibility for numerous war crimes committed against
non-Serbs, in his roles as Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb
Armed Forces and President of the National Security Council of the
Republika Srpska. Among others, he is accused of ordering the
Srebrenica massacre in 1995, Siege of Sarajevo, ordering that
United Nations personnel be taken hostage in May-June 1995.
For
Immediate Release:
Media
Contact: 818.728.6629
"African
Synergy against AIDS and Suffering" (African First Ladies'
NGO) forms a strategic partnership with "US Doctors for
Africa" (USDFA)
Re-erection
of second piece of Axum Obelisk completed
Axum,
July 24, 2008 (Axum)
- National Committee for the Return of Axum Obelisk disclosed that
the re-erection of the second piece of the ʽthree-piece
obeliskʼ was completed on 24 July 2008. Technical engineer of
the re-erection project, Eng. Tadesse Bitul said the 9.4 meter
piece of the relic weighs 58 tons. The re-erection of the third
piece will be carried out within five days. The 1,700-year-old
obelisk, which has a length of 24 meters and a weight of 160 tons,
is taken as an icon of the Ethiopian people. Italian invaders
dismantled and looted the obelisk in 1937 as per the order of the
then leader of Italy Benito Mussolini until it was returned in
April 2005. An Italian construction company is re-erecting the
obelisk in collaboration with UNESCO and the Authority for
Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH). The
celebration of the re-erected obelisk will be held late Aug 2008.
R-4:27-4:55 PM/E-5:20-5:34 pm
Source:-http://www.ena.gov.et/EnglishNews/2008/Jul/24Jul08/63649.htm
Deceptions
of Elections
July 22, 2008
Ivan
Simic-Candidates are the most interesting in the time of
elections; they will tell us anything that will likely lead them
to great victory. They will lie, deceive, and guarantee the
impossible, sing and dance, cry and laugh, and all that in order
to win. In that campaign, they will give us so many promises, that
if we ask them just a few hours later about them, they will not
remember them, and will give us new ones in order to deceive us
further. Later, if they are elected for formal office, then they
will start giving us excuses for the lost promises in order to
maintain political power.
By
Elizabeth Blunt
BBC News, Axum, Ethiopia
The slender stone columns which mark the tombs of ancient kings
and nobles still stand in a green field at the edge of the modern
town of Axum. But these days the site is dominated by a huge tower
of scaffolding, topped by a yellow mobile crane, which dwarfs King
Ezana's obelisk, the one royal monument still standing.
Federal
Subsidies Large Chunk of Oromia, Amhara Budgets
Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa) By Wudineh
Zenebe-The Federal Government has approved a record
high 54.9 billion Br budget for the next budget year, of which
16.4 goes to regions in the form of subsidies. This is a 2.2
billion increase compared to the current fiscal year. The
major beneficiaries of the budget are Oromia (33.5pc), Amhara
(26.4pc), and the Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples
Regional State (20.8pc). The Tigray Regional State follows the
three with 6.41pc.
No
Qualms toward the Draft Proclamation: Unadulterated Food Sharing
Instinct is Apolitical
Adal Isaw- July
10, 2008
There is nothing political about the unadulterated natural food
sharing instinct that we all humans are endowed with. What is
political is the choice that we make to go about solving such a
food shortage problem by putting our natural food sharing instinct
at the back burner. We have a choice, and the choice that we have
to make at this juncture is within the humblest nature of our
humanity, to detest and throw away the politicking of food
shortage problem in exchange for caring and loving hearts.
Sudan’s
president to be charged with genocide
First attempt by international tribunal against sitting head of
state
By
Colum Lynch and Nora Boustany
updated
9:32 p.m. PT, Thurs.,
July. 10, 2008
UNITED
NATIONS - The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal
Court will seek an arrest warrant Monday for Sudanese President
Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with genocide and crimes
against humanity in the orchestration of a campaign of violence
that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in
the nation's Darfur region during the past five years, according
to U.N. officials and diplomats.
By
Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 6, 2008
African
Immigrants Among Obama's
Enthusiastic Backers-African immigrants lack in numbers, they
make up for somewhat in education and income. A 2003 report by the
State University of New York at Albany found that African
immigrants in the United States have a higher level of education
than all other groups, including white and Asian Americans,
staying in school an average of 14.5 years. They have a median
household income that is higher than that of black Americans, West
Indians and Hispanics.
Dear
Dr. Kanazawa,
July 2, 2008
Yohannes
Kiros, PhD -Your research paper a research misfit
formulated to fit the old “master people” of the Axis powers
is relentlessly trying to equate disease with life expectancy.
Have you ever heard of the tropical scourges, devouring many
people in Africa and elsewhere in the tropics by the killers such
as Mosquito, AIDS, Tsetse fly, etc., which have not yet found
remedies? Have you ever imagined what would be the fate of Japan
or other “enlightened” people as you, had there been such
lethal diseases as the ones mentioned above? Or have you ever
thought why there is no priority in medicinal research to get rid
of these noxious parasites and viruses?
Satoshi
Kanazawa Paper Published in the British Journal of Health
Psychology
Ethiopian
Millennium Arts & Crafts Exhibition Opens in
Los Angeles
Sunday
June 29th, 2008-
The
Ethiopian Millennium Arts & Crafts Exhibition was opened in
Crenshaw Mall in Baldwin Hills. The Exhibition was sponsored by
the Ethiopian Historic Conservation Council (EHCC) in cooperation
with the Museum of African American Museum of Art, which is
located at Macy’s in the top floor of Baldwin Hills Mall.
The
Best and the Brightest June
30th, 2008
(A personal observation of the Amhara Region delegation
meeting in Los Angeles)
By Daniel Gizaw- The delegation also courageously spoke
about the looming famine, and the effort by the government to
tackle the problem. While the reasons for the advent of the famine
are varied, including the global high demand for food and the
tail-spinning cost of food that resulted from such a demand, the
Ethiopian government, however, is arduously working to end this
crisis immediately. By no means, at any time, did the delegation
underscore the problem, or dodge the issue, or try to play a
numbers game as was suggested by some media outlets.
Moving
Away From Confrontational Politics to Respectful Dialogue and
Constructive Engagement: A sine qua non for Sustainable
Democratization and Development. July 1, 2008
Tesfaye Habisso-In Ethiopia today, owing to our recent
and nasty brush with multi-party democracy, politics has gone
awry: it has gone from dirty to "muddy" and from a
sometimes criminal to an all times "suicidal", confined
not only to the art and science of political competition for
public office as normally expected but pervading all walks of
life, including community associations, churches, professional
groups, independent scholars, NGOs, etc. There is much evidence
for the suicidal nature of Ethiopian politics if we begin to
reflect on the past decade or so, and the present political
climate in Ethiopia. But no matter how bad and suicidal Ethiopian
politics has become over the past several years.
Who
was Bashai Awalom?
by
G. E. Gorfu
For
most people of this and even the previous generation the name
Bashai Awalom might not be one readily recognized, but the man was
a key figure in Ethiopian history during the war against the
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia of 1896. The role Bashai Awalom
played at that time was so critical and decisive to the outcome
that secured Ethiopia’s victory over the Italian invaders. So,
who was Bashai Awalom? What role did he play? And what was his
contribution? So ended the Battle of Adwa. Awalom was made Bashai,
the highest title of honor passed to him from Ras Alula who had
first been made Turk Pasha by Atse Yohannes. The contributions of
Awalom’s were recognized by the late Emperor Haileselassie, who
had erected a stone in his honor in Adwa over sixty years ago with
the words: Bashai
Awalom in Amharic
Opposition
Political Parties in Ethiopia: Which Way Forward?
by Tesfaye Habisso June 25,
2008
T o
discuss democracy and democratic elections in Ethiopia today is to
talk about the future, about hopes and fears. We are still at the
stage of democratization, embarking upon a process which, over the
past decade or so has been taking place in fits and starts, will
lead us to a more open, participatory, less authoritarian society
sooner rather than later. We have not yet reached a stage where we
can claim to have realized any semblance of a stable and
sustainable democratic system of government which embodies, in a
variety of institutions and mechanisms, the ideal of political
power based on the will of the people. Further, little in the
present or the past in Ethiopia promises the success of any such
thing, yet people today want democracy and many believe it is the
only possible solution to the twin ills of poverty and misrule.
