Ethiounited

Minister won't return home

2009-07-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

Addis Ababa - Ethiopia's state minister for communication affairs has refused to return home from the United Sates after an official visit, a top government official said on Wednesday.
Ermias Legesse was issued with an 11-day visa and left for the US in the second week of June, but has not returned.
"He didn't report back, but there is nothing political in that," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"He has chosen to stay there. It seems he has dreamt about going to the US," he added. "Sometimes strange things happen."
Ermias, who is in his thirties, was appointed to the position earlier this year.
The US embassy in Addis Ababa declined to comment on the matter, but a diplomatic source said Ermias "has not been reachable for several days".
- SAPA

HRW: Proposed TPLF's Counterterrorism Legislation Violates Human Rights

2009-06-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

June 30, 2009
(Nairobi) - Ethiopia's draft counterterrorism law could punish political speech and peaceful protest as terrorist acts and encourage unfair trials if enacted, Human Rights Watch said today. The government and members of parliament should amend the draft law, which may otherwise be imminently passed as-is by parliament, to meet international human rights standards, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch's detailed analysis of the draft Anti-Terrorism Proclamation concludes that the bill violates fundamental freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly, and strips defendants of important due-process protections. As drafted, the law could provide a new and potent tool for suppressing political opposition and independent criticism of government policy, Human Rights Watch said.
"Ethiopia may well need a fair and effective law to combat terrorism, but this is not it," said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program director at Human Rights Watch. "As drafted, this law could encourage serious abuses against political protesters and provide legal cover for repression of free speech and due-process rights."
The measure ignores well-established standards embedded in both international law and Ethiopia's own law, Human Rights Watch said.
The draft law's overly broad definition of terrorist acts could be used to prosecute peaceful political protesters and would in some circumstances impose lengthy prison terms and even the death penalty as a punishment for damaging property or disrupting public services.
Even those who merely express support for a peaceful political protest could be deemed terrorists under the law, as well as any member of the group who engaged in the protest. The law would even eliminate protections against the use of confessions obtained after torture.
Among the draft counterterrorism law's most worrying provisions are:

The definition of terrorist acts, which could be used to prosecute a very wide range of conduct - far beyond the limits of what can reasonably be considered terrorist activity. Besides violent acts and kidnapping, an act that "causes serious damage to property" or "disruption or interference of a public service" may be deemed terrorist under the law if carried out for a specified purpose. This definition is so broad that a nonviolent political protest that disrupts traffic might be labeled a "terrorist act." As the UN special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism has explained, the concept of terrorism should be limited to acts committed with the intention of causing death or serious bodily injury, or the taking of hostages, and not property crimes.
The expansion of police powers to search, arrest, and restrict movement of individuals and destroy property without judicial oversight, in many cases based solely on the belief that terrorist activity "will be" committed. The law also provides for "terrorist suspects" to be held for up to four months without charge.
The approval of using hearsay or "indirect evidences" in court without any limitation. Official intelligence reports would also be admissible, even if they do not disclose their source or how their information was gathered. By making intelligence reports admissible in this way, the law effectively would allow evidence obtained under torture - if defense counsel could not ascertain the methods by which intelligence was collected, they would not be able to show that it was collected in an abusive way.
The criminalization of speech "encouraging," "advancing," or "in support" of terrorist acts even if the speech is not directly inciting acts of terrorism. The law would even criminalize providing "moral support" to someone who is alleged to have engaged in a terrorist act. Coupled with the extremely broad definition of terrorist acts, this could result in a conviction for encouraging or giving moral support to participants in a nonviolent political protest that disrupts traffic or causes minor property damage.
The approval of imposing the death penalty for certain offenses that cannot be considered among the "most serious crimes," as required by international law. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because it is inherently cruel and irrevocable.

Human Rights Watch urged the Ethiopian government to seek input from human rights experts and to ensure that civil society and the public are given a fair opportunity to review and comment on any draft counterterrorism legislation.
"If the government really wants to produce a solid piece of legislation that can help combat terrorism, then it should immediately seek input from civil society and international experts, and amend the law's worst provisions," Mariner said.
Several bombings and grenade attacks in Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, and elsewhere have claimed Ethiopian civilian lives over the years, and the Ethiopian government has alleged that these attacks were carried out by armed opposition groups.
Most recently, in October 2008, the Ethiopian trade mission in Hargeisa, Somaliland, was one of the targets of multiple suicide bombings that killed at least 20 people; the attacks were blamed on al-Shabaab, a Somali armed group with alleged links to al-Qaeda.
Although Ethiopia has legitimate security concerns over terrorism, Human Rights Watch said that Ethiopia's increasing repression of political opposition and independent civil society since the controversial 2005 elections, when scores of individuals protesting the election results were killed and injured by security forces, raises special concerns.
Since 2005, government efforts to suppress criticism have increased, and Ethiopian officials consistently deny well-documented reports of systematic killings, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture by members of the military and police forces in various regions of the country.

Ethiopia - Pragmatist versus Idealist Politics of Opposition Groups

2009-05-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

by Alex Birhanu alexbirhanu@yahoo.com
Introduction:
Pragmatists are very passionate politicians that follow their instinct or their heart’s feelings and guts. Usually they dream of or believe in what they think as the absolute and unshakable truth. Opposed to principled idealist thinkers, pragmatists never entertain different views coming from various sources other than their astounding beliefs; and no matter the outcomes, they stead fistedly act bold, passionate and desperate when taking decisive actions. Pragmatists use whatever means is available at their disposal to secure what is in their vested interests. At times, they may become merciless in their executive actions especially when circumstances get tough. At such moments they act tougher and gain unwavering militaristic victory.
On the contrary, principle oriented politicians are idealist thinkers who bring about visionary thoughts; and are considered as principled people with good national visions. They are often blamed for being ‘paper-tigers”. But they never give up the principles they stand for in desperate times and in challenging and tough situations. Indeed unflinchingly they stand to the principles they adhere to and remain there till the end, no matter how badly circumstances may change for the worst. A case in point in the Ethiopian politics is the zealous EPRP-followers unwavering stand and efforts that adhere to EPRP’s initial political principles to this very day.
These two extreme categories of political traits at the extreme ends of an isle are at times referred to as the realistic traits versus the idealistic traits. In essence, however, power without principle is vicious; and yet principle without power is unproductive. That means, in real life, each perspective needs some combination of traits taken from one another in order to keep things in a balanced motion. Why is it so necessary to balance between these 2-well known ideological traits standing at extreme ends of the isle? The reason is clear. If our end goal is to bring about a more democratic sphere of functional change in Ethiopia, then we must draw the good bit of each trait to the center with which we can gather momentum for a huge take-off that eventually leads to democratic national building plans devised harmoniously. As each category represents the extreme political stand, each keeps on shaping up human history for good or for worse. Those who took the mid-way between these 2-extreme traits did forge democratic changes required by their nation; and brought about lasting peace. Much of what we observe in Western societies today is simply the result of such outcomes. The relationship between the pragmatist and the idealist political traits are not mutually exclusive; rather, the relationship between these two political traits is a symbiotic one. In either case, one of the traits may achieve its end results without forging something from the other. But such a move doesn’t arrive at any happy endings; in fact it arrives at disastrous results or that of maintaining the status quo without any forward moving progress. On the one hand, if the pragmatists are left with unbridled freedom to exercise their power, then they mess-up national systems and networks beyond repair. On the other hand, if the principled idealists are left all alone to do the most they can, and then they may waste so much time on a series of principal discussions and round-table decision making processes without achieving tangible results – i.e., such moves may leave the public to come to a point of despair.

