The small vanguard of independent media that emerged from a brutal 2005 crackdown struggled in the face of continuing government harassment. Although authorities issued licenses allowing a handful of independent political newspapers to operate, they continued to use imprisonment, threats, and legal and administrative restrictions to suppress coverage of sensitive issues......
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In the six years that I’ve written about Ethiopian immigrants and politics in Minnesota, I’ve never editorialized directly against the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi.Instead, I’ve limited myself to reporting on the experiences, outlooks and opinions of Ethiopian immigrants who live in this state, a hub of the global Ethiopian diaspora.Today I’m making an exception, though, because of what strikes me as the exceptional danger posed by Meles’ most recent global political moves — a grave danger for Ethiopians and Africans, and possibly far beyond...
The recent accusation by Meles Zenawi's clique of an alleged “coup” attempt led by Ginbot 7, which in a matter of days, was revised and heralded as an “assassination” attempt is a vivid indication of a very serious internal danger that the regime has begun to face. The only objective of the confusing and the constantly changing statements coming from the Prime Minster’s office is to distract Ethiopians and the international community from seeing the real crisis engulfing the regime....
The latest saga of brutal repression in Ethiopia comes in the form of an alleged “desperado” conspiracy to “overthrow” the dictatorial regime. Leading the phalanx of “desperadoes” include an 80-year old grandfather, a young man and an active duty officer....