Let us all struggle peacefully and persistently to achieve the two
fundamental freedoms of democracy and economic development our
peoples have yearned for a very, very long time. The road to those
goals is bound to be rocky and tortuous but there is no other way.
As Dennis Austin states, "No society becomes democratic
without pain; no state achieves economic development without
struggle." Dennis Austin:1995].
Failed
leadership, not a failed state
By Raffique Shah June 01, 2008
For all these reasons I am not
about to join the conga-line of critics who see us on the brink of
disaster. We do not have a “failed state”. What we have are
failed and failing leaders. We have citizens who have failed their
children, who manufactured criminals in their homes. The nation is
riddled with white collar criminals who feel they are several cuts
above bandits and murderers. Look into your mirrors, I say.
Government ministers and opposition politicians, businessmen and
labourers, policemen and doctors are all part of a “failed
society”.
Hunger,
Population, and Development: Myths and Root Causes June
16, 2008
Compiled by Tesfaye
Habisso-Because the basis of hunger is powerlessness, real
change can only be achieved by supporting grassroots movements for
self-determination, rather than continuing to prop up local elites
and subsidize trans-national corporations. Thus our conclusion :
it is not a scarcity of food, but rather a scarcity of real
democracy, that keeps people hungry. The kind of changes we
propose can only be implemented following a redistribution of
decision-making power. The poor majority must have a say in
determining how productive resources are used. There must be a
redistribution of the economic, social, and political resources
which make the exercise of such power possible. This is the
essence of democracy--participation in the decisions which affect
our lives. The corollary is that strong grassroots movements can
make a difference, when they, instead of ruling elites, receive
our support.
Let’s
Shun Playing Politics for a Change and Rally for a Common Cause
(By Mulubrhan Tsehaye,
June 17, 2008)-The good new is however these narcissists are
the minority and their narcissist ideals do not reflect in any way
the patriotic fortitude of the majority of Ethiopians in and
outside the country who truly understand the situation on the
ground and are genuinely determined to do whatever they can to
help and at the same time pressure the government to rise up to
the challenge and react swiftly and effectively to ward off the
looming calamity before it goes out of hand.
Ethiopia
- Tirunesh Dibaba smashes 5000m world record
Tirunesh
Dibaba of Ethiopia, celebrates her new world record for the
Women's 5000m event, at the Bislett Games, an IAAF Golden League
meeting in Oslo, Friday, June 6, 2008. The new world record time
is 14.11.15. AP
OSLO,
Norway (AP) — Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia has
broken the world record in the women's 5,000 meters at the
Bislett Games.
Dibaba,
an Olympic and world champion, had never broken an outdoor world
mark. She was timed in 14 minutes, 11.15 seconds on Friday and
improved the old record by more than five seconds. Another
Ethiopian, Meseret Defar, set the old record of 14:16.63 last
year at Bislett Stadium. Defar did not enter Friday's race. It
is 54th world record set at Bislett Stadium since 1924 and the
first since one of track's most famous venues was rebuilt
four years ago.
The
'Obama Before Obama'
Pioneering Native Son of Louisa, Va., Blazed Trails Under
History's Radar
It
took 153 years to get from John Mercer Langston to Barack
Hussein Obama, a journey that endured the dashed hopes of
Reconstruction and the oppression of Jim Crow to arrive at a
moment that has stunned even those optimistic about America's
racial progress. An underdog black politician has secured a major
party's presidential nomination in a country where less than 4
percent of its elected officials are African Americans?
Border
Demarcation with Sudan Causes Anger in Ethiopia
By
Alisha Ryu
Residents
and community leaders in western Ethiopia say thousands of people
in several border regions have been displaced by Sudanese troops
in recent weeks, following what they describe as a secret, illegal
deal between the governments in Addis Ababa and Khartoum. Critics
say the secret deal to demarcate the border gives Sudan the right
to occupy areas Ethiopians historically consider sacrosanct. VOA
Correspondent Alisha Ryu has details from our East Africa Bureau
in Nairobi. The news of a boundary settlement shocked many
Ethiopians, who consider the ceded Ethiopian land to be
historically and culturally theirs. The existing border between
the two countries was drawn up more than a century ago when Sudan
was under British colonial rule.
The
Constitutional Right of Secession: A Recipe for National Disaster
or a Tool for Protecting the Territorial Integrity of a
Multi-Nation State? June
2, 2008
Tesfaye
Habisso-Many academicians and
critics have vehemently criticized and condemned the ruling party
for entrenching this right in the FDRE Constitution and for
allowing Eritrea to declare its unilateral independence without
the consent of the whole people of Ethiopia in a country wide
referendum, thus losing access to two very important sea
ports--Assab and Massawa. Many opponents of the ruling party’s
political programmes accused it of a sinister policy of “divide
and rule” and conniving to facilitate the disintegration of the
multi-ethnic empire state, wild accusations that have proved
utterly false and misguided bearing in mind the stark reality and
practice of the past 17 years under the EPRDF.
REMARKS
ON THE CURRENT ELECTIONS IN ETHIOPIA June 1, 2008
By Mathza-The
purposely orchestrated exaggerated surreal claim of winning during
the 2005 election lead the then CUD to its demise. For Engineer
Hailu Shawul, wining and becoming the prime minister was ‘now or
never’ objective because of his age and fragile health. As it
became clear with defunct CUD officials’ confession of guilt
followed by happenings in the last few months that frustrated its
supporters, he manipulated the CUD to have his own way, not in the
interest of the CUD. This was the root cause of all the unrest
that eventually led to the disintegration of the CUD. Had he been
realistic, less ambitious and avoided some of the gross and
reckless follies he committed
Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi won this year’s Africa Leadership Award.
Africa Times, a US-based newspaper and the Africa Achievement
Award Committee honored Meles in a colorful ceremony held at the
Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California. H.E.
Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie, Consul General of Ethiopia in Los
Angeles received the prize on behalf of the premier.
"Mengistu
should be able to ... answer for his personal missions and
commissions. We have international statutes, international
obligations to the Chamisa stopped short
of saying the MDC would extradite Mengistu, but added: "I've
tried as much as possible to indicate the direction we're likely
to take. "It is important that
others lean in that direction, considering the fact that the
people in Ethiopia, in order for them to have national healing ...
they would want to execute.
What
Should Be a Definition for a Millionaire? May
28, 2008
Ivan
Simic-The
world faced rapid development of global economy from 19th century
to today. It came to the point when being a millionaire is not
prestige like it was before. Now, there are plenty of millionaires
and billionaires around the globe, and because of that they needed
a new expression for themselves in order to make a distinction
between each others.
Awate
Interviews Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
By Awate Team - May 26, 2008
There
is one thing that has been coming up as far as Ethiopian policy
towards
Eritrea
is concerned. Many
Eritreans say that
Ethiopia
has a landlocked-country complex. Can we comfortably say that this
complex is not there perhaps because
Ethiopia
now has several access to other ports?
I
cannot tell you that every Ethiopian shares my view, but I can
comfortably tell you that my position, my view, is a majority
position. And that is the position of the government. My view is
this: the Ethiopian imperial system has been dismantled and
replaced by the federal system that we have in place. For
Ethiopians, a constitutional country established on the the
basis of the right to self-determination that really expressed
desire of its people was the sine-qua-non for the
maintenance of the country. All those Ethiopians who do not want
to be Ethiopians simply have the right not to be
Ethiopia
or else we could die…
Response
to Dr. Said Hassan: On the cause of the current Ethiopia soaring
inflation rate May
17, 2008
By Teshome A-Based on the
above observations I decided to look into detail to the four major
reasons as identified by the writer “Increase in money supply,
increase in money supply from abroad, shortages-both food and
finished product, budget and current account deficit”. In
addition of defining the concepts of each variable I will use the
possible data to show the real picture in the country. Then
accordingly I will leave the judgment to my readers about the
writer’s
analysis. The other point the writer failed to mention was the
poor functioning of local market and institutional barrier which
happen to be the main contributors of inflation. Any way let me
leave these for the writer to reflect on and proceed to my main
point.
