Gasha for Ethiopians

Human Rights Watch, the most respected and credible human rights advocacy group, in its well documented and evidenced report has accused the tyrannical regime of Meles Zenawi to have had been committed crime against humanity in the region of Ogaden on a report issued June the 12th 2008......full text

Group accuses Ethiopia of war crimes in Ogaden

By Elizabeth A.Kennedy , AP/ June 17, 2008

Ethiopia's government is committing war crimes in its military campaign against rebels in the Ogaden region, a rights group charged Thursday in a report that complained the U.S. and other Western governments willfully ignored abuses.............full text

Letter to President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan

Ethiopian organizations / June 6, 2008

.....We wish to register our protest in the strongest possible terms that any attempted boundary settlement your government reaches with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), will neither bind the rest of the country, nor achieve a stable or durable settlement of whatever outstanding differences might exist between our countries regarding the location of our common boundary. On the contrary, any such settlement is bound to be a continuing source of friction and an unnecessary obstacle to furthering and deepening the economic cooperation and cultural exchanges that currently exist between our two countries.......full text

Border Demarcation with Sudan Causes Anger in Ethiopia

VOA , June 5, 2008

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........full text

Death by kangaroo court

Editorial , Ethiomedia / June 02, 2008

What a mockery of justice! Meles Zenawi sending Mengistu Hailemariam and his lieutenants to the gallows for “serious crimes against humanity”! Imagine Adolf Hitler condemning Benito Mousollini to death for “war crimes against Ethiopians." Imagine the pot calling the kettle black! .......full text

Ethiopia’s humanitarian situation rapidly deteriorating – UN

May 25, 2008

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today that it is concerned by conditions in Ethiopia and that the situation will deteriorate further without an immediate infusion of resources to carry out life-saving interventions.......full text

Meles admits the secret handing over of Ethiopian land to sudan

APA, May 21, 2008

Recent reports said that Ethiopian farmers were displaced by Sudanese troops at two border areas......full text

Worldwide Ethiopian march for freedom and democracy May 15-18,2008

May 13, 2008

The third anniversary of the failed Ethiopian National Election is a day away. Accordingly, worldwide events are on schedule to kick off in cities across North America, Europe, Australia, Africa and Israel.These events will publicly demonstrate that the Ethiopian peoples’ thirst for freedom, human rights, justice and democracy will not die despite the hijacking of the last election and the increasing repression within the country. This has been a huge organizational task and will not be perfect, but it is the beginning. Let the sleeping giant—the freedom loving people of Ethiopia—awaken and rise up for truth and right!.......full text

Something is rotten in the state of Ethiopia!

Ethiomedia/ May 11, 2008

First, it was access to the Red Sea. Meles handed over the Port of Assab, along with everything else, to secessionist Eritrea, permanently landlocking Ethiopia. Next came Badme and all the areas we lost along the northeastern part of the country. Meles set the country up for a total diplomatic defeat from the jaws of absolute Ethiopian military victory, and delivered Badme over to Eritrea (after turning over documents weakening Ethiopia’s claim) in binding international arbitration. Then Meles invaded Somalia, a stateless country long in the throes of clan warfare. In just over a year, Meles created one million internally displaced people and the second most desperate humanitarian crises in the world today. Now, from all indications, it appears Meles has done it again! He has delivered Tach Armacho, Quara, Metema and Abdris on a silver platter to none other than the Butcher of Darfur, Omar Al-Bashir. Would somebody please tell us what in God’s name Meles is doing to Ethiopia? .......full text

Amnesty International accuses Ethiopian troops in Somalia of war atrocities

The Associated Press / May 06, 2008

Amnesty International said Tuesday that Ethiopian troops who support Somalia's UN-backed government are killing civilians, slitting people's throats and gang-raping women.The human rights group called on the international community to intervene to halt the bloodshed. It released a report Tuesday containing chilling witness accounts of indiscriminate killings - and even the intentional targeting of civilians - in the Horn of Africa nation. The accounts single out Ethiopian troops for some of the worst violations. .......full text

To be or not to be

Editorial , Ethiomedia / April 30, 2008

To be or not to be prime minister in 2010? That was the question put to Meles Zenawi by Newsweek a couple of weeks ago: “Will you stay as prime minister after your term expires in 2010? Meles: “This is likely to be my last term.” Such was the pithy and cryptic response of the normally pompous and bombastic dictator. “Likely”? What does that mean? Used as an adverb, the word “likely” is commonly preceded by a modifier such as “very”, “most” or “quite” as in “This is (most) likely to be my last term.” So used, the word conveys a measure of sincerity, good faith and certitude about one’s intentions, if not actual plans. Used in its adjectival form, the word “likely” could mean “probable” or “possible”, as in “It is probable or possible this could be my last term.” .......full text

Government's PR machine hides many brutal truths

By Dula Abdu ,Houston Chronicle / April 26, 2008

.....The concerns of Ethiopians in diaspora and at home have been marginalized by the PR machine of the regime in Addis Ababa, which denies the existence of human rights violations and record famine.While the Ethiopian government is spending millions in lobbying, American tax dollars are being used to prop up the regime and to ship weapons. At the same time, almost a quarter of the Ethiopian population is facing starvation. The United States is about to send more grain, but not as much as it once did.......full text

Ethiopians choose local officials in vote marred by opposition boycott

By Anita Powell, AP / April 20, 2008

Ethiopians chose local representatives Sunday in nationwide elections marred by a boycott by the two largest opposition parties and criticized by a prominent international human rights group.Government officials in the key U.S. ally touted the polls as a sign of Ethiopia's commitment to democracy after the bloody aftermath of the 2005 general elections, but opposition parties said a systematic campaign of beatings, arrests and intimidation forced out more than 17,000 of their candidates.. .......full text

Ethiopia's Election Panel, Opposition Trade Accusations

VOA / April 17, 2008

.............“As far as the board is concerned, it is just a fabrication,” said Merga. “There is no evidence for that. We have thoroughly discussed about the issue together with his excellency, Ato [[Mr.] Bulcha. We have attempted to solve the problems, and we have solved many of the problems. But when there is no evidence, it is very difficult for the board to solve what they are claiming, so we consider as fabrication.”..........full text

Power Politics Trumps Democracy in U.S.-backed Ethiopia

By Alex Stonehill and Sarah Stuteville / April 13, 2008

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia—Dawn in the Merkato breaks over a tangle of streets jammed with shouting hawkers and towering pyramids of ripe produce from Ethiopia’s fertile countryside. Today it is a popular destination for sunburnt foreign tourists, expensive cameras poised to capture lively scenes from one of Africa’s largest open-air markets.Few of them, unloading from tour buses today, know that less then three years ago these bustling streets were stained with the blood of murdered citizens who had flooded into the center of Ethiopia’s capital city to protest the contested re-election of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi..........full text

Etiopia: War crimes tribunal violated human rights

Appolon / April 08, 2008

The Ethiopian legal system has accused several thousands of brutal war crimes. Now the war crimes tribunal has itself violated fundamental human rights.........full text

Ethiopia and the United States - A loveless liaison

The Economist / April 04, 2008

THE alliance between the United States and Ethiopia was born of pragmatism. In another time, they might have been enemies. Ethiopians do not like American soldiers tramping on their soil. Americans dislike Ethiopia's bad human-rights record. Local elections due this month are a case in point. Ethiopia's opposition, emasculated by the long imprisonment of its leaders (most of whom were pardoned last year) and weakened by its own divisions, will almost certainly be crushed in an unfair contest. “It's going to be a stitch-up,” says a Western diplomat. “Control is what this government is all about.”.........full text