Idealist Opposition:
Embarking on the prevailing Ethiopian political arena, the majority in the opposition camp both at home and in Diaspora seem to fall in the idealist category. We make lots of thinking, and come up with so many proposals, so many ideas, beautiful ideals etc., but still the key works to be done in concrete terms lack enough of the passion with which to bring about change. As opposition groups we remain vocal but action wise we are seriously mortal. Volumes of vocal opposition were produced thus far. But we achieved practically insignificant outcomes in concrete terms inside Ethiopia. Hence, Ethiopia remains artificially land-locked with no access or no retrieving made to regain Assab Seaport. Its people lack basic human rights to speak of; with Birtukan Mideksa still remaining jailed for unfounded reasons. Majority Ethiopian livelihoods still remain in abject poverty. And if we have to reverse TPLF’s anti-peace-policy standing in practical terms by a sustainable peace in the region, it is highly justifiable for the 80 million Ethiopian peoples represented by its solidified and united opposition front to eventually regain the legitimate Ethiopian rights to regain access to the sea through Assab Port. Likewise, by returning the port of Assab to Ethiopia willingly, Eritrea will remain in a better socio-economic and political networking position with Ethiopia and with the rest of its neighbors. It means none of the two countries are to worry about counter-fighting one another due to geographically unsettled demarcation issues that still remain pending under TPLF for nearly 2-decades in raw.

Pragmatist TPLF:
Most of the time, pragmatists are said to be good leaders in war times and in managing crisis moments. Soon after that, however, they become obsolete. This is a typical case of TPLF. Ever since they captured power from the DERG, the TPLF regime has decided to remain in power indefinitely. It declares its unflinching decisions never to kneel down for those coming through ballot boxes for what it paid in blood, tears and sweats under the barrel of the gun. It also means TPLF has already begun to eat-up its own glory of the early 1990s slowly. As pragmatists TPLF-leadership remains tough, stubborn and stuck into their own passionate militaristic glories of yesteryear even when things are getting tougher by the day. But this might have been acceptable in the hay days of the early 1990s, now nearly after two decades later; such stubbornness casts shadows of doubts associated with the pragmatist traits of the man on the driving sit in Ethiopia. When things are tough the PM remains pragmatic and takes critical measures regardless of their repercussions on TPLF’s political features. This might have served him well during those hay-days in the struggle against the DERG regime; but this time around, that same stubborn political stand is simply eating him up alive by each day that goes by; and by depraving him of all the dignity and glory that might be bestowed up on him as a good leader otherwise. Usually, the PM is known for taking swift and decisive actions no matter what these actions might ensue at the end of the day. A case in point is the expulsion of Eritrean persons from Ethiopia. And if such situations start to slide out of hand the TPLF-regime will deal with each, till such time it builds its own glory out of each case. The worst problem with TPLF is that it listens to no one, but to itself.

Lessons Learned From Past Mistakes:
Focusing on the current predicament of the idealist opposition camp, one can see that the number of Ethiopians opposing injustice is increasing by the day; not excluding those who are indifferent and those withdrawing their consent silently. However the leadership of the idealist opposition camps is not yet able to harness or channel this mass opposition inertia of pluralistic nature into a constructive unitary political entity. That means we need to learn from past mistakes and stop acting as vocal opposition only barking from Diaspora or from the Parliament House in Addis Ababa. We should go for winning the hearts, souls, and minds of the Ethiopian public at home and abroad; and bring about a fair and fraternal change without causing havoc or destruction; or without many losses of valuable human lives and property. This can be achieved only when the opposition groups at home and in Diaspora are ready to merge and do away with our die-hard differences for the sake of rescuing Ethiopia’s unity and national stability. We need to come to a workable consensus beyond crying foul on ethnic, religious or worldview differences among us. The idiomatic expression: ‘United, we win; divided we fail’ has been preached many thousands of times but in vain. It is easily said than done. In a serious note, we seem to remain stubborn, and go our own individualistic way to oblivion. When the quest for forging a firmly united opposition force remains at stake; and when the 2010 election is coming closer by each day that goes by, we seem still not fully prepared to deal with our heart-aching tasks properly beyond tones load of vocal opposition. How much of the homework expected of the opposition group is done in a systematic and structured manner compared to the vocal opposition and lip services we rendered thus far? The judgment is left for each reader to outweigh the gravity of our failures thus far.

Ernest Call for a Solidified United Opposition Front:
Transforming those who are in the opposition camp into change agents must be the priority of the opposition camp leading us eventually towards forging a solidified united opposition front. By converting ourselves beyond vocal opposition into fierce fighters and practically contributing partners we can enrich the struggle by the opposition’s united front to achieve results. There is no question regarding our vested will to bring about government change in Ethiopia. Both the overwhelming majority of the Ethiopian public and the well-trenched opposition party sympathizers and members dream of government change. But translating this existing political inertia and vested will into concrete actions require technical expertise, financial, human and material resources. That means both at an individual and group levels, the opposition camp must be more committed and more proficient in our collaborative efforts. I realize that Diaspora people do have other responsibilities. On top of our daily concerns for Ethiopia we remain providers not only to our family members in our immediate surrounding, but also to extended family members in Ethiopia. In order to draw more and more Diaspora groups into the opposition camp for the actual struggle, there is no other alternative than to devise more appropriate means which are compatible with or complimentary to our lifestyles here abroad. Provided that we are solidified as a united opposition front both at home and abroad, the Ethiopian people know well not only that the TPLF regime is on its way out from office, but also they know it will happen pretty soon. For that reason, it is our common task to create a favorable environment for Ethiopians of all walks of life to involve us in the struggle for victory by a solidified united opposition front both at home and abroad.
Finally, the opposition group has to be disciplined. It must learn its lessons from past emotional mistakes and act purposefully, swiftly and by rational reasoning means on the following 3-crucial factors outlined for further consideration:
Firstly, the opposition should act strategically on matters pertinent to foreign relations and seize opportunities to its advantage when they surface incidentally. It should try to hold the balance between political principles and passionate interests concerning foreign policy.
Secondly, the opposition should make a strong presence inside Ethiopia. As a united and firm standing body, the opposition group must be solidified, united, and well equipped to do the grass-roots concretization job at home inside Ethiopia with relative ease. Those groups with knowledge of the local background might do well in each ethnic region that they are familiar with. This will help the opposition executives to critically and rationally allocate organizational roles according to merits rather than emotions. Politics is about reality, and reality is created by perception or reasoning. So there has to be a will and a way the opposition group can compliment each other’s weaknesses and strengths. The opposition group should collectively draw strategic action plans on how to stay united, solid, and remain relevant for winning the struggle waged by the opposition camp. The opposition camp must forge viable semblance for national unity rather than going one’s own way single-handedly.
Thirdly, the opposition group must realize that time is a critical factor of essence. In that case, why is the process for unification taking such a long time? It is very shocking and saddening to watch each opposition group behaving as if it has all the time in the whole world to unit itself gradually with others in the distant future. This shows that time is taken by the opposition groups as luxury entity and opposing the TPLF-regime is taken as an easy job to be accomplished in the unforeseeable future. Let us not be mistaken. The road to freedom is a long and tiresome march. The opposition has to identify and manage its passionate desires and its idealist political principles in clear terms so that some compromise is forged for the good of unity; and for jointly achievable outcomes in a reasonable window of time. Meanwhile each opposition group should place a means of checks and balances that help the smooth working relationship between the two extremist traits. Actually, the opposition group needs to balance its politics between forging shrewdness and aggressiveness of pragmatists and considering its idealistic and current global political perspectives for brighter Ethiopian political governance.