Response
to Dr. Said Hassan:
On
the cause of the current Ethiopia soaring inflation rate
By
Teshome A.1
May 10,
2008
For
the last few months I have been reading various commentaries
written by different people regarding the cause of inflation in
Ethiopia2. I appreciated the commitments and efforts of these
writers who came out with different reasons based on the available
information and knowledge they have on the topic. Such different
argument is usually common in understanding the cause of inflation
or any economic variable, because the change in the price of any
particular good based on many factors opens the door for most
people to express their expectation in a way they understand the
economic developments in the country. It is obvious that there is
no Economist who argues that his/her explanation is the only way
to justify the source of inflation in Ethiopia unless he/she is a
pseudo Economist. That is why I was glad to see many Ethiopians or
non-Ethiopian professionals debate on the cause of inflation and
its remedial measure in the country.
FACTBOX-What next after rebel attack on Sudan's capital?
May
11 (Reuters) - Below are answers to some key questions
about the Darfur rebel attack on Sudan’s capital.
WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND?
The
sound of gunfire continues on the western edge of the suburb of
Omdurman, across the River Nile from Khartoum. There have been
reports that the Justice and Equality Movement rebels are sending
reinforcements to back up a first assault that was repelled by
government troops, but sustaining a fighting force over 600 km
(400 miles) from rear bases is likely to prove difficult over
time. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s government has extended
a curfew indefinitely, saying it wants to track down pockets of
rebels in the city.
EPRDF
Support Forum Denounces Amnesty International Smear Campaign on
Ethiopia.
(May
8 2008)
Amnesty International seeks to attract attention by
going as far as it can so that policies of those
nations it is targeting are changed. In this case, Amnesty
International is seeking to change
the great helping hand that Ethiopia had lent Somalia at the
behest of TGS. Amnesty
International is also being lobbied by various groups including
OLF and ONLF, so that, these
terrorist groups get what they have failed to achieve through
terrorism by the pressure that
Amnesty International brings forth on Ethiopia. In other words,
what these terrorist groups
failed to achieve with the help of mad Congressmen from New
Jersey is being tested by Amnesty
International.
Archaeologists
find Queen of Sheba's palace at Axum, Ethiopia
Hamburg,
Earth Times (May 7 2008) -
Archaeologists believe they have found the Queen of Sheba's palace
at Axum, Ethiopia and an altar which held the most precious
treasure of ancient Judaism, the Ark of the Covenant, the
University of Hamburg said Wednesday. Scientists from the German
city made the startling find during their spring excavation of the
site over the past three months. Ethiopian
tradition claims the Ark, which allegedly contained Moses' stone
tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, was smuggled
to Ethiopia by their son Menelek and is still in that country.
Finding
Solace in a New Setting at EPRDF-SF May
6, 2008
Adal Isaw-Dancing on
middle age, and going back as far as my memory lane can take me
with tears in my eyes, I have made it a habit, a ritual if you
will, to scan the part of my brain to remember my comrades in arms
and wonder all the time if I am swimming in a post traumatic
syndrome of some sort. But lately, I have found that, I have no
trauma of any sort. My trauma-like syndrome was induced by my own
failure to substitute the comrades that I have lost with another
new comrades in a new setting.
SOME
OPPOSITONS’ ENDLESS HOODWINKING, DENIALS AND LYING March
29, 2000
By Mathza-The
so-called highly educated, particularly those whose names are
preceded by a ‘PhD’ find it difficult to measure up to him.
Whatever irrational things they say and foolish steps they take
are indications of inferiority complex and frustrations. In their
relentless character assassinations, there are no stones they have
not turned to blemish his name, condemn every thing he says and
does, deny all the progress made under him, belittle his
outstanding performance at the international level, and call him a
stooge because of his outstanding ability to obtain international
assistance based on convincing policies, plans, programs and
strategies. And recently they boycotted the elections simply
because they, as was evident, realized that the 2005 protest vote
against EPRDF was not going to repeat.
The
Connection
By
Dr. Yohannes Kiros March
15, 2000
“As
they say better late than never for the Ethiopian government to
show its dislike against countries by severing its diplomatic
ties.
Simple
messengers but is dependent on the deep-rooted intrigues of the
countries around. Self-interest, misconception about Ethiopia
spread by the hate mongers inculcated in their own minds for years
against “the Christians”, though the Ethiopian people has all
the representatives of the major religions, makes the fight
against terrorism extraneous if those funding and protecting them
are not prevented through joint collaboration. The work of Qatar
as a peace broker nation between Eritrea and Sudan, Sudan and
Egypt, Eritrea and Djibouti way back during the Eritrean invasion
in 2000. After that period Qatar has been on the offensive by
laying and winning the bid for the Port of Djibouti and
immediately letting to skyrocket the tariffs for import and export
commodities to Ethiopia. Here is follows an article, which
appeared in March 2000 in Ben’s homepage and refused by Walta
information center about the regional interplay among the
prominent members of our Arab neighbors and financers. This point
makes even more fastidious in view of the current shipment of
weapon to the odious regime in Zimbabwe by China. Mind you
Djibouti port or Port Sudan owned by private entrepreneurs owned
by these murky and hateful regimes in our region! “
SKY
ROCKETING PRICES
Ato Eyobed Tibebu Lisanework is interested in finding out your
views on the various issues raised on his paper
China
salaries overseas Chinese for anti-Tibetan protests
By
Phurbu Thinley Saturday, April 19, 2008
The
Global Human Rights Torch Relay,
scheduled to pass through 37 countries, arrived in Minnesota (MN)
State on April 16 on its America leg of the ongoing relay. The
torch arrived after passing through New York earlier on Sunday.
The organizers of the torch relay hope to draw attention to human
rights concerns in Tibet, as well as the Chinese government's
persecution of the Falun Gong, Buddhists, rights advocates and
others.
THE
SAGA OF AFRICAN UNDERDEVELOPMENT April
18, 2008
The
Saga of African Underdevelopment examines in careful detail the
economic conditions in Africa during the pre-colonial and colonial
periods. The authors argue eloquently that most of the development
paradigms that were used to transform African economies, under
free trade imperialism or under colonial and postcolonial periods
were incompatible with the African system of thought and
traditional production systems or mode of production. Following
this, they propose a bold development strategy to reverse the
dismal economic performance of African countries in the post
independence period.
SOME
OPPOSITIONS’ ENDLESS HOODWINKING, DENIALS AND LYING April
17, 2008
By Mathza
Part I
The
vested interest of consumers as share holders in the associations
coupled with the determination of the Addis Ababa Women’s Forum
to assist the government effort of stabilizing the market augers
well to efficient price monitoring. It will check elements in the
bureaucracy from abusing the intervention. The cooperation of the
organizations will end the role of the chain of middlemen who have
been the major culprits in inflating prices of foodstuffs by
manipulating prices and gobbling huge margins between the farmers
and the retailers. A number of middlemen, each charging a
margin, are involved before grains reach the retailers.
Corruption:
The Byproduct of Greed and the "Profit Motive"
Adal Isaw April
10, 2008
There
is also the sleeping giant "profit motive" that may
vitiate EPRDF’s planned objectives- the men and women who join
the front not so much for the love of their people and country but
for their own calculated interest. These fellow Ethiopians may end
up hurting our people and country more so than others for they are
shielded by many layers of organizational and some other formal
covers
Ghelawdewos
Araia
April
7, 2008
IDEA, Inc.
This
essay will make a brief historical synopsis and analysis of the
crimes perpetrated by the Italian fascists against 
the Ethiopian people in the 1930s. At this particular juncture, it
may sound ironic to revisit the crimes against humanity committed
in Ethiopia by Fascist henchmen like Marshall Pietro Badoglio and
Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, but sometimes the past contends with the
present especially if justice has not been served and no official
apologies extended by state and/or religious leaders of the
perpetrator nation.This essay is also aimed at reinforcing the
Global Alliance for Ethiopia, a group of Ethiopians’ initiative
in an effort to convince the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI to
apologize to Ethiopians as he has done to the Jews in Germany with
respect to the Holocaust committed by the Nazis. As a matter of
fact, one of the members of the Global Alliance for Ethiopia, Ato
Kidane Alemayehu has written a letter to the Holiness Pope
Benedict XVI (Vatican_Apology_to_Ethiopia.doc) but to this day no
answer was given.