Zimbabwe Opposition Claims Victory in Presidential, Parliamentary Elections

VOA / April 02, 2008

The Secretary-General of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Tendai Biti, said opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential election with more than 50 percent (50.3) of the vote, while President Robert Mugabe received 43 percent.........full text

The folly of dubbing Ethiopia "black colonizer

Robele Ababya / March 27, 2008

”Land to the tiller” was a passion - a darling slogan for those of us involved in the period of the struggle leading to the outbreak of the Ethiopian revolution of 1974 G.C. In the aftermath of the revolution, various political orientations emerged including copycats of the works of Marx, Engel, Lenin, Stalin, Mao et al. The copycats made a mess of applying the works of Marx to the socio-economic conditions of technologically, scientifically and industrially backward Ethiopia. Self-styled ‘paragons’ of the communist ideology including EPRP (old) and TPLF ardently supported the ill-conceived theory that the Eritrean question is a colonial issue which must therefore be resolved in that context........full text

The black and white of civil disobedience and armed struggle

By Afura Burtukana / March 20, 2008

Despotic governments all over the world almost always face resistance. The forms of resistance range from civil disobedience to armed struggle. Philosophers and activists have argued for and against both kind of resistance. Their bases for the argument are the severity of casualties, the length of time elapse, and requirement of resources among others. The objective is the effectiveness of the resistance which by itself is a base for the argument.......full text

The Absent Media

By Mikael Deribe / March 15, 2008

I am among the thousands of Ethiopians who were astonished after reading an article entitled “33 years of TPLF and 32 years of Meles Zenawi: Suppression in the name of Liberation” posted on Ethiomedia.com on February 23, 2008 co-authored by Tesfay Atsbeha, and Kahsay Berhe who regret to have been members of TPLF before it was taken over by anti-Ethiopian elements. These two genuine Ethiopians have once again exposed the mobsters who have so far gotten away working in the name of Tigrayans, all out against the rest of the Ethiopian people. This well written and astounding article has hopefully re-stimulated our senses to the nature and daily actions of the clique in power. ......full text

U.S. DEPARTMENT of STASE - 2007 Human Rights Report: Ethiopia

March 12, 2008

Human rights abuses reported during the year included: limitation on citizens' right to change their government during the most recent elections; unlawful killings, and beating, abuse, and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of those suspected of sympathizing with or being members of the opposition or insurgent groups; detention of thousands without charge and lengthy pretrial detention; ......full text

UN policy in Horn of Africa questioned

By Cindy Saine, VOA / March 12, 2008

WASHINGTON - Democratic Senator Russ Feingold Tuesday delivered a scathing criticism of the U.S. policy in the Horn of Africa. At a Senate Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, he called on the Bush administration to do more to address the worsening security, political and humanitarian conditions in the region, especially in Somalia. VOA Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington.........full text

Key leaders absent from Ethiopian elections

By Elizabeth Blunt,BBC News, Addis Ababa / March 3, 2008

Ethiopians will soon be getting their first chance to vote since the general election in 2005, which ended with violent protests and the jailing of most of the leaders of the opposition.The opposition CUD coalition won far more seats than any opposition party had ever won before, but they were convinced that the true result should have been even more in their favour. ........full text

Adwa’s Lessons to the Democratic Opposition

Maimire Mennasemay,Ph.D/ Feb.28, 2008

On March 1st, 2008, Ethiopians commemorate the 112th anniversary of the Adwa victory. Adwa is one of those historical events that tears apart the fog of politics and unveils a new horizon that reveals a people’s capability to become a master of its own destiny. But our rulers have reduced Adwa to a drum-and-trumpet event and emptied it of its liberating spirit. However, there is a living Adwa, critical of the mummified Adwa our rulers celebrate, which dwells in our history as an unfinished task that urges Ethiopians to complete the struggle for freedom their ancestors started in 1896. Openness to Adwa as a living experience could disclose a historical compass that could help the democratic opposition find its way out from its current disarray........full text

Solidarity Forum of Ethiopia

Press Release / Feb.28, 2008

Dear Fellow Ethiopians and Friends of Ethiopia: After working behind the scene and contacting various distinguished and ordinary individuals in our community (both for support and ideas) we, the coordinating committee of concerned Ethiopians, are pleased to formally announce the birth of the Solidarity Forum of Ethiopia. Although not finalized yet, the Forum’s Mission and its Bylaws are being drafted and nearing completion.........full text

33 years of TPLF and 32 years of Meles Zenawi
Suppression in the name of Liberation

By Kahsay Berhe and Tesfay Atsbeha / Feb.27, 2008

On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the TPLF, we pay our sincere and due respect to the tens of thousands of TPLF fighters, including our brothers, sisters, friends, schoolmates, neighbours and comrades-in-arms, who gave theirs lives, so that their remaining compatriots may lead a better life. To these fallen belong also fighters, militias and civilians murdered by Meles Zenawi and his collaborators. According to our information so far, the number of innocent people murdered by the TPLF in Tigray (with the exception of Hawzien and Wuqro) is more than those murdered by the Dergue in Tigray.........full text

US policy on African faulted on priorities
Security Is Stressed Over Democracy

By Stephanie McCrummen , Washington Post Foreign Service / Feb.22, 2008

NAIROBI -- In his tour of Africa, President Bush steered clear of countries where stability, human rights and progress toward democracy have degenerated during his tenure, among them Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Uganda and Kenya. In those countries, Bush's focus on counterterrorism has overtaken his other stated foreign policy goals of promoting democracy and human rights, according to analysts."While democratization has clearly been one of the three major stated objectives of the Bush administration -- the others being security and development -- democratization probably ranks third," said Joel Barkan, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "You can see it in several ways, but it's mainly the subordination of democratization to the so-called war on terror." .......full text

The Roosters are Crowing : It’s Time for Africans to Sweep Our Huts Clean of Dirty Politics

By Obang Metho / Feb.20, 2008

The African roosters are crowing from the north to the south to the east and to the west as the first rays of dawn’s light are cracking through the darkness hanging over Africa. From all over the continent, Africans are awakening to a new understanding of their God-given rights, their democratic rights and with them, to the desire to rule themselves. No longer are they willing to put up with a legacy of corrupt, greedy and power-hungry dictators, no different from the colonizers, who controlled the continent for years with their evil policies of divide and conquer.The people of Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chad, Nigeria, Somalia, Uganda, the Congo - too many places to name, are challenging the status quo of dirty politics and dirty politicians, not with guns, but with their brooms! We are entering a new era and it is time to clean our huts of corrupt leaders who refuse to give up power while robbing and oppressing the people they are supposed to serve! This is the root of our suffering, misery and pain. .......full text

The ethiopianization of Kenya

Ethiomedia , Editorial / Feb.20, 2008

A few days ago the New York Times reported that Kenya is in the "throes of ethnic segregation." Following the highly disputed presidential elections there, hundreds of thousands of people have been internally displaced, resulting in a massive flight of Kenyans of all ethnic backgrounds to their "ancestral homelands." No one could have seriously predicted such decomposition of Kenyan society a few months ago.......full text

Who is in power? --(Ethiomedia)

Military, Diplomatic Tensions Peak as UN Peacekeepers Withdraw From Eritrea

VOA / Feb.16, 2008

The United Nations is halting peacekeeping operations in Eritrea, and closing its mission headquarters in Asmara. The pullout comes two months after the Eritrean government cut off vital fuel supplies and ordered the peacekeepers out. The entire operation is being relocated to the Ethiopian side of the two countries' disputed border. From the Ethiopian town of Mekele, VOA's Peter Heinlein reports the pullout points up the world body's impotence in the face of a tiny country determined to expel its blue-helmeted peacekeepers.........full text