Those who wish to contact the author can reach at his email address indicated at the beginning of the article.

The Ethiopian Community in Washington is Hating on DLA Piper

2009-04-22T01:51:00.000-07:00

Some of our DC-based readers may have spotted this DLA Piper hate ad making its way around town via taxi. An ATL reader sent us this photo, saying:

"I saw this cab on Connecticut Ave. in front of the Mayflower yesterday and it
caught my attention. Strange."

Our first response was, "Bad PR for DLA Piper, but doesn't everybody already know that blood money is the currency of Biglaw?" Our second response was to find out about this legislation and reach out to the firm.
The American Lawyer wrote in 2008 about the Piper's playing the flute for the Ethiopian government. Partners Dick Armey, a former House majority leader, and Gary Klein lobbied on Capitol Hill on behalf of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who angered human rights advocates in 2005 with violent crackdowns on protesters during the elections there. The American Lawyer reports that the Piper was playing to the tune of over $50,000 a month. That's a whole lot of injera.
The taxi ad refers to a bill introduced by Senators Feingold and Leahy "to reaffirm United States objectives in Ethiopia and encourage critical democratic and humanitarian principles and practices." Or. in other words, a bill to encourage Ethiopia not to inflict violent crackdowns on its citizens. DLA Piper's lobbying efforts may have paid off. The bill has been languishing with the Committee on Foreign Relations since 2008.
DLA Piper's spokesman told us that the firm's representation of the Ethiopian government actually ended in November. A statement from the firm refers indirectly to the protesting taxi driver (and other DLA Piper haters): "There are some very vocal elements of the Ethiopian Diaspora, particularly in the Washington area, who are opponents of the current administration in Ethiopia and go to great lengths to try to embarrass or demean those who are associated with it."
See the full statement, after the jump. DLA Piper may no longer have Ethiopia as a client, but the firm is actively helping to churn out new lawyers over in Addis Ababa.
DLA Piper says its representation of the Ethiopians ceased in November, though it's still involved in pro bono initiative sending its lawyers to Addis Ababa to teach law school to aspiring Ethiopian esquires.

STATEMENT FROM DLA PIPER
For several years, DLA Piper provided advice and counsel to the democratically elected government of Ethiopia on a wide range of public policy, regulatory, legislative and legal matters. Our work focused on strengthening bilateral relations with the US, including humanitarian, economic and development assistance, trade and investment opportunities, and enhancing relationships with Congress and the Administration. In the past, the firm also provided legal support to the Government of Ethiopia at the International Court of Justice at the Hague on the Ethiopia-Eritrean border dispute. Our government affairs teams have worked with them in London and Brussels as well as Washington, DC.
This representation has ended, but we are continuing to assist Ethiopia on pro bono initiatives. In conjunction with the Northwestern University Law School, DLA Piper lawyers are teaching classes for the next generation of aspiring legal professionals at the law school in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. This is in addition to a number of major pro bono projects we are working on across Africa, including a new project to document systematic sexual violence by the Mugabe government against politically active women in Zimbabwe.
Ethiopia is an emerging democracy and an important ally of the United States in a troubled region of the world. The country has made remarkable progress in the last two decades, moving from dictatorship to a system of free elections, and a commitment to prosperity and greater inclusiveness. There are some very vocal elements of the Ethiopian Diaspora, particularly in the Washington area, who are opponents of the current administration in Ethiopia and go to great lengths to try to embarrass or demean those who are associated with it. While we disagree with these individuals and do not believe their views reflect the majority of Ethiopian Americans, we fully support their right to voice their opinions on this matter.

Ethiopia: Amnesty International Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review