Government
& Organized Crime, A History of Co-existence April
8, 2008
Throughout
history there has been constant struggle, but also connection
between governments and organized crime. In addition, many world
famous political and military leaders have been accused of running
their countries like criminal organizations, for instance: Joseph
Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Nicolae Ceausescu, Idi Amin
Dada, Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno, Augusto José Ramón Pinochet
Ugarte, among others. For many top government politicians is
believed to grow enormous wealth by running a kleptrocracy, a
government that extends the personal wealth and political power of
government officials and the ruling class at the expense of the
population.
A
Tour of Italian Archives on Ethiopia
By
Professor Richard Pankhurst-This
being Ethiopia’s Millennium Year we wonder, on our side of the
world, whether our Ethiopian Millennium Committee has been able to
arrange for the repatriation to Ethiopia of Dossier Fasc. 21
bis – which should have taken place in 1947-8 - or whether
the question of the seventy-nine missing royal and related letters
will continue to stick up the noses of friends of Ethiopia for
further decades to come.
The
Idea of Privatizing Land in Ethiopia: But Privatizing For Whose
Benefit?
by Tesfaye Habisso -land is different from other resources in
several important respects. One of these is that it is fixed in
supply. Population on the other hand is increasing in leaps and
bounds. To meet this challenge, and given the country's very low
industrial base and limited opportunities for non-agricultural
employment pursuits, no sane government can leave the land issue
to the mercy of market forces and implement private ownership of
land instead of the prevailing public ownership. The former
pattern of ownership will undoubtedly lead to the concentration of
land in the hands of a few rich people and to the eviction and
landlessness of many thousands of poor peasants in rural areas.
Prince
Rasselas, Fact r Fiction?
A
Glimpse at our History –
Part Two
G.
E. Gorfu- There are some discrepancies to point
out in Rasselas, where Dr. Samuel Johnson used another major
source of information besides James Bruce: the book by Father
Jerome Lobo: A
Voyage to
Abyssinia
. (1) Father Lobo, a Portuguese priest, had
lived in Fremona,
Adwa
, long before Bruce. In Rasselas the prison is depicted as a wide
valley surrounded by mountains and insurmountable escarpments. The
opposite however, was the case.
NES
(Network of Ethiopian Scholars) and its delusional
"Ideas for ending endemic governance crisis in Ethiopia"
Adal Isaw-Endemic is a caustic word that speaks a volume
whenever it is used in any order to describe that something
extremely undesirable and potent is taking place. It is a word
usually used to describe matters of health concern that may
afflict a specific region and people, especially disease peculiar
to the tropic. In this case, NES is using the word endemic to
describe the lack of "good governance" in Ethiopia and
have no clue as to how the word is unfitting to describe such a
phenomenon.
Friday
March 28, 2008@7PM
Queen
of Sheba, www.qsheba.com
1594bWoodcliff
Dr. N.E Atlanta, GA 30329 404 321-1493
EVALUATING
U.S.
POLICY OBJECTIVES AND OPTIONS ON THE HORN OF
AFRICA
Commentary
with Reference to
Ethiopia March 27, 2008
By
Mathza-Some of the human
rights problems are intentionally perpetrated by the so-called
liberation fronts (OLF, ONLF, etc.) and their likes indirectly
through their support groups and individual supporters. Their
history is replete with bombing hotels, buildings and transport
infrastructures, assassinating government officials and
supporters, harassing and killing innocent people, etc. Unlike the
liberation fronts comprising the EPRDF, the ONLF insurgents kill
people who do not accede to their demands for money and food. Like
in
Somalia
, people suffer and get killed in clan confrontations as well.
These atrocities are again attributed to the Ethiopian government.
Rep.
Donald Payne's Animus for Ethiopians Finally Exposed
Yared Bekele Mekonnen March 24th 2008
If
there was one central theme that seemed to run through the
testimony of the senior U.S. officials called upon to testify
before the committee, it was the overwhelmingly negative role that
Eritrea continues to play.
In her prepared statement and in answer to questions from the
senators, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi
Frazer assailed Eritrea, saying its human rights record is
“deplorable and is steadily declining” and accusing the regime
of sponsoring instability in neighboring nations and undermining
the efforts of U.N. peacekeepers along its border with Ethiopia.
Ethiopian
Research Council
The
Ethiopian Research Council (ERC) was founded in 1934 in
Washington, D.C. by a group of Ethiopian and American
professionals and scholars. The Council is the brainchild of Dr.
Melaku Bayen, a surgeon, one of the twelve founding members &
the guiding light of ERC strategies until his death; he was the
first Ethiopian to graduate with an Medical Doctorate from an
institution in the USA. The distinguished Professor William Leo
Hansbury was elected as the first Director of the Ethiopian
Research Council in 1934 while the suave William Steen handled the
day to day affairs of the ERC as Executive Secretary demonstrating
his unusually outstanding skills in administration and public
relations as well as his love of Ethiopia and Ethiopian causes.
Professor Hansbury's was a distinguished professor of history at
Howard University, who received the coveted Haile Selassie I Prize
in Literature (then the African equivalent to the European Noble
Prize) in 1963. Before he died in 1965, he completed a manuscript
on ancient Ethiopian history which was later published by Howard
University Press in 1974 under the title Ethiopia: The Pillar of
Civilization. Professor Hansbury was the founder of the African
Studies Program at Howard, which later became the first Black
Studies Department in the United States and the world.
Prince
Rasselas, Fact of Fiction? A
Glimpse at our History March
21, 2008
G.
E. Gorfu
Unlike most ancient kings and queens of the west, traditional
Ethiopian kings and queens were known for the thorough knowledge
of their history and of erudite scholarship in Christian Theology.
Some, like Atse Zera Yaekob, Atse Naod, and Nigst Eleni, are known
to have authored books. One
king, Tsadiku Yohannes, seeking truth, justice, and Christian
charity, had even abdicated his throne to live out his life as a
monk
March
18, 2008 Transcript
Barack
Obama’s Speech on Race
I
am the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from
Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather who
survived a Depression to serve in Patton’s Army during World War
II and a white grandmother who worked on a bomber assembly line at
Fort Leavenworth while he was overseas. I’ve gone to some of the
best schools in America and lived in one of the world’s poorest
nations. I am married to a black American who carries within her
the blood of slaves and slave owners – an inheritance we pass on
to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces,
nephews, uncles and cousins, of every race and every hue,
scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I
will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story
even possible. It’s a story that hasn’t made me the most
conventional candidate. But it is a story that has seared into my
genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more than the sum of
its parts – that out of many, we are truly one.
Belated
Yet Very Important Revisiting the Question of Nationalism
to Critique Siye Abraha and Tedros Kiros (PhD)
Adal Isaw March
18, 2008
As
Ethiopians, we have argued passionately and to no avail so far, as
to what it means to be an Ethiopian. At times, the question of who
is Ethiopian is foretold for others by those who know little about
whom they ask a pledge from. Even those Ethiopian PhD holders of
social science discipline, have erroneously define what it means
to be an Ethiopian, mistaking state for nation and nation for
state in a spiral unenlightened diatribe to the abyss
Looking
Forward Sifting
Through the Process and Doctrine of the Foreign Policy of America
Adal
Isaw-The recent Senator
Feingold’s hearing was not induced by narrowly organized
pressure groups, but rather by a general concern about the state
of affairs of East Africa as a region. It is one thing to have a
hearing on Ethiopia and quite another to have a hearing on
regional concern such as East Africa.