China 'toxic for Africa freedom'

BBC / Feb.13, 2008

The increase in the arrest and imprisonment of journalists in Africa in the last year has been partly blamed on China by Reporters Without Borders. "The influence of China in African affairs has been very toxic for democracy," the media watchdog's Leonard Vincent told the BBC........full text

American law professor fired from Ethiopian university

The Sub-Saharan Informer / Feb.10, 2008

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – An American law professor, teaching at the Ethiopian Ministry of Education’s Mekelle University in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, had her contract terminated last week by university officials.The administration claims “incompetence” was the reason for her termination. But Professor Abigail Salisbury claims that her public voicing of alternative views on the U.S. House of Representative’s Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (HR2003) got her fired.......full text

The Political Crisis in Kenya: A Call for Justice and Peaceful Resolution

Chairman Donald M. Payne / Feb.09, 2008

..........Remember the 2005 elections in Ethiopia? Did we condemn the abuses and killings of innocent civilians in Ethiopia after the elections? And where are those elected members of parliament and the mayor of the capital? Not in parliament. They were imprisoned for two years. The thinking may be: if Prime Minister Meles can get away with a stolen election and still remain a friend of Washington, why not Kibaki?......full text

Ogaden Crackdown Carries High Cost

By Jim Lobe, IPS / Feb.07, 2008

An intensified counter-insurgency campaign against Somali rebels and their suspected civilian supporters in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region is drawing growing criticism by human rights groups and concern from the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, a staunch ally of Addis Ababa.The campaign, which some experts date to an April attack by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) on a Chinese oil installation in which 74 people were killed, including nine Chinese, is causing immense suffering by the local Somali population, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) which released a statement on the situation Wednesday..........full text

Tyranny in the Academy

By Prof Alemayehu G. Mariam / Feb.04, 2008

Welcome to higher education in the Land of Absurd-istan! In an incisive article posted on the web-based legal research service, Jurist, Abigail Salisbury, a law professor at Mekelle University recently painted a chilling and naked portrait of a university in a police state.........full text

Ethiopia: Human Rights Watch 2008 Report

HRW / Feb 01, 2008

The Ethiopian government’s human rights record remains poor, both within the country and in neighboring Somalia, where since early 2007 thousands of Ethiopian troops have been fighting an insurgency alongside the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia.........full text

Making exceptions for Ethiopia

The Guardian / Feb 01, 2008

Western policy towards Africa is ill-informed and inconsistent. That's the message of Ethiopia's prime minister, Meles Zenawi, in his interview in the Guardian last week. And there's some truth in what he says. But Meles should be careful what he wishes for.If the west was better informed about the war crimes and human rights abuses committed by Meles' military forces in Somalia and Ogaden, western taxpayers might balk at the thought that their governments are providing Ethiopia with hundreds of millions of dollars of military and economic aid........full text

In southeastern Ethiopia, war leaves civilians dying, hungry in the middle

By Anita Powell , AP / Jan 29, 2008

DEGAHABUR, Ethiopia - In this remote Ethiopian trading town, people speak of the fight between the government and separatists furtively, in snatches. They are trapped in the middle, silence and anonymity their only shield.“We have problems with the (rebels) and the government, both of them,” said a woman crouched in a tailor’s shop, mending a pair of trousers. “They harm us. People have run away from the city because of the clashes between the two parties.”........full text

Ask now; praise later. What's the motive of Seye Abraha?

By Ebissa Ragassa / Jan 26, 2008

Modern Ethiopian politics is an illusion created to confuse and fool the mass through many possible ways of event control. This is a new method that the public has not been aware of yet; it is through controlling events (from the local to the national levels) that the TPLF employees manipulate the Ethiopian peoples. A false event is implanted by the government to create a chaotic state; when the public gets confused and becomes desperate for help, it runs back to the government and accepts any deals the government slaps on the table. In the process, freedom, progress and critical thinking are sacrificed, and the citizens become blind followers.........full text

Seeye Abraha's new thinking travels to Denver, Seattle

By Teodros Kiros (Ph.D.) / Jan 26, 2008

The melodic voice of Seeye travels nationally, and wherever he goes the Ethiopian people are embracing his call for the unconditional release of the prisoners of conscience, the majority of whom speak Oromiffa. Seeye is being embraced by the young and old, men and women, across the vast stretch of the Diaspora arena and beyond it to the heart of the interiors of Ethiopia.Some reputable journalists are reporting that Seeye’s New thinking is giving the prevailing regime massive headaches.........full text

Ethiopia’s Dirty War

By Jason McLure | Newsweek / Jan 23, 2008

It was early one morning in July when 400 Ethiopian soldiers came to Ridwan Hassan Zahid's village of Qorile, 120 miles southeast of Degehebur, Ethiopia, a dusty market town. The small settlement of ethnic Somalis in eastern Ethiopia was suspected of supporting separatist rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), and the government troops were out to exact revenge. They took Zahid, another woman, and eight men to the nearby village of Babase, where, she says, the soldiers chased away residents and burned the village to the ground. "I became like plastic," she says. "I couldn't feel a thing." ........full text

A Message of Hope for the New Year from the Anuak Justice Council

By Obang O. Metho,AJC / Jan 21, 2008

In the year 2007, the Anuak Justice Council has come closer to many Ethiopians from all over the country. This was not by accident. Despite the great marginalization and discrimination of the people of Gambella and despite the massacre of the Anuak people who have never really recovered from the losses from one of the worst atrocities planned and carried out by the EPRDF government and despite the indifference that kept most Ethiopians silent following these acts, we were convinced that we must reach out to other Ethiopians.........full text

The prison speaks Oromiffa

By Fekade Shewakena/ Jan 18, 2008

The phrase I used for the title of this article would pass for simple ethnic politicking if it was not spoken by a founder and former politburo member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and a former Defense Minister of the regime now ruling Ethiopia with an iron fist.The headline is a direct quote of Mr. Seye Abraha, who was released recently after serving six years at the Qaliti dungeon on trumped-up charges of corruption for which his accuser, Mr. Meles Zenawi, could not produce any credible evidence. ...........full text

Stealing elections in Ethiopia casts bad omen over Kenya

By Robele Ababya / Jan 16, 2008

When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Ethiopia last year, public expectations were she would rebuke the dictator, Meles Zeanwi, over his dismal record for violating human rights since he came to power in 1991. Instead, Secretary Rice took everyone one of us by surprise because she denounced HR 2003, the human rights and democracy act that was adopted unanimously by the House of Representatives. Why was Rice opposed to a bill that would only promote human rights, democracy and government accountability, among others? ...........full text

Bloggers are Africa's new rebels

By Paul Salopek, Chicago Tribune / Jan 14, 2008

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The man was nervous. He was afraid, he said, of the secret police. So he advised me to hire a random taxi. I was to park at a certain church. And there, I was to wait. A few minutes later he called again, this time on a different cell phone. He gave me directions to a nondescript house with an iron gate.“Sorry about these procedures,” he apologized, tapping away at a laptop in a shuttered room. “But I could spend years in prison for what I do.”............full text

Secretary Rice’s rebuff of HR2003 in Menelik’s City lacks decorum

By Robele Ababya / Jan 10, 2008

Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice made her maiden visit to Addis Ababa late last year, although the tyrant Meles Zenawi has since 11 September 2001 been a coalition partner on the war against terrorism as a matter of political expediency over principle. Her denouncing of HR2003 in Addis Ababa - lacked statesmanship and decorum and exposed her insensitivity to the agony, grief and wailing of mothers of the martyrs of June and November 2005 in the aftermath of the historic election decisively won by the opposition and ruthlessly stolen by the ruling party of the despotic ruler............full text