2009-04-21T00:13:00.000-07:00

Sixth session of the UPR Working Group of the Human Rights Council

Charities and Societies Proclamation
In January 2009, the Ethiopian Parliament passed into law the Charities and Societies Proclamation (known as the CSO Law),which imposes strict control measures and restrictions on civil society organisations. International organisations working in Ethiopia are now restricted from working on a range of human rights and democracy issues without special permission, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are barred from undertaking similar activities if they receive more than 10% of their income from foreign sources. The law allows for severe criminal penalties to be imposed, including fines and imprisonment for even minor breaches of its provisions. In addition, the law establishes a Charities and Societies Agency with broad discretionary power over NGOs, including government surveillance and direct interference in the management and operations of such organizations. The new law puts at serious risk the ability of local and international organisations to monitor, report, advocate on and campaign against human rights violations in Ethiopia.
Funding restrictions contained in the new law have several grave implications for NGOs, human rights defenders and victims of human rights violations. The level of funding which NGOs need in order to operate and function effectively is widely unavailable in Ethiopia, particularly given the current global economic climate. Most NGOs in Ethiopia are therefore heavily dependent on donations and support from outside Ethiopia. Restricting the donation limit to 10% of an NGO’s annual income makes the operation of most NGOs unviable. Such restriction directly violates the UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognised Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders), adopted by the General Assembly in 1999. Articles 13 and 14 guarantee to everyone the right to solicit, receive and utilise resources for the express purpose of promoting and protecting human rights through peaceful means. If enforced, the new law will force many NGOs to close their offices entirely.
In addition, an enforced prohibition on human rights work performed in Ethiopia by international organisations would have a detrimental effect on the human rights situation in the country. International organisations would be unable to undertake independent monitoring of human rights violations and would be unable to provide assistance to national NGOs.
The establishment of an oversight Charities and Societies Agency and the enforcement of its powers, would amount to unwarranted government interference in the running of independent, non-governmental organisations. It would seriously affect the ability of human rights defenders and NGOs to freely develop and discuss ideas and principles, and it would violate the confidentiality of testimony regarding human rights violations. Amnesty International is concerned that such an organ would offer no guarantee of independence or impartiality from the government, and could too easily be used to interfere with an organisation perceived to be critical of the government.
C. Promotion and protection of human rights on the ground
Human rights violations in the context of armed conflict
Amnesty International is concerned about reports of mass arrests, torture, rape and extrajudicial executions by government forces of suspected supporters of the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in the Somali region of Ethiopia (known as the Ogaden). While a government commissioned investigation was undertaken in late 2008, these reports have not been investigated by the United Nations or other independent international investigators.
In April 2007, the ONLF attacked an oil installation in Obole village, killing Ethiopian soldiers as well as 65 Ethiopian and six Chinese civilian workers. They also abducted seven Chinese workers, but released them a few days later. In retaliation, the Ethiopian government mounted a blockade on conflict-affected districts in the region, causing severe food shortages and exacerbating the humanitarian situation in those districts. Although a UN fact-finding mission lead to a partial alleviation of the humanitarian crisis in August 2007, the Ethiopian authorities continue to place restrictions on humanitarian aid in the Somali region. Also in August 2007, Sultan Fowsi Mohamed Ali, an independent mediator, was arrested in Jijiga, reportedly to prevent him from giving evidence to the UN fact-finding mission. He was accused of alleged involvement in two hand grenade attacks in 2007 and sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment in May 2008. Amnesty International believes that Sultan Fowsi Mohamed Ali is a prisoner of conscience, imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of his beliefs.
In July 2008, Ugaas Abdirahman Qani, chief of the Tolomoge group of the Ogaden clan and President of the Somali region from April to November 1994, was arrested along with twelve other individuals, including nine relatives. He was arrested shortly after returning to his home city of Godey after living abroad for two years. In the days following his arrest, a further 70 individuals were also arrested. No charges are believed to have been brought against them and no reason given for their detention. Ugaas Qani was released in October 2008 and his relatives a few days later. In 2005, Ugaas Qani was among a dozen elders seeking to arrange peace talks between the ONFL and the Ethiopian government.
Political prisoners
During the period under review, Ethiopia detained thousands of people. Following the disputed elections in May 2005, there were mass arrests of opposition party activists and supporters, leaders of the opposition party, Coalition for Unity and Democracy(CUD), journalists and civil society activists. Thousands were detained and many beaten, tortured or otherwise ill-treated, and detained without charge or trial for significant periods of time.
In December 2005, 131 prominent opposition leaders, journalists and civil society activists were charged with a range of capital offences, including treason, incitement to armed uprising and genocide against an ethnic group and members of the ruling party. The group included Berhanu Negga, the newly elected Mayor of Addis Ababa; Birtukan Mideksa, a former judge; Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, founder and former president of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council; journalists Serkalem Fasil and Eskinder Nega; and civil society activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie. All were denied bail, but allowed access to lawyers and their families. The main trial began in May 2006, but was boycotted by the CUD and journalist defendants, leaving only Daniel Bekele, Netsanet Demissie and Kassahun Kebede, an official of the Ethiopian Teachers Association (ETA). The ETA had been Ethiopia’s longest-established trade union. In February 2008, after years of court actions, the Supreme Court upheld a decision to dissolve the union and hand over its assets to a rival union formed by the government and also known as the Ethiopian Teachers Association.
A number of defendants in the main trial and related cases were acquitted in early 2007 and released. The CUD defendants and journalists who refused to present a defence were found guilty as charged and sentenced to life imprisonment or lengthy prison terms. They were, however, freed in July and August 2007 under a presidential pardon after a mediation process by an independent group of elders. They were required to sign an apology letter to the Prime Minister; however, the exact terms of their pardons remain unclear.
Daniel Bekele and Nesanet Demissie were found guilty in December 2007 and each sentenced to 30 months. When denied the usual opportunity of remission of one-third of their sentence for good behaviour, they signed a similar letter of apology as the CUD detainees. They were subsequently pardoned and released in March 2008, two and a half years after their initial arrest.
The nature of the pardon granted to all of the above-mentioned defendants was thrown into doubt by the re-arrest of Birtukan Mideksa in December 2008 on the grounds that she had broken the conditions of pardon by making a statement in Sweden describing the pardon process. Upon her return to Addis Ababa, Birtukan Mideksa was informed by law enforcement officials that she had several days to retract what government officials considered to be a public denial of her pardon request. When she refused to do so, she was arrested and placed in solitary confinement. Justice ministry officials confirmed that her pardon had been revoked and her original life sentence reinstated. Amnesty International is concerned at the lack of transparency surrounding the pardon process that led to the release of political detainees in 2007, and the government’s revocation of the pardon, which is an unprecedented step in Ethiopian jurisprudence.
Dozens of other individuals were arrested in Addis Ababa in late 2006 for possession of a book secretly written in prison by Berhanu Negga or a calendar containing images of the CUD prisoners and encouraging civil disobedience. Yalemzewd Bekele, a lawyer working for the European Commission in Addis Ababa, was arrested in October 2006. She was released on bail after eight days of incommunicado detention. Her case was dismissed, without prejudice, in early 2008.
Arbitrary arrests and illegal detentions - Oromo region
Throughout the period of review, the government has continued to suppress dissent in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, and has arbitrarily detained thousands of individuals suspected of supporting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Many have been held in incommunicado detention, many have been detained without trial, and court proceedings have often been delayed. The detainees are held in poor conditions and many have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated.
In November and December 2005, thousands of students were detained, many ill-treated and some killed, following demonstrations throughout the Oromia region in support of the release of Oromo detainees and other political demands. They were released in late 2006, early 2007. Hundreds more Oromo people were detained in November 2005 during post-election demonstrations. In November 2007, Mulata Aberra, a trader in Harar city, was arrested for the third time on suspicion of supporting the OLF. During his detention he was tortured and denied medical treatment for his resulting injuries. He was released on bail in July 2008.
From late October 2008 onwards, mass arrests were carried out of suspected OLF supporters. Among the individuals arrested were Bekele Jirata, General Secretary of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) party; Asefa Tefera Didaba, university lecturer at Addis Ababa University; brothers Dejene Borena and Kebede Borena; and Eshetu Kitili and Desta Kitili. The OFDM party strongly denied that Bekele Jirata or the party had any links to the OLF. A number of them have since been released without charge. Bekele Jirata was released on bail in February 2009 after a number of court appearances. Several more detainees have appeared in court and had their detention extended reportedly to allow police and security forces time to investigate the accusations against them. None of the detainees arrested during the round-up have so far faced trial.
Diribi Demissie, President of the Mecha Tulema Association, an officially registered Oromo community welfare organisation, was released in 2007 along with two other officials of the organisation. They had been detained since 2004 on charges of armed conspiracy and membership in the OLF.

Telahun Gesesse passed away

2009-04-20T02:12:00.000-07:00

The Popular singer Tilahun Gesesse passed away at midnight, Sunday, April 19, 2009 at the age of 72 after undergoing treatment in a Hospital in USA and returned back to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He had been suffering from kidney failure and had since been in a hospital receiving treatment with dialysis.
Tilahun Gessesse was born to Woizero Gete Gurmu and Ato Gessesse Wolde Kidan on Sunday, September 27, 1940, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The majority of Tilahun Gessesse's recordings were in Amharic, and he had recorded a number of songs in Oromiffa as well .
He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Addis Ababa University.