Blast
on Ethiopia-Eritrea border
There
has been a deadly explosion in a bus on the disputed border
between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Ethiopian
officials said at least seven people were killed and 10 wounded
when the bus exploded in the  Ethiopian-controlled
town of Humera They said they
believed an explosive device had been attached to the bus. The
blast happened just before the United Nations Security Council met
to discuss the future of the UN force stationed in the disputed
border zone. The UN
peacekeepers were sent eight years ago to monitor a border
security zone, after the war which killed tens of thousands of
people between Eritrea and Ethiopia in the late 1990s.
Ronan
Farrow sends a misleading message about Ethiopia's effort to
battle international terrorism and local insurgents. The article
failed to study the geopolitical intricacies of the Horn of Africa
and the emergence of terrorism as a weapon of proxy war by a rogue
regime in the region.
Don't
glamorize insurgents
Re "Ethiopia's war on its own,"
Opinion, Feb. 25
Ronan Farrow sends a misleading message about Ethiopia's effort to
battle international terrorism and local insurgents. The article
failed to study the geopolitical intricacies of the Horn of Africa
and the emergence of terrorism as a weapon of proxy war by a rogue
regime in the region. He quoted a single person in Kenya claiming
Ethiopian security forces were responsible for human rights
abuses, but the "separatist rebels" had merely carried
out a few attacks. To set the record straight, as recently as last
April, the Ogaden National Liberation Front, or ONLF, with the
military and financial support of the Al Itahid Al Islamia and
Union of Islamic Lords, massacred 74 Ethiopian and Chinese oil
exploration workers inside the Somali region of Ethiopia. The
separatist ONLF, in collaboration with the Al Shebeb jihadist
operation, has murdered dozens of local government officials and
clan leaders and targeted civilians by planting mines on roads.
The Ethiopian government acted responsibly to bring the
perpetrators to justice. Peace and stability are now largely
reestablished, enabling the free flow of humanitarian assistance
to the Ogaden region.
The best way to check international terrorism is neither by hiding
one's head in the sand nor by glamorizing insurgents and
misrepresenting them as liberators.
Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie
Consul General of Ethiopia, Los Angeles
OBSERVING
DEVELOPMENT IN
ETHIOPIA
VIA SATELLITE MAP March
10, 2008
By
Mathza-
With the above brief review
on development let me now move to my objective in this writing. It
is to draw the attention of the Ethiopian Diaspora who have been
and are being misled by the vociferous hateful and hate monger
compatriots amongst them. The latter have been intentionally
misinforming the former about development activities in
Ethiopia
. They have been warning them of the fate awaiting them if they
visit their homeland. This in effect deprived
Ethiopia
from the much-needed Diaspora Ethiopians’ contributions to
development.
Kosovo
Brief March
10, 2008
Ivan
Simic-In the next two years, Kosovo-Albanians will think that
they have succeeded in their agenda, but they will realise they
were wrong. By mid 2010, when the EU succeeds with The Helsinki
Headline Goal, and when new US administration takes firm control
over the United States, they will announce that various reports
have shown that unilaterally declared Republic of Kosovo under
international supervision is not capable of independence, and that
they are recommending that Kosovo Albanians continue to negotiate
their terms with the Republic of Serbia. Also, that Republic of
Kosovo was a mistake, and that Kosovo needs to be a part of
Serbia.
Senator
Russ Feingold Leave Ethiopia Alone
Adal Isaw
March
6, 2008,
The Senator seems to be prescribing the bourgeoning of his
notion of democracy, instead of seeing a "...relatively
stable" Ethiopia with a "growing economy and robust
poverty reduction programs." In a way, Feingold is asking
Ethiopians to buy an American born democracy even if that means
instability and poverty laden life, where only those with the
purchasing power of finished products from the western world are
preferred to benefit. The Senator from Wisconsin is also trying to
salvage those Ethiopian politicians who were deposed to the dust
bin of history, with the hope to install yes men in Addis, in
order to impede the independent revolutionary democratic movement
in Ethiopia from scoring more points of progress. You may ask,
why?
Senator
Feingold failed to make impartial assessment of Ethiopia.
Mekonnen
Kassa
On
March 3, 2008,
Wisconsin Senator Feingold took the respected Senate floor to
spread fear citing unconfirmed “credible accounts”, to defame
the Ethiopian government, and to declare his cynical appraisal of
state of affairs in Ethiopia to date as “the political crisis
that has been quietly growing and deepening over the past few
years may be coming to a head.” Contrary to the Senators
alarmist declaration, there is abundant evidence that corroborates
the bright direction Ethiopia is headed
Mr.
President, I rise today to discuss the political situation in
Ethiopia. The US-Ethiopian partnership is an incredibly important
one – perhaps one of the more significant on the continent given
not only our longstanding history but also the increasingly
strategic nature of our cooperation in recent years. Ethiopia sits
on the Horn of Africa – perhaps one of the roughest
neighborhoods in the world, with Somalia a failed state and likely
safe haven for terrorists, Eritrea an inaccessible authoritarian
regime that exacerbates conflicts throughout the region, Sudan a
genocidal regime, and now Kenya descending into crisis. By
contrast, Ethiopia seems relatively stable with its growing
economy and robust poverty reduction programs.
Send
Senator Russ Feingold an email, telling him this is not to
the best interest of the US, where Ethiopia is at fore-front of
the struggle against Islamic Terrorists:
Press
Release
Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia – March 5, 2008
Nokia
Siemens Networks explains relevance of socio-economic connectivity
findings for Africa at Science with Africa Conference in
Ethiopia:
Today,
at the Science with Africa conference held in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, Nokia Siemens Networks explained how and why
groundbreaking new connectivity findings are relevant for Africa.
The conference, an initiative mandated by European Parliament in
Lisbon reflecting EU-Africa Summit goals, gave Nokia Siemens
Networks and other global telecommunications players the
opportunity to demonstrate the valuable contribution that the
public-private-partnerships are making to empower developing
countries.
If
Barack Obama Becomes the Next President of the United States! A
Comparative and International Politics Perspective.
March
2, 2008
 Ghelawdewos
Araia- If Barack Obama
becomes the next president, can America adapt to the global
changing circumstances? Given America’s political history of
‘constancy and change,’ and the ability of the nation to
reinvent itself, the United States will definitely attempt to
accommodate the new order rather than clash with it. The new world
order that I have alluded to above is not just a multi-polar world
tainted with balance of powers but it is also going to herald
peaceful coexistence and cooperation among the peoples of our
planet earth. In order to foster such a grandiose plan of
international cooperation and cultural exchange, an Obama type of
leader is the necessary prerequisite, because he has already
united the American people and will bridge U. S. interests with
other global interests and he is of dual heritage, American and
African who can smoothly connect not just Kenya but also the
entire continent of Africa with America. America needs a Barack
Obama leadership in the first decade to quarter of the 21st
century, but we will have to wait and see for its fruition.
Dr.
GHELAWDEWOS ARAIA- March 2,
2008
- More than any moment in their history, Ethiopians must
jealously guard a united and strong Ethiopia in an effort to
continue the legacy of their patriotic forefathers and guarantee
the national interest and security of their nation. They should
never succumb to ethnic-specific issues despite the current
ethnocentric politics hovering over Ethiopian communities at home
and elsewhere. Unity and brotherhood among various Ethiopian
nationality groups is extremely crucial, and Adwa is a constant
reminder of a unified force that can virtually circumvent a
negative political monster that is aimed at dismantling the
organic and cohesive fabric of a given historic entity. Ethiopians
have witnessed peaceful coexistence amongst themselves for
millennia and they have no wish other than harmony and fraternity
toward one another and toward others. It is in light of the above
reality, therefore, that we must now celebrate the 110th
anniversary of the victory of Adwa, and so that our subscribers
appreciate in some depth and get the flavor of what Adwa was all
about, we have hereby post two articles on the victory of Adwa
written and presented by Dr.Ghelawdewos Araia; one in English,
presented at Howard University (Washington, DC) and the Dusable
Museum (Chicago) for the centennial celebration in 1996; the
second, in Amharic, presented before an Ethiopian audience in
Seattle for the 107th anniversary of Adwa in 2003.
Nationalism,
Self-determination, Article 39, & the Eyes of International
Law FEB.