Kenyan vote exposes Africa's weak democracy

By By Leon Louw (Business Daily)/ Jan 10, 2008

January 10, 2008: I have been reading many contributions on the unfortunate developments in Kenya. Some addressed the fundamental issue of what could be done to enhance democracy as a peaceful process in Africa . The problem, as I see it, is a lack of appreciation for the fact that democracy not so much “fails” in Africa as that it hasn’t really been tried............full text

HR stands for human rights; let's stand up for HR 2003 in 2008

By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam / Jan 08, 2008

The truth is finally out! The H.R. in H.R. 2003 stands for Human Rights! H.R. has become the special code for the Ethiopian people whenever they want to talk about the rule of law and due process and freedom of expression and association. It has become their special lingo to talk about the need for an independent press and an independent judiciary and for clean elections and the rest of it. And human rights were the rage in Ethiopia in the third quarter of 2007. From the barstools of the Sheraton and Hilton hotels to the tattered wooden benches of the tej, tella and katikalla bets, the talk was H.R. Farmers, day laborers and even listros (shoeshiners) wistfully talked about H.R. “This H.R. We need her! If only we had HeR., …” they’d pine away............full text

U.S. Engagement in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa

By Lahra Smith (CSIS)/ Jan 07, 2008

A reassessment of U.S. policy toward Ethiopia is very much in order. A year has passed since Ethiopia intervened in Somalia, and its troops are bogged down there in an ongoing low-intensity conflict that has created a grave humanitarian crisis. The invasion appears deeply unpopular with the Somali people, and the tide of battle could yet turn decisively against the Ethiopians. Meanwhile, the December 1, 2007 deadline set by the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) for demarcation of the border between the two countries has passed without implementation by either party. Troops are massing on both sides of the border, and a renewal of the 1998-2000 border war is entirely possible. Finally, the human rights situation within Ethiopia remains poor, and the country’s long-term political stability is uncertain – prompting the U.S. House of Representatives to pass legislation intended to strengthen U.S. democracy programs in Ethiopia and ban “nonessential assistance” to the Ethiopian government...........full text

Ethiopia Denies Independent Newspaper Licenses

VOA News/ January 3, 2008

Ethiopia has denied licenses to three independent newspaper publishers who were jailed for 17 months in connection with media coverage of the country's 2005 post-election unrest. VOA's Peter Heinlein has details from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.Journalists and newspaper publishers Eskinder Nega, Serkalim Fasil, and Sisay Agena say they were notified by an Ethiopian information ministry official Monday that their applications for permits to practice journalism were denied. No reasons for the rejections were given."...........full text

'Genocide on a grand scale' in Kenya, opposition leader says

CNN / January 3, 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Children's bodies were piled in a Nairobi morgue, churches burned and police on horseback chased pedestrians through the streets as Kenya's political crisis stretched into a fifth day Thursday.Meanwhile, the country's attorney general called for a recount and independent investigation into the December 27 election in which incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the victor over opposition candidate Raila Odinga...........full text

Who is in power? --( Ethiomedia,2007 )

HR 2003 is a bill of the decade with global ramification

By Dagnea Teshome / December 27, 2007

Dear Friends:We are writing this letter to inform you about what may well be the most important Human Rights bill of the decade – a single bill, specific to one country but with global implications. Once enacted in to law, this bill will have sweeping and global ramification in the exercise of United States Foreign Policy.The bill in question, H.R. 2003 - Ethiopia Democracy & Accountability Act Of 2007, was passed by the House of Representatives on October 2, 2007. The vote was unanimous! Now, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations must approve it.........full text

East Africa awaits historic Kenyan election

Daily Nation / December 27, 2007

THE EAST AFRICAN COUNTRIES ARE WATCHing the Kenyan general election very keenly, as it is expected to have a major impact on the growth of democracy in the region.Particularly under scrutiny is the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), which has grown to be one of the most important institution of governance in East Africa..........full text

What's wrong with Ethiopia?

By Maimire Mennasemay/ December 23, 2007

Ethiopia was not made in a day; nor democracy. I would like to look at the Kinijit split from a historical and philosophical perspective. The birth of Kinijit in 2005 was a political earthquake of the like Ethiopia has never known. Its eruption surprised both its enemies and friends. It revealed to all that powerful democratic forces inhabit the interstices of Ethiopian society. And the surprise that is Kinijit is not yet over, for even its internal problems and splits are laying a solid foundation for the emergence, for the first time in the history of Ethiopia, of that indispensable condition without which democracy cannot exist – the public sphere.........full text

What's wrong with Ethiopia?

By Obang Metho / December 20, 2007

What is wrong with Ethiopia? What is becoming very obvious is that it all depends on who you ask. We speak to many Ethiopians every day who tell us about the desperate conditions of the people within Ethiopia. From Ogadenis and reporters like Jeffrey Gettleman of the New York Times, we hear of the horrific human rights abuses and an increasingly worsening humanitarian crisis surpassing that of Darfur in the Ogaden........full text

Democracy in Africa: For all its flaws, an example to others

The Economist / December 20, 2007

IN AFRICA, a hard-fought but fair election in a pivotal country is an example-setting event. No, this is not South Africa, where the election of Jacob Zuma as president of the ruling African National Congress on December 18th dealt a shattering blow to his rival, Thabo Mbeki. Although this puts Mr Zuma in a strong position to lead South Africa when Mr Mbeki's second term as president ends in April 2009, his succession is far from certain (see article). In Kenya on December 27th, however, power may very well change hands after the tightest electoral contest in the country's history.........full text

Military build-up heightens Ethiopia-Eritrea Border tensions in 2007

By Peter Heinlein , VOA / December 18, 2007

Tensions rose along the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea during the year in advance of a November 30 settlement deadline set by an international boundary commission. At year's end, the Horn of Africa rivals had a combined total of nearly a quarter of a million troops facing each other across the disputed frontier. VOA's Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports the boundary commission deadline passed without incident, but the danger of war remains high........full text

In Rebel Region, Ethiopia Turns to Civilian Patrols

By Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times / December 14, 2007

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Ethiopian government, one of America’s top allies in Africa, is forcing untrained civilians — including doctors, teachers, office clerks and employees of development programs financed by the World Bank and United Nations — to fight rebels in the desolate Ogaden region, according to Western officials, refugees and Ethiopian administrators who recently defected to avoid being conscripted. . .......full text

Remembering December 13th: A day for all of us!

AJC press release / December 13, 2007

The anniversary of the December 13, 2003 Anuak massacre is here again. Four years have now passed since the Anuak witnessed a horrific slaughter of their loved ones by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s military forces and some other pro-EPRDF government militia groups. The painful wounds from those losses will be reopened as many Anuak throughout Ethiopia and in the Diaspora observe the fourth memorial of this genocide that took place in Gambella. .......full text

Why does HR 2003 scare Meles Zenawi?