US remains idle in dictatorship in Ethiopia

2009-04-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

Americans have ignored Ethiopia and they played a role on the country to be led by the rampant dictators for almost 50 years. The damage is higher than they will ever expect of it. I am sure there is, at least, some kind of plan they have already set up to improve the relationship between the frustrated freedom-seeking Ethiopians and the United States of America.
The United States of America must refuse to accept the killings, tortures and detentions of human beings who are involved in political movements in Ethiopia. Meles Zenawi have been indulging Bush Senior, Bill Clinton, Bush Junior and now Barack Obama to stay in power while the US changes its own politics whenever there is a change in power, from Republicans to Democrats and from Democrats to Republicans. The kind of change we are seeing in American politics makes us wonder why it is not established in American politicians mind that it is possible to try it in countries like Ethiopia.
The Situation in Africa could have been fixed if there would be the willingness to start from the least and basic democratical principles. But the Political and Regional Interest took the higher ground over despite all the conflicts that are created under those Regimes and Dictators are on high stake to control.
Ignoring the situation as if nothing is happening and Watching Obama with blood-thirsty dictators like Meles Zenawi on G-20 meeting really frustrates many Ethiopians inside and outside Ethiopia. What was that Obama demanding dictators like Meles? We don't know even if he spoke against those dictators in his inauguration speech.

Is "Silence" the US-Ethiopia Policy?

2009-03-05T17:57:00.000-08:00

U.S. policy toward Ethiopia reflects Washington’s "Love and Hate" affair of Zenawi. Zenawi engages himself in systematic human right abuses in Ethiopia even though Opposition Political leaders and Human Right activists raise the abuses cited in Ethiopia echoing their frustration to the "Muted" US government. The US relationship to Zenawi regime surprises many observers who have been following and getting excited with the "US Department of State Human Right Annual Report on Ethiopia" for almost two decades.
The US Department of State ’s annual Human Right Report is very well recorded, accurate on a wide-range scope of abuses of their friendly ally Zenawi and his adversarial regime. The reports were undeniably magnificent, if the Government of United States hadn't given "US Humvees" for military training despite abuses are occurring through out Ethiopia using the training that was offered under military cooperation between Zenawi Regime and the US government.
US government have silently watched Meles and his cronies enjoy while the poor people of Ethiopia continues to suffer. There are no jobs, no income, no savings and Many poor people have no roofs over their heads while Zenawi, his thug friends and families live in mansions at the expense of the poor people. The United States of America is refusing to take care of those who are in need of help. The West have consistently ignored all the cry for help even though the Department of States know the plights of the poor very well.
"The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. " --US Department of State.
FAA (The Foreign Assistance Act) of 1961 Sec 116(d) says " The Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 83 of each year, a full and complete report regarding-"
The sub-sections of FAA of 1961 sec 116(d) are not mentioned on the introduction of US Department of State annual Report on Human Right. Why?
The sub-sections of FAA of 1961 sec 116(d)
(6) the steps the Administrator has taken to alter United States programs under this part in any country because of human rights considerations;
(7) wherever applicable, violations of religious freedom, including particularly severe violations of religious freedom (as defined in section 3 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998);
(8) wherever applicable, consolidated information regarding the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and evidence of acts that may constitute genocide (as defined in article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and modified by the United States instrument of ratification to that convention and section 2(a) of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987);
(9) for each country with respect to which the report indicates that extrajudicial killings, torture, or other serious violations of human rights have occurred in the country, the extent to which the United States has taken or will take action to en-courage an end to such practices in the country;
These subsections were not mentioned in the introduction of the Human Right Report on countries but it only mentioned the section why Department of States releasing its Human Right Reports on countries. The Question is ... Why is the US administration a Hypocrite?
The US government has accepted these abuses, and continues to provide military aid to the Meles Regime unconditionally, because Zenawi is protecting U.S. interests in the region.
The US government support for abuses by the Zenawi Regime has not yet received big media attention. The US government doesn’t want to know about the looming fraud in 2005, political assassinations and detentions (eg. Birtukan Midekesa's detention), and intimidation of people who wants to participate in political parties .
The next coming 2010 election itself is being rigged before it is even started, and violence, from the regime side, is being taken as a tool to a new depth or The US government can not inform the Zenawi Regime that Zenawi is already unwilling to conduct free and fair elections. But from the US officials, the only voice that is heard "SILENCE".
The US congress is lobbied to change course from the destructive policy that the US government has been following based on "War on Terrorism" and It remains "Silent" to challenge the dictator's attitude.

Obama shall free Birtukan Midekesa

2009-02-04T00:31:00.000-08:00

She is young, only 34 years old, and younger than Barack Obama. She is a single mother raising a 4-year-old daughter. Barack and Michelle Obama have 7-year-old Sasha and 10-year-old Malia, and It won't be a great day for both, the parents, to spend most of their time without any access to speak to their children.
Birtukan Midekesa is held in a confinement for speaking out the process of "The pardon of her imprisonment" for the 2005 election. Birtukan is a graduate in Law. She understands the Law more than those who use it as a weapon to attack, abuse, and confine innocent individuals. Practically, she knows her God-given freedom abiding the law of the land in her professional and ordinary life.
Her understanding of the Constitution had been the subject in her education so she can make an incredible decisions and a fair-shot in judgement to all citizens who had gotten to her court room.
The West have to work on protecting such an important figures who have done a great deal of work for those freedom-seeking human beings. USA won't fix her economic problem unless The US authorities watch their hand-outs, day and night, to build a relationship with those who do not have a respect for human-right, freedom of movement and freedom of speech. That is the reason why Meles Zenawi still keeps Birtukan Midekesa in a confinement.
It is a matter of demanding either for the release of Jailed-Politician or cut the affair between the Regime and the US government. It is so simple. The US will get the support of the people of Ethiopia in case Zenawi refuses to release Birtukan Midekesa. In fact, there was a Bill that had been sent to the Senate from congress and is waiting to go to the Senate floor. It could have basically been shaking the regime's attitude towards the political freedom in Ethiopia if it was to come out as a Senate focal point to shake things up in the Horn of Africa. Ohhh....Inhofe is in a Senate. Inhofe is still running Bush's Guantanamo agenda.
Anyways, Supporting Meles Zenawi is the same as supporting Taliban in Afghanistan or Sadam Hussein in Iraq. By the Way, Sadam is dead.
Obama can spice things up by mixing such virtuous humanly deeds with the Stimulus Package.