26, 2008
Adal
Isaw-
National
unity or nationality, based on these preceding democratic
principles will inevitably
breed positive contribution beyond Ethiopia’s border, fostering
peace and making our volatile
and instability ridden region a bit better place to reside on. And
most importantly though, the
international community will grow very cognizant of the fact that
Ethiopia has practiced what it
has preached by allowing the mosaic people of Ethiopia to
self-govern themselves in manners
unseen
even in a developed state
Ethiopia’s
Land is not a Saleable Social Product
Adal
Isaw- FEB.
20, 2008
As
a result of having been able to protect our beloved country from
the crushing jaws of European colonizers, our ancestors have
managed to hand us our land with unadulterated communal ownership.
Had they failed, we would have found ourselves in the mist of
intricate claim and counter claim of ownership of our own land
with those who happen to have the imperial paper work for it. What
our ancestors paid in full with their blood should not be lost in
the name of production efficiency and investment incentive-both of
which that we’re achieving as we speak, without compromising our
whole livelihood. It’s therefore to the best interest of the
Ethiopian peoples, that the land of Ethiopia should not be allowed
and considered to be a social product, saleable to the best bidder
for absolute private ownership. Remember, to own land privately in
absolute term amounts to owning those whose life is dependent on
it.
Eternal
Woyane with NO Apology! In Memory of Lekatit 11 FEB.
20, 2008
A.G.
Michael, Canada- Unfortunately,
the present day chauvinists do not appear to get it. Their
stupidity is always revealed through their behavior of
interpreting the Tigraian civility as a sign of weakness and fear.
They should have read the history of Woyane I, the first Tigaian
revolution that humiliated and forced Emperor Haile Selassie to
seek help from a foreign power. In 1943, when Tigrai was nearly to
be administered fully by its sons and daughters, Haile Selassie
begged for help of the British Empire.
IT
IS THE WATER, STUPID!
II FEB. 15, 2008
G.
E. Gorfu- Many Ethiopians
are so foolish as to join these political schemers and operatives,
and even give their monetary support, while some of the elites
leading the legislation of HR Bills are outright traitors in the
payroll of Egypt’s Mubarak and Eritrea’s Issayas. What a
dastardly and heinous act! Is that what your motherland deserves?
Is that how you repay the poor peasant who worked hard, tilled,
and sweated to get you educated? How sad!
Yaw
Davis Director of the Pan African Technical Association (www.pataus.org)
will be giving a slide
show and
lecture on "3000 years of Ethiopian History from the Queen of
Sheba to Haile Selassie".
On Sunday February 17 6pm - 8pm
Sankofa Bookstore
2714 Georgia Ave NW
Washington, DC.
Through words and photographs, Yaw takes the audience on a 3
millennium journey starting from 985 B.C. (the
visit to King Solomon by the Queen of Sheba) to Ethiopia's last
emperor, Haile Selassie.
PRESS
RELEASE
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE...TORONTO, CANADA...FEB. 14, 2008
ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF THE WORLDS
LARGEST ONLINE TRAVEL RESOURCE!
THE
GE’EZ FIDEL AND THE MILLENNIUM February 13, 2008
By
Mathza-The observations and
suggestions on the fidel below are from a layman in the script and
Ethiopic languages. I have no doubt that the linguists and those
who designed the Ge’ez software have considered these among many
other possibilities and changes. My second objective in writing
this brief piece is, therefore, to prompt Ethiopian linguists and
Ge’ez software designers to educate us about the history and
development of the fidel and its incorporation in the cyber world.
For example, what is the origin of the fidel? How does it relate
to other Semetic scripts? What did the original fidel look like?
When were the vowels added? How did the fidel expand to its
present form, apparently, accommodating many new sounds? How many
groups were and are involved in developing software for the fidel?
At what stage is the development of the soft ware? Has a
standardized software been agreed upon?
There's
been no contest like it
Michael Tomasky, editor of Guardian America-Ever
since those days and weeks in late 2006 when this longest of
presidential campaigns began to assume form, commentators have
been reaching back into history to find the most apt and dramatic
comparison to insert into that evergreen sentence of American
punditry, the one that begins "Not since..."
Alfred
Nobel: Controversial Man, Controversial Awards
Ivan
Simic Belgrade, Serbia-Alfred
Nobel was a pacifist, which is highly contradictory, since he
invented dynamite which had enormous use in many wars, but also in
industry. Furthermore, he owned a company named Bofos, which was a
major weapons manufacturer. Bofos was founded in 1873, but it
originates from the iron and steel mill called Boofors,
established in 1646.
It
is the Water, Stupid!
G.
E. Gorfu-The amount in question, $400 million US, a
small fry in the scheme of such projects, is for a loan 
negotiated with the
US
financial giant, JP Morgan Chase. Unlike coal, diesel, or nuclear
power, hydro-electric plants are among the cleanest and most
environmentally friendly. So,
where is the beef? What concerns could they be expressing? Could
it be the environmental concerns of
Egypt
? What a shameful travesty of justice, truth and fairness!What I
am interested in here, however, is to ask my fellow Ethiopian
Moslem brothers and sisters what they think of this long standing
policy of
Egypt
against our mother land. Is
there any justification for it? Has
Ethiopia
ever wronged or harmed
Egypt
in any way that our country should forever be hampered in its
development, and impoverished?
UN’s
Ethiopia-Eritrea force at risk
By Harvey Morris at the United Nations January 29 2008 22:49
Ethiopia lost its access to the Red Sea when Eritrea seceded
in 1993 after a 30-year insurgency. Eritrea’s leaders fear its
larger neighbor intends to re-establish its supremacy in the Horn
by fostering the emergence of a more pliable regime in Asmara.
”We believe the government in Asmara is well aware of our
capabilities and another invasion would lead to their downfall,”
Mr Meles told the Ethiopian parliament late last year.
Top
Ten Mistakes Leaders (or Managers) Make January
24 2008
Compiled
by Tesfaye Habisso-Making mistakes and erring from time to
time in itself is not a bad thing. How else can we learn if we are
not allowed to a mistake or two? People who learn from mistakes
are those who remember them and ensure that they never repeat
their failed effort again—good wisdom. And there are those that
keep repeating the same mistakes, never learning. The crucial
issue here is not about the one or two mistakes that a leader can
or will make. But it is about a pattern of operation or a way he
or she always does things.
New
World Order Evolving January
24 2008
Ivan
Simic-When
we talk about New World Order we can say that everything is about
hegemony and dominance of stronger countries over others. If we
look back through history we can recount various attempts of
several countries to create a New World Order or some sort of
dominance among countries. Some of these attempts was led by great
warriors such as, Alexander the Great (Macedonian Empire), Julius
Caesar (Roman Empire), Genghis Khan (Mongol
Empire), Napoleon Bonaparte (French Empire), Adolf Hitler, among
others. From this we can see that every attempt to rule the world
was needles and devastating.
Five
More Years! January
23, 2008
G.
E. Gorfu-There are some of us, therefore, who would like to
see you lead your party to victory in the next election, appoint a
capable successor, and within one year of your fourth term, bow
out gracefully, in dignity and honor, to be a backbencher in the
Ethiopian Federal Parliament. That would put your name as the
first in Ethiopian history to do this, and a give you a far
greater stature as a true Statesman. That would usher in a
historic trend of genuine democracy in our country, a trend for
which Ethiopia is waiting and longing for.
We
stand in unison For a Common Denominator
By:
Union of Tigreans in North America (U.T.N.A)
ETHIOPIA:
The Case Against State Funding of Political Parties
By
Tesfaye Habisso-There are thousand and
one reasons why I dissent from the usage of taxpayers' money to be
used to support political parties, and that includes the incumbent
party. The argument against this system of funding of political
parties is that if parties can rely on state funding, they will
renege on their attempt to bond with civil society and their
supporters and well-wishers. In that case, the whole
democratization exercise is often defeated.
Terrorism
and War: Parallels, Differences and Suffering January
20, 2008
Ivan
Simic- Terrorism, on the other hand has been described as the
threat of violence, or other harmful act committed for political
or ideological goals. The main goals of terrorists are to spread
fear among the world population and get global attention for their
actions in order to accomplish their goals. Almost every country
and organization have different definitions for terrorism,
therefore, it is still impossible to give an official one. Up to
now, the United Nations has not accepted, nor given definition for
terrorism.