By Robele Ababya / December 8, 2007

The Meles Zenawi regime continues to intensify its last-ditch desperate effort to kill HR2003. It is doing so against the backdrop of mounting international demand for justice and respect for human rights. Meles is incessantly lamenting that the Bill will undermine his cooperation in the fight against terrorism if and when it becomes law. This brings to light that his jump into the bandwagon of coalition of the willing in the war on terrorism was not as a matter of principle but solely a calculated stratagem to be kept in power in exchange. He has unwittingly exposed his true nature of a thug who cares least about principles.......full text

Impossible to Rescue Ethiopia from Eritrea

EPPF News / December 6, 2007

Any Ethiopian group or organization with the good intention at heart and struggling to bring about positive changes to our nation, have the responsibility of protecting the interest of our nation, as well as exposing harmful situations which could be avoided if known in advance.We, EPPF International have been following developments which if not exposed and consequently halted could lead to be another damaging situation to our fight for democracy in Ethiopia.Below are facts, which we believe are crucial for all Ethiopians to be aware of. We ask all concerned media owners to use their medium and help us inform other concerned Ethiopians........full text

Addis Dimts Radio’s new website www.addisdimts.com

Rice's visit to Ethiopia puts focus on ally accused of human rights abuses

By Shashank Bengali | McClatchy Newspapers / December 6, 2007

NAIROBI, Kenya — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to Ethiopia this week puts a spotlight on the tight but troubled relationship between the United States and the volatile Horn of Africa nation........full text

Rice tells Ethiopia to ease tensions with Eritrea

By Sue Pleming, Reuters / December 5, 2007

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Ethiopia on Wednesday to avoid acts that would raise tensions with Eritrea but got new promises from Africa's Great Lakes nations to end fighting in eastern Congo.In a rare public foray into African diplomacy, Rice spent a day in the Ethiopian capital shuttling between meetings with African leaders and ministers with the goal of tackling conflicts in eastern Congo, Somalia and Sudan and preventing a border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.In a swipe at her Ethiopian hosts, Rice pressed Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to reduce tensions with Eritrea.......full text

Beggars and choosers

Ethiomedia Editorial/ December 3, 2007

Last week, Meles Zenawi explained to his parliament that the U.S. Congress bundled H.R. 2003 (Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007) with the “wheat we beg from them” thinking that “it may be a good thing to tell us how to administer our affairs.” He added, “If this is what the U.S. Congress intended, it would be an expression of its arrogance and hubris.” ......full text

Rice to Tackle African Conflicts

By MATTHEW LEE , AP / December 1, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes to try to cool several explosive African conflicts and shore up faltering peace deals when she travels next week to Ethiopia, headquarters of the African Union, the State Department said Friday.In meetings in Addis Ababa, Rice plans to explore prospects for peace in the Horn of Africa, where Somalia is ravaged by violence and humanitarian crises and fresh tensions between Ethiopia and arch-foe neighbor Eritrea threaten a 2000 peace pact that closed a bloody two-year border war, a senior official said...............full text

One people, one nation, one Ethiopia

By Zerihun Gebre-Meskel / November 28, 2007

November 17, 2007 marked the Ethiopian Millennium for some of us at the Anuak Justice Council Human Rights Conference. It resonated, the same hope felt by many during the months leading up to the historic May 2005 election. How is one left to feel when representatives of human rights activists under the leadership of Mr. Obang Metho himself sat side by side at the panelist table covered with the majestic green, yellow, red. It was an amazing sight that easily fed the soul. This memorable visual alone was the beacon of hope for those of us who had the privilege of witnessing this historical moment..............full text

Internet in Ethiopia - Is Ethiopia Off-line or Wired to the Rim?

By Samuel Kinde / November 28, 2007

Few things in Ethiopia cause as much frustration and despair than the ongoing and deteriorating dismal state of Internet connectivity in the country. Given how the country continues to struggle with fundamental issues of development for its 80 million people, this lack of progress - and in some cases complete reversal of earlier growth - tests the hope of the most optimist observers and stake-holders....................full text

The devil quotes Scripture

Ethiomedia / November 26, 2007

“The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek.” So wrote Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice. Today, the villainous merchants of tyranny and dictatorship in Ethiopia quote the Treaty of Wuchale (Ucciale) to oppose a human rights bill (H.R. 2003) in the U.S. Congress..................full text

HR 2003 benefits all and sundry

By Fekade Shewakena /November 25, 2007

HR 2003 was conceived and developed in the aftermath of the historic Ethiopian election of 15 May 2005 that culminated in the unexpected decisive victory of opposition forces over the brutal regime of Woyanne, which in its 16 years of repressive rule, had betrayed vital national interests of Ethiopia, including rendering her the largest land-locked country on the globe...................full text

The difference between HR 2003 and Wuchale Treaty for dummies

By Fekade Shewakena /November 22, 2007

Obviously the TPLF and its cronies have realized that they have no merit based argument to make against the substance contained in HR2003, the Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, that passed the US House with a unanimous vote and stands pending passage in the Senate. The substance of the bill is clear to anyone who can read it and I know translations of the bill in Ethiopian languages have now percolated to the hands of enthusiastic Ethiopians on the streets who write their Diaspora compatriots to work harder to have the bill become law. Many Ethiopians are waiting to see if America lives up to the ideals it preaches by passing this bill and help them in their fight to restore their humanity and dignity that is being violated with impunity by their brutal rulers. ..................full text

As Somali Crisis Swells, Experts See a Void in Aid

By Jeffrey Gettleman / The New York Times /November 20, 2007

AFGOOYE, Somalia — The worst humanitarian crisis in Africa may not be unfolding in Darfur, but here, along a 20-mile strip of busted-up asphalt, several top United Nations officials said.A year ago, the road between the market town of Afgooye and the capital of Mogadishu was just another typical Somali byway, lined with overgrown cactuses and the occasional bullet-riddled building. Now it is a corridor teeming with misery, with 200,000 recently displaced people crammed into swelling camps that are rapidly running out of food.....................full text

Remember, the Ethiopian martyrs of June and November 2005

By Prof. Al Mariam / November 16, 2007

The documented facts of the June and November, 2005 massacres are shocking to the conscience as they are incontrovertible.1 The Commission examined 16,990 documents, and received testimony form 1,300 witnesses. After analyzing this mountain of evidence, the Commission concluded that none of the protesters possessed, used or attempted to use firearms against the paramilitary forces. None of them possessed, used or attempted to use any type of explosives. No protester was observed carrying a stick or a club to use as a weapon. No protester set or attempted to set fire to public or private property. No protester robbed or attempted to rob a bank....................full text

First-week protest in Oklahoma City successful

By Ethiopians and Friends for HR 2003/ November 15, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY - Ethiopians and their friends campaigning for the promotion of the human rights bill HR 2003 held a demonstration in Oklahoma City on Tuesday and protested against Senator James Inhofe's reported move to block the Bill. Local TV and international media such as Associated Press covered the peaceful demonstration.The purpose of the demonstration was to protest Senator James Inhofe's opposition to H.R.2003, the "Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007." In a statement that Senator James Inhofe made on the Senate floor on October 17, 2007, he stated;...................full text

UN envoy says Somali war crime suspects should face ICC

AFP/ November 13, 2007

NAIROBI (AFP) - A United Nations envoy on Tuesday said Somali war crimes suspects should be prosecuted at the international Criminal Court in order to end impunity in the lawless African nation. "People perpetuating crimes and violence are not being challenged before the International Criminal Court," said Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN secretary general's special envoy to Somalia...................full text

Sovereignty vs democracy

By Solomon Terfa (Ph.D.) / November 12, 2007

In the last few months, there has been a vociferous call for democracy in Ethiopia. This call for democracy seems to give the impression that democracy is what will cure the problems that exist in the country. The denial of democratic rights by the authoritarian regime seems to have relegated the right of the people as the repository of power to a secondary importance. “Popular sovereignty” of the people has been downgraded and or shelved. In this short paper I argue that the paramount demand of the Ethiopian people should be their right to sovereignty. Towards that end, a short historical and theoretical survey is in order..................full text

Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Tensions Raise New International Alert (By Howard Lesser , VOA) --( November 7, 2007 )

A brittle Western ally in the Horn of Africa

The Economist / November 1, 2007

AS AMERICA surveys the map of eastern Africa, it finds little to take comfort from. Somalia is in anarchy, riven by competing warlords and a haven for Islamist militants. Sudan is involved in the bloody suppression of blacks in its western region, Darfur. Both countries are deaf to outside complaints and seem chronically unstable. America is thinking of putting Eritrea, briefly a beacon of hope after it split from Ethiopia in 1993, on its list of countries that sponsor terrorism. But between that grim trio stands Ethiopia, America’s hope..................full text

A farewell to champions (By Prof. AL Mariam ) --( Oct. 30 ,2007 )

Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of plotting to invade --( Oct. 27 ,2007 )

Excerpts from Rep. Smith's Newmakers Speech on Ethiopia and Human Rights --( Oct. 23 ,2007 )

We demand an apology, Senator Inhofe

By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam / October 22, 2007

am writing to demand an apology for the racist, scurrilous, truculent, degrading, offensive and manifestly untruthful statements you made on the floor of the Senate on October 17, 2007.I. Ethiopians Demand An Apology For Your Racist, Slanderous and Defamatory Statement That They Are Baby Killers, Child Abusers and Immoral People..................full text

The beginning of the end of a brutal dictatorship(By Selam Beyene) --( Oct. 19 ,2007 )

Oklahoma Senator threatens to kill HR 2003(Coalition for HR 2003 )- Watch Video here

--( Oct. 18 ,2007 )

War on terror trumps promoting Ethiopian democracy(By Janine Zacharia - BN ) --( Oct. 16 ,2007 )

One small step for the U.S. Congress, one giant leap for Ethiopian human rights (By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam ) --( Oct. 15 ,2007 )

Dismissive Ethiopia tests US indulgence (By Barney Jobson - FT) --( Oct. 11 ,2007 )

Intervene to save lives of Ethiopian Refugees in Sudan (SOCEPP-CAN) --( Oct. 10 ,2007 )

Thank You , Donald Payne and Chris Smith( By Aie Zi Guo ) --( Oct. 10 ,2007 )

US targets Ethiopia for sanctions (BBC) --( Oct. 04 ,2007 )

Payne Ethiopian Democracy Bill Passes House (Congressman Donald M.Payne) --( Oct.04 ,2007 )

Thank You, Congress for Passing HR 2003 (EAC) --( Oct. 03 ,2007 )

EACA Applauds the House of Representatives for Passing the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 (H.R. 2003) --( Oct. 03 ,2007 )

US House of Representatives Passes Ethiopia Human Rights Bill (VOA) --( Oct. 02 ,2007 )

Act Now to Stop U.S. Support for Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia (Coalition for HR 2003) --( Sep. 30 ,2007 )

Ethiopia Legislation Moves Forward in US House of Representatives (VOA) --( Sep. 27 ,2007 )

In politics, crisis is an opportunity

By Abebe Gelaw / September 26, 2007

The Vice President of Kinijit has shamed her critics with an extraordinary display of humility, magnanimity, maturity and wisdom in her very touching appeal to Engineer Hailu Shawel. Judge Bertukan Mideksa's appeal to the Honourable Hailu Shawel to heal the festering wounds, which has attracted all sorts of opportunists, fifth columnists, infiltrators, myopic extremists, conspiracy theorists and wolves in sheep's skin, just to mention a few among so many, is testimony to the fact that the leader has to rise up to the challenge of leading the most popular but vulnerable political party in Ethiopian history out of the terrible storms. Her words were measured; her voice unfaltering, her composure unfailing and above all her appeal came from the bottom of her heart..................full text

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee to mark-up H.R. 2003 --( Sep.26 ,2007 )

Ethiopian political dispute comes to United States

By Jim Snyder , The Hill / September 21, 2007

Members of an Ethiopian opposition party who were jailed for 20 months in connection with a disputed election are lobbying the Bush administration and Congress to pressure Ethiopia to support a more open and democratic society. Members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) delegation also plan to travel to various U.S. cities in an effort to continue to organize Ethiopian-Americans and to thank them for providing financial and political support during their incarceration..................full text

UN seeks Ethiopia abuses inquiry (BBC) --( Sep.20 ,2007 )

Ethiopia's Opposition Wants US Support for Democracy Struggle(James Butty, VOA) --( Sep.19 ,2007 )

Dr.Hailu Araya - on VOA

Woizerit Bertukan Mideksa and Dr.Hailu Araya on NPR

Ethiopia detains 3 men linked to top opposition politician

AP/ September 14, 2007

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Authorities have detained three Ethiopians linked to a top opposition politician, accusing them of trying to create a disturbance during the country's millennium celebrations, a fourth man who was released said Friday..................full text
Ethiomedia Editor on ETN
Support H.R.2003 by Asking Your Representative to Send it for Mark-up ...Sign the petition !

US recognises Ethiopian crisis

Financial Times / September 10, 2007

A senior US official has said for the first time that a “humanitarian crisis” is unfolding in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region, putting Washington at odds with the Addis Ababa government, which has rejected similar claims from aid organisations.
Jendayi Frazer, assistant secretary of state for African affairs, made the comment on Saturday following a trip to the region, where government forces are fighting rebels who this year stepped up a violent campaign for self-determination.................full text

Millennium celebrations fall flat

AP / September 7, 2007

(ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia): As Ethiopia approaches its third millennium, the most popular joke in the capital city goes like this: How do you say "millennium" in Amharic? ...The pun of an answer — "menem yellum," which means "there is nothing" — sums up how many in Ethiopia's largest city feel about the festivities for Ethiopia's 2,000th year, which begins Tuesday on Ethiopia's Coptic calendar.................full text

Ethiopian opposition leader takes fight abroad

By Timothy Gardner / September 6, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa said he is not sure whether he can hold public demonstrations there, so he is visiting the United States and Europe seeking support for a new era of democracy in Ethiopia. "It is very difficult to know what it means to be engaged in political struggles in Ethiopia," Berhanu Nega, deputy chairman of Ethiopian opposition party Coalition for Unity and Democracy, or CUD, told Reuters in an interview in New York. "Can you organize demonstrations, can you organize discussions? All this is not answered." ................full text

Humanitarian crisis hits Ethiopia

By Xan Rice, The Guardian / September 5, 2007

A humanitarian crisis has developed in Ethiopia's remote Ogaden region, where government forces are trying to quell a rebel insurgency, according to a leading international aid agency.Médecins Sans Frontières said 400,000 people, including thousands forcibly displaced when their villages were burned down, had little or no access to medicine due to a government-installed blockade. ................full text

Meles regime welcomes millennium, not its homeless

By Anita Powell / August 30, 2007

(Addis Ababa) - Thousands of homeless people will be moved from the capital to the countryside before next month's millennium celebration and provided help with food, shelter and medicine, a development group said on Tuesday. Homelessness is a huge problem in Addis Ababa, a city of five million where an estimated 90 000 live on the streets. Beggars are a common sight, with everyone from young children to the elderly seeking money or scraps of food.....The group said most are from the northern Tigray region and that Elshadai is simply sending them back home................full text

Norway to cut aid to Ethiopia

Aftenposten / August 30, 2007

Ethiopia's decision to expel six of nine Norwegian diplomats from the country means Ethiopia will lose around NOK 30 million in Norwegian development aid................full text