Human Rights Watch 2008 Report on Ethiopia

2009-01-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

The Ethiopian government's human rights record remains poor, marked by an ever-hardening intolerance towards meaningful political dissent or independent criticism. Ethiopian military forces have continued to commit war crimes and other serious abuses with impunity in the course of counterinsurgency campaigns in Ethiopia's eastern Somali Region and in neighboring Somalia.
Local-level elections in April 2008 provided a stark illustration of the extent to which the government has successfully crippled organized opposition of any kind-the ruling party and its affiliates won more than 99 percent of all constituencies, and the vast majority of seats were uncontested. In 2008 the government launched a direct assault on civil society by introducing legislation that would criminalize most independent human rights work and subject NGOs to pervasive interference and control.
Political Repression
The limited opening of political space that preceded Ethiopia's 2005 elections has been entirely reversed. Government opponents and ordinary citizens alike face repression that discourages and punishes free expression and political activity. Ethiopian government officials regularly subject government critics or perceived opponents to harassment, arrest, and even torture, often reflexively accusing them of membership in "anti-peace" or "anti-people" organizations. Farmers who criticize local leaders face threats of losing vital agricultural inputs such as fertilizer or the selective enforcement of debts owed to the state. The net result is that in most of Ethiopia, and especially in the rural areas where the overwhelming majority of the population lives, there is no organized opposition to the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).
The local-level elections in April 2008 were for kebele and wereda administrations, which provide essential government services and humanitarian assistance, and are often the institutions used to directly implement repressive government policies. In the vast majority of constituencies there were no opposition candidates at all, and candidates aligned with the EPRDF won more than 99 percent of all available seats.
Where opposition candidates did contest they faced abuse and improper procedural obstacles to registration. Candidates in Ethiopia's Oromia region were detained, threatened with violence by local officials, and accused of affiliation to the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). Oromia, Ethiopia's most populous region, has long suffered from heavy-handed government repression, with students, activists, or critics of rural administrations regularly accused of being OLF operatives. Such allegations often lead to arbitrary imprisonment and torture.
War Crimes and Other Abuses by Ethiopian Military Forces
Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) personnel stationed in Mogadishu continued in 2008 to use mortars, artillery, and "Katyusha" rockets indiscriminately in response to insurgent attacks, devastating entire neighborhoods of the city. Insurgent attacks often originate in populated areas, prompting Ethiopian bombardment of civilian homes and public spaces, sometimes wiping out entire families. Many of these attacks constitute war crimes. In July ENDF forces bombarded part of the strategic town of Beletweyne after coming under attack by insurgent forces based there, displacing as many as 75,000 people.
2008 was also marked by the proliferation of other violations of the laws of war by ENDF personnel in Somalia. Until late 2007, Ethiopian forces were reportedly reasonably disciplined and restrained in their day-to-day interactions with Somali civilians in Mogadishu. However, throughout 2008 ENDF forces in Mogadishu participated in widespread acts of murder, rape, assault, and looting targeting ordinary residents of the city, often alongside forces allied to the Somali Transitional Federal Government. In an April raid on a Mogadishu mosque ENDF soldiers reportedly killed 21 people; seven of the dead had their throats cut.
ENDF forces have also increasingly fired indiscriminately on crowds of civilians when they come under attack. In August ENDF soldiers were hit by a roadside bomb near the town of Afgooye and responded by firing wildly; in the resulting bloodbath as many as 60 civilians were shot and killed, including the passengers of two crowded minibuses.
In Ethiopia itself, the ENDF continues to wage a counterinsurgency campaign against the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in the country's restive Somali region. The scale and intensity of military operations seems to have declined from a peak in mid-2007, but arbitrary detentions, torture, and other abuses continue. Credible reports indicate that vital food aid to the drought-affected region has been diverted and misused as a weapon to starve out rebel-held areas. The military continues to severely restrict access to conflict-affected regions and the Ethiopian government has not reversed its decision to evict the International Committee of the Red Cross from the region in July 2007.
The Ethiopian government denies all allegations of abuses by its military and refuses to facilitate independent investigations. There have been no serious efforts to investigate or ensure accountability for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Somali Region and in neighboring Somalia in 2007 and 2008. Nor have ENDF officers or civilian officials been held accountable for crimes against humanity that ENDF forces carried out against ethnic Anuak communities during a counterinsurgency campaign in Gambella region in late 2003 and 2004.
Regional Renditions
In early 2007 at least 90 men, women, and children from 18 different countries fleeing conflict in Somalia were arrested in Kenya and subsequently deported to Somalia and then Ethiopia, where many were interrogated by US intelligence agents. An unknown number of people arrested by Ethiopian forces in Somalia were also directly transferred to Ethiopia. Many of the victims of these "regional renditions" were released in mid-2007 and early 2008, but at least two men, including a Kenyan and a Canadian national, remain in Ethiopian detention almost two years after their deportation from Kenya. The whereabouts and fate of at least 22 others rendered to Ethiopia, including Eritreans, Somalis, and Ethiopian Ogadeni and Oromo, is unknown.
Civil Society and Free Expression
The environment for civil society continues to deteriorate. In 2008 the government announced new legislation-the Charities and Societies Proclamation-which purports to provide greater oversight and transparency on civil society activities. In fact, the law would undermine the independence of civil society and criminalizes the work of many human rights organizations. At this writing, the law looked set to be introduced to parliament.
Alongside a complex and onerous system of government surveillance and control, the law would place sharp restrictions on the kinds of work permissible to foreign organizations and Ethiopian civil society groups that receive some foreign funding-barring such organizations from any kind of work touching on human rights issues. Individuals who fail to comply with the law's Byzantine provisions could face criminal prosecution.
A new media law passed in July promises to reform some of the most repressive aspects of the previous legal framework. Most notably, the law eliminates the practice of pretrial detention for journalists-although in August, the prominent editor of the Addis Ababa-based Reporter newspaper was imprisoned without charge for several days in connection with a story printed in the paper. In spite of its positive aspects, the law remains flawed-it grants the government significant leeway to restrain free speech, including by summarily impounding publications on grounds of national security or public order. The law also retains criminal penalties including prison terms for journalists found guilty of libel or defamation.
In March 2008 civil society activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie were released from more than two years of incarceration, but only after the Ethiopian Federal High Court convicted them of "incitement" related to the 2005 elections.
Key International Actors
The United States and European donor states provide the Ethiopian government with large sums of bilateral assistance, including direct budgetary support from the United Kingdom and military assistance from the US. The US is Ethiopia's largest bilateral donor and has also provided logistical and political support for Ethiopia's protracted intervention in Somalia, and provides bilateral assistance to the Ethiopian military. Donor governments view Ethiopia as an important ally in an unstable region and, in the case of the US, in the "global war on terror."
The US, UK, and other key donors and political allies have consistently refused to publicly criticize widespread abuses or to demand meaningful improvements in Ethiopia's human rights record. The sole exception in 2008 lay in donor government efforts to lobby against the repressive civil society legislation introduced by the government. No major donor made any significant effort to raise serious concerns about or demand a concrete response to war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ethiopia or ENDF atrocities in Somalia.
Ethiopia remains deadlocked over a boundary dispute with Eritrea dating from the two countries' 1998-2000 war. The war in Somalia is another source of tension between the two countries, with Eritrea backing and hosting one faction of the insurgency Ethiopian troops are fighting against in Somalia. Eritrea also plays host to other Ethiopian rebel movements, notably the OLF and ONLF, with the aim of destabilizing the Ethiopian government.
China's importance as a trading partner to Ethiopia grows year by year. According to official figures Chinese investment in Ethiopia totals more than US$350 million annually, up from just $10 million in 2003.
Ethiopia is due to be reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council in December 2009.