ILLUSIVE
PEACE IN EAST AFRICA: MUHAMMAD MEGALOMMATIS
ADVOCATES GENOCIDE AGAINST
ETHIOPIANS!
[ Paper
Submitted for the Emergency Meeting, Afrikan Unity of Harlem, Inc,
19 January 2008]
By Tecola
W. Hagos- The type of attack that Megalommatis
is waging against Ethiopia can be identified as a variation of the
old form of “divide and rule” tactics used by both earlier
colonizers and the present day neocolonialists. The effort of
Megalommatis against “Amharas and Tigrays”
who make up the majority of the diverse
people of Ethiopia is far worse than anything seen on the African
Continent, except the Rwandan and Darfur Genocide. Megalommatis
is not even an Egyptian, but a mercenary of Greek nationality (by
his own admission) and yet he is advocating of the elimination of
close to forty million Ethiopians. One thing is obvious that such
individuals if left unchallenged would sow the seed of strife
among the many people of Africa
 Top
international banking guru to head bill of over 60 experts at
banking technology conference in
Nairobi
Mr
DiVanna will hold a full-day “Banking Mini-MBA” on 15
February, entitled “The African Banking Agenda: Innovation,
Performance, Service”. He offers the following preview of the
themes he plans to cover in the course: “The dynamics of the
unfolding landscape of today’s world financial markets demands
that financial institutions learn to excel at innovation in order
to compete. In
Africa
, competition is being redefined as regulatory structures open up
to foreign banks. Within each nation, competition for existing
customers is also becoming more intense, as banks are often
targeting the same customers. The real opportunity for organic
growth is to look for the vast unserved African banking market. To
do this, financial services companies must be innovative in their
approach, not only by applying the latest technology and offering
different channels of banking, but rather by rethinking their
business models to reduce operating cost. In addition, innovative
African banks drive new levels of customer service by leveraging
technology to an increasing number of market segments, building a
brand image that inspires trust and quality.
Beyond
The Fence--Double Agony
January
16, 2008
Almaz
Mequanint-We
need to fight and address to the Ethiopian Environmental
protection authorities for the adoption and implementation of
appropriate, ecologically sound, and socially equitable policies
to satisfy our needs for such necessities as water, health, food,
education and information to our society. Let’s make a
difference which will transform the lives of so many victims in
Wonji, Wonji/Shoa & Metehara.
Bay
Area residents send medical gear to their native Ethiopia
Anastasia Ustinova, Chronicle Staff
Writer
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 - World
Family collaborates with the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia and
has received about $260,000 from the Clinton Foundation. Edward
Wood, who oversees projects in Africa for the foundation,
estimates more than 2,000 medical centers and hospitals in
Ethiopia still need medical equipment.
A
New Paradigm in Ethiopian Politics: A discussion on what
Ethiopians can do at this historical juncture to bring about
change in Ethiopia
Ghelawdewos Araia
January 14 2008-How
can this paradigm of epistemology be attained though? The advanced
segment of Ethiopian learned men and women (intellectuals and
professionals) could make enormous contribution if they are
willing to do so and if conditions in Ethiopia are favorable and
permissive. These educators must be open and receptive as well as
focused and hard driven, and they can’t afford to exhibit
non-committal silence in the middle of their endeavor.
Hegemony
January
14, 2007
Ivan
Simic-Hegemony results in the empowerment of certain cultural
beliefs, values, and practices to the submersion and partial
exclusion of others. Hegemony influences the perspective of
mainstream history, as history is written by the victors for a
congruent readership. History has it that hegemony has been played
since time immemorial; we may recall the dominance of Persian,
Roman, Mongol, Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, German, Chinese,
Russian, French, British Empire, amongst others.
Ethiopia
plans to build more power plants
Bloomberg. ADDIS ABABA. Ethiopia may build as many as nine
hydropower plants over the next 10 years, making electricity
rather than coffee the Horn of Africa nation’s biggest export.
"There is a deficit around our neighbors," Mekuria
Lemma, head of the programme planning department at the state
owned Ethiopian Electric Power Co., said on Thursday in an
interview in the capital, Addis Ababa. "If we are successful
in doing this, power will be our biggest export."
Scuffle
in Seattle – Kinijit vs. Kinijit
January 11,
2007
By
Mekonnen Kassa-Kinijit the “spirit” is no more and the
“divine father” and his disciples are keeping busy in an
unprecedented political fight and power struggle. The
irreconcilable difference between these two splinters is evident
more so this weekend than ever as they each have called for a
separate meeting for Saturday and Sunday here in Seattle.
US
Debating Shift of Support in Somali Conflict. January
10, 2007
Matthew
Mainen Policy Analyst, Institute for Gulf Affairs
More
importantly, however, is Somaliland’s location and the context
in which it finds itself. The horn of Africa is an often
overlooked yet critical front in the war on terror and Islamic
extremism. It is one thing to continue to defeat the terrorists
and insurgents on the battlefield, and the allies of the United
States, particularly Ethiopia, have done a tremendous job of
defeating Somalia’s former Islamist regime, but military
victories are not enough to win this war. This is a war of
ideology, a war between democracy and Islamism, and nothing will
unsettle the Islamists more than establishing free governments in
the territories that they wish to control. The future of Somalia
is uncertain compared to Somaliland, and as they say “a bird in
hand is better than two in the bush.”
SEYE
ABRAHA: MYTH AND REALITY
January 7, 2007
By
Tecola W. Hagos- This
presentation of Seye clarified who Seye Abraha really is. In a way
it separated the myth from the reality of Seye. Very often, I have
heard very many Ethiopians mostly former Derg officials and
collaborators (no surprise here) alleging that Seye is a narrow
minded ethnicist and chauvinist who is full of arrogance. I must
say that with that single speech he has successfully demolished
such myths with the reality of his passionate expression of his
love of Ethiopia and his enlightened and firm convictions on the
value of reconciliation and understanding. In fact, Seye puts us
all to shame by not holding grudges against those who inflicted
tremendous pain and suffering on him and his family members.....
Seeye
Abraha, Ethiopia’s National Treasure, speaks Truth to Power: An
outline of Seeye’s New Thinking. By
Tedros Kiros, PhD January 7, 2007
 The
details of his everyday life as he described them to various
individuals in the last four days reminded me of George
Orwell’s, 1984, particularly Winston, the main
character that the regime criminalized and kept in check through
meticulous observation, and through the minute observation, sought
to inhibit his movements, his dreams and his ideals.
Mr.’ Seeye is also subjected to the same harsh reality.
Formally free, Mr. Seeye remains the object of the gaze of power.
His freedom is incomplete, and he is now determined to covert that
abstract freedom into real freedom in concert with the Ethiopian
people. The speech
provided Mr. Seeye’s outline of New Thinking.
 Engineer
Ghirma-Every
sector of the economy, be it health, education, infrastructure
including electric power, telephone communication, and the
construction of highways, have reached phenomenal levels; with yet
even higher levels in sight. Ethiopia is set to become a net
exporter of electric power to the rest of Africa and beyond.
IDEA
Editorial
January
4, 2008
Obama,
therefore, may continue to be a charismatic persona representing
hope and change, but in the end it is the Electoral College, and
not the popular vote, that would decide the selection of the would
president of the United States of America. The Obama factor may
gather momentum and unleash its forces against the so-called
establishment (in one form or another, all in the race for the
presidency belong to the establishment), but that could be an
exercise in futility unless the 2008 electoral process proves us
wrong. We wish to be wrong!
Some
Issue Highlights (source
Aiga)
Getachew
Mequanent-It is no secret that
Ethiopian government missions abroad have been exploring political
niches (communities) in the Diaspora, so that right now there are
many of them across the Western hemisphere. If the growing
counter-vocal Diaspora groups are extensions of these communities,
and more importantly, if they fail to take middle ground
approaches, we are once again to see politically polarized groups
battling each other in the Diaspora. It will be once again a
betrayal of trust of the silent majority in the Diaspora if
counter-vocal Diaspora groups fail to play a politically neutral
civil society role. In addition to checking the destructive behavior
and actions of vocal Diaspora groups, the new groups must be
politically objective and hold, to the extent possible, Ethiopian
ruling elites accountable and transparent in their conduct of
business in the name of the Ethiopian people.