Norway to withdraw six diplomats from Ethiopia

AFP / August 28, 2007

Norway is to reduce its diplomatic presence in Ethiopia after Addis Ababa expressed "dissatisfaction" with Oslo's policies in the Horn of Africa, the foreign ministry announced Monday...............full text
Addis Ababa neighborhood honors Bertukan Mideksa....(pdf) / August 26, 2007

Ethiopia upset by U.S. bill

By Brian Blackwell
Washington Times / August 23, 2007

WASHINGTON DC - Ethiopian officials are disturbed by legislation pending in Congress that would restrict military assistance and travel to the United States by certain Ethiopian officials unless President Bush certifies that the Addis Ababa government is acting to address specific human rights concerns. The Ethiopians argue that it is unfair to lump them in with countries like North Korea and Iran at a time when their troops are acting as allies in the war on terrorism, defending an interim government in neighboring Somalia against Islamist extremists..............full text

Gasha and ITDA host a meeting in Washington, DC

Gasha-ITDA PR / August 19, 2007
Gasha and ITDA - on DW Radio with Abebe Feleke (Amharic)

WASHINGTON DC – The sovereign territory of Ethiopia was violated in 1991 when the current regime came to power, and handed over Ethiopia’s sovereign territories to Eritrea in violation of the legal and historical rights of Ethiopia, a noted Ethiopian scholar has told a meeting in Washington, DC. Organized by Gasha for Ethiopians and International Tigrian Democratic Association (ITDA) on August 11, Professor Negussay Ayele deliberated on how the Meles Zenawi regime dug up colonial treaties of the early 1900s and used them to violate the sovereignty of the country and reduce it to its current landlocked status. .............full text

U.S. considers putting Eritrea on terrorism list

By Arshad Mohammed
Reuters / August 17, 2007

WASHINGTON - The United States said on Friday it was considering putting Eritrea on its list of state sponsors of terrorism for allegedly funneling weapons to insurgents fighting the Ethiopian-backed government in Somalia.Putting Eritrea on the list would impose sanctions on the Horn of Africa nation, including a ban on arms-related sales, prohibitions on some U.S. aid and U.S. opposition to International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans to Eritrea.............full text

U.S. Policy in the Horn of Africa

James Swan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs
August 14, 2007

As all of you know, the Horn of Africa is a rough neighborhood. At least one conflict – and frequently more – has raged in the region continuously since 1960. Inter-state conventional wars. Guerrilla-style liberation struggles. Coups. Revolutions. The Horn has seen them all.It is also a region that has suffered historically from poor governance -- from the brutal excesses of Ethiopia’s Derg, to authoritarian one-party systems in much of the region until the 1990s, to the lawlessness of the failed state of Somalia after the fall of Siad Barre. Winner-take-all politics and violent regime change have been the norm. And this historically unstable political and security climate has been a profound impediment to economic development.”............full text

Lies, promised joy, shimagles, pardons and bananas

By Prof. Al Mariam
August 6, 2007

Meles Zenawi was once the darling of Tony Bliar and Bill Clinton. He was lionized as one of the “new breed of African leaders.” There was boundless hope that Zenawi and a menagerie of other anointed African “new breeders” would lead the continent out of the darkness of authoritarian rule into the sunshine of freedom, democracy and human rights.But something went terribly wrong with the Blair/Clinton “African Renaisance”. In the poetic words of Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes of mice and men/Go often askew,/And leaves us nothing but grief and pain,/ For promised joy!”............full text

Obang Metho addresses Oromo Community in Minnesota

August 4, 2007

I was invited by our Oromo brothers and sisters through the Oromo-American Citizens Council to speak at the Second Annual International Oromo Human Rights Conference on “Conflict in East Africa and the Current Human Rights Situation.” I was to address the subject of human rights violations in Ethiopia with a special focus on the Anuak as well as to assess the risk of genocide and further human rights violations against other ethnic groups in the Horn of Africa.............full text

Senator Patrick Leahy on Assistance for Ethiopia

Statement
August 3, 2007

After the overthrow of Ethiopia's brutal former Prime Minister Mengistu, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi ushered in a period of hope and optimism. On May 15, 2005, Ethiopia held its first open multi-party elections. The international community praised the people of Ethiopia for an astounding 90 percent voter participation rate, an encouraging beginning to a new political process. The Ethiopian people deserve a democratic process in which opposition parties can organize and participate, and journalists can publish freely, without fear of arrest or retribution. Unfortunately, as it turned out, the 2005 election was not the turning point many had hoped for............full text

US Senators protest over human rights abuses in Ogaden

August 2, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The following is a letter sent by United States Senator Russ Feingold, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs, and a bipartisan group of his senate colleagues to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regarding reports of human rights abuses committed by the Ethiopian military in the country's Ogaden region. The senators are urging Secretary Rice to intensify pressure on the Ethiopian government to respect fundamental human rights............full text

A New Battle in Congress: Lobbyists v Human Rights

Scott A. Morgan / August 1, 2007

WASHINGTON DC - We all noticed last fall when the American Voters decidely threw out an Incompetent Republican Congress and replaced them with the Democrats. But it is becoming clear that if WE expected a change in how things are run in Washington we were sadly mistaken.:...........full text
City Council of Takoma Park, Maryland passed resolution ,urging support of HR 2003...pdf) --( July 31,2007 )
ZENAWI TAKES MORE POLITICAL PRISONERS HOSTAGE IN H.R. 2003 MARK-UP BATTLE --(Coalition for HR 2003/July 31,2007 )
Fax letter to Majority Speaker Steny H. Hoyer --(Coalition for HR 2003/July 31,2007 )
Fax letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi --(Coalition for HR 2003/July 29,2007 )
Addis Dimts Radio with Prof. Ephrem Isaac and Prof. Al Mariam (Amharic)
Siye Abraha - 2nd Part with DW's Negash Mohammed (Amharic)
Siye Abraha - 1st Part with DW's Negash Mohammed (Amharic)
Kibrt Woizerit Bertukan Mideksa on DW Radio with Negash Mohammed (Amharic)

Lantos directed not to mark up HR 2003

Coalition for HR 2003 / July 27, 2007

WASHINGTON DC - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (San Francisco) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Maryland) on Friday directed Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Tom Lantos not to mark-up H.R. 2003 on July 31, 2007, the Coalition for HR 2003 disclosed today. Preliminary investigations suggest that neither Chairman Lantos nor Chairman Payne were consulted prior to issuance of the directive...........full text

CUD leaders issue statement

CUD Press Release / JuLy 26, 2007

."...........full text(pdf)

Dr Yacob Hailemariam vows to finish what he started

By MATTHEW BOWERS, The Virginian-Pilot / July 26, 2007

Despite spending 21 months in prison with a life sentence looming, former Norfolk State University professor Yacob Hailemariam said Wednesday he has no regrets about his activism in his home country Ethiopia."Believe me, it is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life," Hailemariam said in a telephone interview from his apartment in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital."...........full text

Ex-Congressional Heavyweights Blocking Action Against Ethiopia

By Ken Silverstein, Harper's Magazine / July 25, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC - There have been a series of accounts out of Ethiopia recently that describe a nasty situation there, including a Human Rights Watch report earlier this month that said the Ethiopian military had ¡§forcibly displaced thousands of civilians in the country¡¦s eastern Somali . . . while escalating its campaign against a separatist insurgency movement.¡¨ Government troops were ¡§destroying villages and property, confiscating livestock, and forcing civilians to relocate,¡¨ according to Peter Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch. ¡§Whatever the military strategy behind them, these abuses violate the laws of war.¡¨ Eyewitness accounts offered to Human Rights Watch said Ethiopian troops had been ¡§burning homes and property, including the recent harvest and other food stocks intended for the civilian population, confiscating livestock and, in a few cases, firing upon and killing fleeing civilians.¡¨ "...........full text

Problematic Ally : The moral hazards of dealing with Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi

Washington Post Editorial / July 24, 2007

MORE THAN once during the Cold War, the united states aligned itself with dictatorial or corrupt, but anticommunist, foreign governments, compromising democratic principles for perceived advantage against the Soviet Union. These choices were not necessarily wrong, but each one put the U.S. on a slippery slope, at the bottom of which lay a completely amoral foreign policy.