Zenawi Police Re-Arrest Opposition Leader Mideksa

2008-12-29T21:10:00.000-08:00

By Jason McLure
Dec. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian federal police re-arrested opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa a year after she was released on a pardon following her arrest during the country’s disputed 2005 elections.
Mideksa, a leader of the now-dissolved Coalition for Unity and Democracy, was taken into custody today, said Temesgen Zewde, a lawmaker, who is a member of Mideksa’s new party, Unity for Democracy and Justice.
“She has been arrested,” Zewde said in an interview in the capital, Addis Ababa. “No charges have been made public yet. We don’t know exactly where she is being held.”
Mideksa was arrested after refusing to acknowledge that she had requested a pardon that led to her release from jail in July 2007, said Bereket Simon, a spokesman for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. She and dozens of other opposition leaders were initially jailed following the 2005 elections and sentenced to life in prison following a May 2007 trial on treason charges.
Security forces killed at least 193 protesters in Addis Ababa in the aftermath of the 2005 elections. Mideksa was jailed along with 126 other opposition leaders, journalists, and activists after disputing government claims of victory in the ballot.
Her release along with 37 others in July of 2007 came after the opposition leaders signed a letter admitting “mistakes committed both individually and collectively,” according to an Amnesty International report.
Life Sentence
Simon suggested Mideksa could again face life in prison.
“She said she didn’t ask for a pardon and the government tried to advise her that she has been freed from jail because of the requested pardon,” Simon said, in a phone interview from Addis Ababa. “She didn’t budge. Technically and legally the verdict has to be implemented.”
Mideksa and other leaders were released in two pardons authorized by Zenawi in July and August of 2007 after mediation by Ethiopian elders. Some opposition leaders, including former Addis Ababa mayor-elect Berhanu Nega, have chosen exile in the U.S. and Europe. Mideksa stayed on in Ethiopia and had planned to contest the 2010 national elections with her new party.
A lawyer and former judge, Mideksa has drawn support from Oromos and Amharas, Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups. Zenawi’s government, which has ruled Ethiopia since 1991, is dominated my members of the Tigray ethnic group.
Fifteen members of another opposition party, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, were arrested in late October and early November and accused of supporting the separatist Oromo Liberation Front. The move comes as Ethiopia’s parliament is set to approve a new law that would effectively outlaw most non-governmental groups from promoting human rights, democracy, or conflict resolution.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via the Johannesburg bureau at abolleurs@bloomberg.net.

Just Hold On!

2008-11-15T20:06:00.000-08:00

Obama promised to the world that Change is coming. He hasn't yet moved in to the white house and started braking his promises. Africans, including those Kenyans, should stop praising Obama as their own son without seeing him making a difference on crimes against humanity.
Many of American presidents made broken promises to the people of America. George Bush promised not to use the American army for nation building but now they are building a 10 Billion Dollars of Infrastructure inside Iraq. George Bush senior, in 1988 Republican convention, pledged not to tax the American people with his infamous phrase "Read my lips: no new taxes", but once he became a president, he raised several taxes to a part of a 1990 budget agreement with Congressional Democrats. Many of them promised to end wars, poverty, diseases, deficits, and economic instability but most of the promises are broken.
Obama is showing the sign of braking promises that has been rhetorically attracting many all over the world. The Obama president-elect is history-in-the making just because one bi-racial American whose skin color is black won the United States election of 2008. Now it became true that the Obama-on-transition is full of clintonians to run the power that he struggled to get for almost 2 years. The rhetorics and speeches feels like all filled with a lot of beautiful adjectives and pronouns.....to excite the ears that were punished by the speeches of George Bush The president.
What does Obama really change if he doesn't change himself and the field ? Does it mean that Democratic Party belongs to the Clintons?
It really is shocking to find the wife of Bill Clinton picked to be Secretary of state. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair have diminished the prospect of Democracy in Africa due to their lack of respect for the local people who really needed the political change. Bill Clinton's African progressive leaders have been engaged in killing, torturing, and assaulting inhumanly. Bill Clinton enjoyed his vacation time with these killers and thugs. They funnel funds to Clinton foundation through Businessmen, their Ambassadors and lobbyists in Washington DC.
Obama needs to wake himself up before he gives Hillary Clinton the Madam Secretary of State cabinet position. Bill Clinton's African progressive leaders(Dictators and thugs) are praying that Hillary holds the State Department number one position so that they can remain in power for longer. Africa needs change, and Africans do not need progressive thugs and killers.

the change that Africans believe in

2008-11-07T00:08:00.000-08:00

Days have gone by since Obama became an elected president of the United States of America. It was and still is amazing and the-history-of-centuries in the United States of America that he just won the election and made the history in the United States where the true democracy can be found and overthrown(Democracy was overthrown by the Bush/Cheney administration).
Democracy won, on November 4, 2008. Obama broke the barriers that are set to dismantle the society due to the person's color of skin.
Obama is half Kenyan and half American through his parents. As much as he cares about America, and I hope, he cares about Africa where his father was born and raised even though he left him when Obama was 2 years old.
It is so easier for Obama to come up with 3 or 4 starting points to the problems that are facing Africans. The first question I expect of Obama to ask himself is why and where did the American policy on Africa go wrong in foreign policy to fail the dream of Africans to live in a peaceful and freedom continent. Does the American foreign agenda work with the reality on the ground? It has been noticeable the failure of the policies of previous Administrations on Africa. It is not a blame game that should be played on "Change we can believe in" but to move forward, we need to learn the-right-and-wrong policies of the previous American administrations.
The Rwanda genocide wouldn't have happened if Non-Africans wouldn't have played the dirty game of ethnicity. Somalia wouldn't be in this situation if the American government understands the culture of the people of Somalia and listens to the people and but not the warlords who are very rich and look down on their own people.
Too much political drama had had happened and many people were killed in Kenya in the name of election for those in power for the last 2 decades. Kibaki and Odinga were oppositions to Arap Moi government. Arap Moi killed and jailed many of supporters of kibaki's and Odinga's political organizations. After Arap Moi had given up his power and kibaki took over, there was the forgotten business between Kibaki and Odinga, which is killing supporters. There must be something devilish that makes African leader's craving to kill opposition political figures and the people who say NO to them.
Meles Zenawi, the buddy of George Bush, is known for killing innocent people in Ethiopia. He outsmarted Condoleezza Rice, big time, and the Republican Administration. After killing innocent people, he painted some kind of false accusations on the people that he made a decision on to be killed in a broad daylight. Isayas Afeworqi of Eritrea is ruling Eritreans the same way the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is leading North Koreans. Al-Bashir is killing innocent people in Darfur, they are dark Africans and they are not lighter enough to live in Sudan. The Northern Sudan rulers of Sudan are the most racist people that I have known in Africa. They do mostly mistreat the darker skin of Africans from South and South western of Sudan because the Northern Sudan relates their blood to the middle Eastern Arab side.
Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has been ruling Uganda for longer than 20 years since 1996. Regan was gone, Museveni is still in Power. Bush Senior was gone, Museveni is still in Power. Clinton was gone, Museveni is still in Power. Bush Junior is going, Museveni is still in Power. Is this an American foreign agenda on Africa? Africans still see many African rulers who held power through out their lives. Africans need change, big one.
Obama Administration should practice "Change that we can believe in" on the power mongers who believe that the American policy on Africa does not change at all. These power-mongers and dictators believe that they will develop a relationship while working together with Obama administration. These dictators go back to refer their doctrine how they were close to the previous US administrations, the Regan's, Bush's, Clinton's and then the Bush's. The African power-mongers do not expect any more change from Obama, and they want to slide in as they had done it with Regan, the 2 Bushes, and Clinton. Does Obama go through their way? Time will tell.
It would have been easier to be wiser, truthful and honest to any US policy makers to go beyond the policies that were laid to them to practice away from USA but Ignorance, untruthfulness and foolishness took them over to deny the standard humanity to the poor people of Africa.
US policy makers should stop favouritism. Americans can sit 2 opponents on the table, if they want to but there are times they over stretch their power to dig a big hole. Bush had lost African's respect due to stretching his power beyond his control. The power-mongers played him good on his own field. They put scary News in front of him to the years that he runs the white house. He mishandled Horn of Africa through his thug friends like Meles Zenawi, Yoweri Museveni, Somalian warlords, Ismail Omar Guelleh, Mohamud Adde Muse, Kibaki, and Al Bashir.