Dear
Mr. Amare:
Thank you for expressing your views on H.R.
2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act.  H.R.
2003, the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act, is intended
to affirm that U.S. policy in Ethiopia should support human rights
and peaceful democratic institution building. I appreciate your
advocacy. I am considering the effects of this legislation on the
countries in the Horn of Africa-Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, and
Eritrea. Should this legislation come the Senate floor for a vote
I will keep your views in mind.
Thank you again for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Sherrod
Brown (Senator)
Mr.
Prime Minister, No Retirement Yet! Five More Years!
(by Mulubrhan Tsehaye, December 22,
2007)-The Prime Minister’s political moves have
always been calculated to precision as a skillful chess master who
keeps checkmating his adversaries in every game he plays
regardless of how complex a challenge his adversaries may come up
with. It can never be an overstatement however
to note that a bigger job that requires even a stronger and more
accountable leadership with a profound commitment to take the
country through the upcoming long marathon struggle to eliminate
poverty is waiting ahead.
 Ethiopia
PM attacks UN on Somalia BBC News
Ethiopian
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has accused the UN of playing a
damaging role in the Somali crisis. "The
situation there - as hard as it is - it could do with less hype
and exaggeration," he told the BBC. The UN says fighting
between insurgents and Ethiopian-backed government forces in the
capital, Mogadishu, has created Africa's worst humanitarian
crisis.
TDVA
EVENT IN SEATTLE RAISED OVER $40,000
We
are elated to announce that our compassionate residents of Seattle
and surrounding areas raised over $40,000,  where
over 350 individuals attended.
Thanks to the support from our kind-hearted individuals
like you, TDVA will strive to build better lives for our beloved
country’s disabled veterans and their families so that they may
live as normally and as comfortably as possible. We would like
also to extend our humble appreciation to the following
organizations and individuals:
Some
Reflections on the Progress of Ethiopia’s Infant: Democracy and
the Upcoming Woreda/Kebele
Elections and Beyond
By Tesfaye Habisso-What
is the logic of creating such an idle capacity in the various
public agencies when many of them still lament about the shortage
of experienced and skilled labor force? What cost-benefit analysis
has been done before reaching at such unilateral and undemocratic
decisions? If these civil servants have literally ‘retired on
their jobs’ the proper and logical course of action to be taken
would be to recruit and train sufficient qualified personnel in
time and then facilitate the speedy retirement of these
‘unwanted elements’ in collaboration with the Social Security
Authority, and not to float them indefinitely and still pay them
their remunerations every month. A democratic government does not
and cannot endanger the dignity of its citizens; it should never,
ever dehumanize its citizens, least of all its long time civil
servants.
Leader
in War Could be Leader in Peace Dec
13th 2007
Ivan
Simic-We are evidencing
dramatic changes in the world today; China, India, Russia and
European Union are getting economically stronger, and the USA
economy is beginning to stagnate. If this trend continues, then
the only way for the United States to remain a superpower, and
dominant economical, political, cultural, and military force in
the world will be to fight wars. It would be better for the United
States to use warfare money and invest in the domestic economy,
instead of spending billions of dollars on useless wars.
RECONCILIATION
FOR CLOSURE OF ETHNIC ABUSES
Dec 12th 2007
By
Mathza-Congratulations
to all Ethiopians for the second year of Nations, Nationalities
and Peoples' Day.
It
was befitting to hold the first celebration at federal level
outside Addis Ababa in Hawasa, the capital of the Southern Nation
and Nationality Regional State which accounts for 48 (represented
in the House of Federation) out of about 80 nations and
nationalities in the country. The same goes for the planned
establishment of nations and nationalities research institute at
Dila
University.
ETHIOPIAN
-AMERICANS AGAINST HR-2003
On
November 4, 2007, following a Town Hall meeting of
Ethiopian-Americans, an Ad Hoc committee representing concerned
Ethiopian-Americans residing in
California
was formed with its office located in the city of
Los Angeles
. The main objective of the committee is to make a grassroots
effort and be a decisive force in stopping the Senate from passing
HR-2003: The Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007.
by
Araadom Alula-Tolerance
and accommodation to the extent of compromising the rule of law is
very dangerous indeed. Hence, the leniency to allow the extremes
of irresponsible activities under the guise of democracy destroys
the golden societal rules meant to assure collective security and
internal national stability. Selam
Betru congratulated the government of Ethiopia
for laying down the foundation for democracy but was quick
to point out that bending backwards to appease enemies and
detractors of progress is dangerous. He further warns that extreme
relaxation of the legal controls of political activities and
monetary movements will not only fuel corruption, but also lead to
anarchy and chaos Selam did not give us his source but has alleged
that non-citizens have participated in Ethiopian elections. That
opposition party members disregarded their constituents at home
and stumbled over one another to appear before the US congress in
support of Ethiopia’s enemies needs no source verification.
These disturbing trends must be corrected immediately.
Borderline
war
Dec
5th 2007
From the Economist Intelligence Unit ViewsWire
However,
the EEBC's biggest miscalculation was to award the symbolic city
of Badme—administered by Ethiopia for decades, and reportedly
where the 1998-2000 conflict between the two sides first
began—to Eritrea. It should have been apparent that taking away
territory held long before the conflict would not be acceptable to
the Ethiopian government, particularly as Ethiopia clearly had the
upper hand when the cease-fire was agreed. The
truth is that the original agreement was flawed and never should
have been structured under the "final and binding"
framework without the proviso of further talks once an initial
boundary had been proposed by the EEBC.
Europe
urged to bar Eritrea from Africa summit
06
December 2007, 12:59 CET
(NAIROBI)
- The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) media watchdog on Thursday
urged the European Union to bar Eritrea from an EU-Africa summit
this weekend over human and press rights violations.The
Paris-based group questioned why alleged abuses by Eritrean
President Issaias Afeworki did not raise as many objections in
Brussels as those blamed on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
PRESS
RELEASE
December
5 2007
Emergency
seed aid in Ethiopia: big efforts, little benefit?
Ethiopia
has
received emergency seed aid for the past 34 years, and every year
since 1982. During
that time, at least US
$500 million, or 4.6
Billion Ethiopian Birr has been spent on this.
Emergency seed aid aims to help farmers recover quickly
from a crisis such as drought or flood, so that they can again
produce crops to eat or sell.
However, very few projects evaluate the actual impact of
emergency seed aid.
H.R.
2003: MEANS OF SNATCHING POWER THROUGH THE BACK DOOR
December 5, 2004
By
Mathza-External
enemies, such as Eritrea and some Arab states, particularly Egypt
and Libya, will surely intensify their conspiracies against the
territorial integrity of Ethiopia. Extremist Islamist and al-Qaeda
terrorists will surely continue to aggravate the situation. In
other words, the power mongers, if by some miracle, have their
way, they will only succeed in having Ethiopia wiped from the
world map. This means the disintegration of Ethiopia, the core for
the stability of the Horn, and the spread of terrorism like wild
fire in Africa. Knowing these and other dire consequences and the
historical revulsion to foreign interference, the government and
people of Ethiopia will not accept H.R.
Ethiopia-Eritrea
Border Commission Ends Work With No Resolution
VOA News 01 December 2007
An
international commission attempting to set a boundary between
Ethiopia and Eritrea has ended its work after the rival countries
failed to demarcate their border. The boundary commission
dissolved itself Friday after a deadline passed for the two
neighboring countries to agree on a new border.
|
is
giving us alternative views and approaches: a challenge to
opposition parties and the EPRDF on how to achieve a democratic
Ethiopia through peaceful political processes. He introduced a set
of analytical tools and frameworks that show how to navigate on
the an chartered and risky political sea of our Ethiopia. He laid
the basis of a modern political process through reconciliation and
understanding of our political and cultural diversity.