Chairman Donald M. Payne Welcomes Release of Prisoners in Ethiopia

Press Release/ July 21, 2007

U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos Welcomes News of the Release of 38 Political Prisoners in Ethiopia Ethiopia

Press Release/ July 21, 2007

A Call for Renewed Vigor in the March towards Democracy and the Rule of Law

Kinijit / July 20, 2007

...........for more info visit kinijitethiopia.org

Release all Political Prisoners! Account for the ¡§disappeared¡¨.!

(SOCEPP - CAN)/ July 20, 2007

SOCEPP Canada applauds the release of the 38 CUDP leaders, journalists of the free press, and others. It congratulates the ¡§freed¡¨, their families and friends.

Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus Celebrates the Ethiopian Millennium upon release of Political Prisoners

July 20, 2007

Washington, DC ¡V Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), Members of the Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus celebrate the release today of 38 Ethiopian political opposition leaders, most recently sentenced to life in prison, and now fully pardoned. This news comes after H.R.2003 the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act (Payne) House mark up on Wednesday, July 18th. Caucus Members have traditionally supported legislation that reaffirms Ethiopia¡¦s role on the world stage. From H.R.935 Free and Fair Elections in Ethiopia Act (Honda), to monitoring negotiations between Starbucks and the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO), the Ethiopia Caucus is based on the principle that if given the necessary tools, Ethiopia can truly be a lighthouse for Africa. Rep. Honda, Founder and Chair of the Ethiopia Caucus stated that, ¡§It is important, now more than ever, to celebrate Ethiopia with vigilance and genuine partnership.¡¨ "...........full text

Ethiopia's freed leader defiant

BBC
July 20, 2007

Ethiopia's opposition leader has hit out at the government just hours after being pardoned and released from a life sentence in jail.Hailu Shawel said he had signed a document admitting to organising violent election protests in 2005 and asking for clemency "under duress"...........full text

H.R. 2003 MARK-UP VOTE UNANIMOUS!

Coalition for HR 2003
July 18, 2007

On July 18, 2007, HR 2003, ¡§Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007¡¨, authored by Congressman Donald Payne (D-NJ), unanimously passed the Subcommittee on Africa and is forwarded to the Foreign Affairs Committee.A truly bipartisan bill (all members of the Subcommittee on Africa voted for the bill, 7 Democrats and 6 Republicans), H.R. 2003, is expected to be presented to the entire Foreign Affairs Committee for a vote before Congress recesses for the summer in early August, 2007....¡¨.......full text

U.S. Congress, Bush administration exasperated by Ethiopian backsliding on democracy

July 18, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - Both the Bush administration and Congress are growing exasperated over Ethiopia's backsliding from democracy but are wary of applying too much pressure against a country that has become an important anti-terror ally in East Africa.Members of the Democratic-controlled Congress are under fewer restraints than President George W. Bush's administration, which has relied on the help of Ethiopian troops in ousting Islamic militants from power in parts of neighboring Somalia...¡¨.......full text

Commentary on Siye Abraha's post-release interview

By Prof. Alemayehu G. Mariam
July 16, 2007

Ato Seye Abraha was a former defense minister in Zenawi¡¦s regime. He was ¡§convicted¡¨ on ¡§corruption charges¡¨ in 2002, along with other officials. Informed sources say his ¡§conviction¡¨ had the usual fabrication stamp all over it: ¡§Made in Kangaroo Kourt....¡¨.......full text

75 HOUSE CO-SPONSORS AND STILL COUNTING¡K

Coalition for HR 2003
July 14, 2007

We have to continue to Call, Fax and visit our congressional representatives to enlist more co-sponsors for H.R. 2003, and to guarantee its ultimate passage once it is presented to the floor for final action..¡¨.......full text

Time to mark-up HR 2003!

Coalition for HR 2003
July 13, 2007

Congressman Donald Payne has re-scheduled mark-up of H.R. 2003 for July 18, 2007, at 10:15 a.m. We thank Don Payne for his commitment to freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. The Kality prisoners were supposed to have been released on or before July 9, 2007, the date set for their ¡§sentencing¡¨ by Zenawi¡¦s Kangaroo Kourt. That date, as usual was continued to July 16. With the rescheduled mark-up date, it appears crystal clear that both Payne and the numerous co-sponsors of the bill are no longer willing to put up with Zenawi¡¦s ¡§horsefeathers.¡¨.......full text

Siye Abraha released after six harrowing years

Ethiomedia
July 12, 2007
Listen to VOA

ADDIS ABABA - Siye Abraha, a former defense minister many observers credit as the architect of the 1998-2000 War whose battle successes had brought Ethiopian forces closer to storming the Eritrean capital of Asmara, was set free on Wednesday after six years in jail. Siye and his four family members were charged with 13 cases of corruption but many agree his crime was to try to punish Eritrea for its aggression while leaving Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in power in Addis.......full text

Prisoners of conscience face death penalty, a call for immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Ethiopia

(SOCEPP - CAN)/ July 10, 2007

Time to mark-up HR 2003!

Coalition for HR 2003
July 9, 2007

(Coalition for H.R. 2003) -- On June 26, 2007, supporters of H.R. 2003 (Ethiopia Freedom and Accountability Act) were told that the House Foreign Affairs Committee will delay mark-up of H.R. 2003 by two weeks because of threats to prolong the detention of the Kaliti prisoners of conscience if the mark-up had proceeded on that date. The two-week delay expires in the next day, and we must demand the immediate scheduling of H.R. 2003 for committee mark-up.................full text

Ethiopian call for death penalty

BBC
July 9, 2007

An Ethiopian prosecutor has demanded the death penalty for a group of 38 opposition leaders found guilty of links to violent election protests. Prosecutor Abraham Tetemke said they had tried to bring down the government. Among them are several of the capital's elected MPs and city councillors, including Berhanu Negga, mayor-elect of Addis Ababa..........full text

Declaration to defend democracy, freedom and human rights in Ethiopia

July 4, 2007

In the history of all great nations, there comes a moment when the people must make a choice that will define them in their own time, vindicate the enormous sacrifices of their ancestors and enable them to bequeath an enduring legacy for generations yet unborn. They are often forced to make that choice by arrogant tyrants who use brute force to entrench and perpetuate their dictatorial rule, and unabashedly proclaim to the world their contempt for the rule of law, democratic principles and civil liberties ...full text

Meles Zenawi tries to hold US elected officials hostage, too

By Keif Schleifer, Executive Director, The Empowerment Inititative
June 28, 2007

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has issued a threat. If pushed to comply with human rights based financial assistance from the United States, he will hold hostage the already imprisoned democratically-elected opposition leaders. Perhaps that could be restated as:Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will continue to hold democratically-elected officials hostage, along with tens of thousands of innocent civilians, in direct defiance of basic respect for human rights....................full text

Zenawi holds prisoners hostage over pending US Congress bill

Coalition for HR 2003
June 26, 2007

But Caution, If It Becomes fanatical, Can Destroy the Trust