Waaaaaaaaaasssssssssssss up? Obama

2008-10-25T01:01:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia risks £130 million of British aid by 'hiding famine'

2008-10-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Britain is threatening to withhold £130 million of aid from Ethiopia if its government hides the scale of a famine in the Somali region where a bitter war against rebels is taking place.

By Damien McElroy in Addis Ababa

Douglas Alexander, the international development secretary, told Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's prime minister, that Britain would not guarantee future payments to the country. On a two-day visit, Mr Alexander toured a hospital in the town of Kebri Dehar, in the Somali region. Before his arrival, local officials forced starving infants out of the emergency ward and on to the street.
"I put it to him [Mr Meles] that severely malnourished children had been removed from the hospital prior to my arrival," said Mr Alexander. "I made it clear that, if true, that was unconscionable and wholly wrong."
Mr Alexander added that he had given the prime minister a "candid and forthright" message – diplomatic code for a blunt rebuke. He said he would reject official advice and decline to make a cast iron pledge of future aid to Ethiopia. "In the months ahead I will be discussing the funding position within Europe and the United States," he said. "I am not making a decision now because of the continuing issues I have seen here."
Ethiopia is Africa's biggest recipient of British aid – spending this year totalled £130 million – and under Tony Blair, Mr Meles was hailed as the model of a progressive African leader.
Ethiopia wanted a long-term promise of British aid to bolster its negotiating position with international lending agencies and outside investors. But its internal repression has grown too harsh for its allies to ignore.
Since a disputed election in 2005, Mr Meles has become increasingly authoritarian. His government is waging a campaign against rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) in the Somali region.
This presents the international community with its greatest dilemma. Aid agencies have only recently been granted permission to deliver food to the bleak desert region. Convoys must still be accompanied by the army, which dictates the safety considerations that allow a delivery to go ahead. The movement of aid workers is severely restricted.
Despite the burgeoning presence of relief agencies in Kebri Dehar, famine is not allowed to show its human face. Mr Meles says he cannot separate the food crisis from the struggle to crush the ONLF.
"I don't believe that it's an effective strategy by the government of Ethiopia to starve the people in that area when we are trying to defeat an armed struggle," he told Mr Alexander. "My military are under clear instructions to facilitate the distribution of food."
Eager to paint himself as a regional leader, Mr Meles has viewed Ethiopia's latest drought and famine as a return to the humiliations of the 1980s when its name was a byword for suffering. Only this week, the government acknowledged that 6.4 million people were threatened with starvation. Oxfam warned that the figure could be higher.
Mr Meles, a former guerrilla leader who earned an Open University degree while in prison, promised to address Britain's complaints. But there was considerable anger in his office at the tone of the meeting. "What are they doing?" asked Bereket Simon, a key lieutenant of Mr Meles. "They are following their own agenda and keeping us waiting."

The advantage and disadvantage of American politics

2008-09-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

In the positive side, The American politics has something spicy to ordinary citizens of the world. Right now, America is in critical situation as far as the two wars, the economy, and the financial inistutions are concerned, but one thing is hidden underneath the kitchen table which people are not interested to talking about outside their surroundings - The Race issue. It is a complicated issue for any politician to figure the solution out in order to come to a middle ground that will attract all Americans to speak their feelings out in a manner that can open a dialogue.

Have I noticed something wrong? yes. At a campaign in Cedarburg, Wisconsin on September 5, 2008, John McCain, his wife Cindy McCain and his running mate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, It is not the America that Obama introduced to the world. Where was the mixture of America in Wisconsin?

The Obama skin color is really a factor for some white folks, who has still the old-times way of looking at the black skin colored human being as nothing but still nothing, to pick Obama as their choice for presidency. The Race Card is being played out on Obama especially from the begining of the RNC Convention which missed the real issues out from the stage where the Republicans can come up with something to fix all the problems the whole world is facing now. Of course, Obama should be attacked but not using Karl Rove's style of attacks that will diminish the integerity of a black man whose mother is white and who tries to clear the dark spot of the American past history "slavery".

Obama will not lose anything if he loses the presidency. He will be a popular human being, if he wants, away from the politics field which, in fact, stinks for someone who looks at the American politics from outside. Imagine how the world will react if the only Black senator, the first Black candidate for the presidency of the United States of America quit politics.

Polls after polls, people were asked about "experience" and "Values and Principles". What kind of inistitutes are these which conduct these issues in the 21st century? People are dying of War, Genocide, diseases, hunger and etc....Those should be an issue for them since they are human beings instead of worrying about values and experience. Global economics should have been the main agenda for the blue-color middle class people in America. In order to keep Jobs in America, products must be manufactured in America that says "Made in America" for export which has value in a global market.

Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia wins, Elvan Abeylegesse, born in Ethiopia Turk, is second

2008-08-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

By JERE LONGMAN
With her trademark blistering kick, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia ran the second-fastest women's 10,000 meters ever on Friday night to take the gold medal in the opening track race of the Beijing Games.

With a punishing 60-second final lap, Dibaba crossed the line in 29 minutes 54.66 seconds, a time surpassed only by the 29:31.78 run by Wang Junxia of China in 1993. Her victory, run on a relatively cool and dry night, served as an early counterpoint to fears that smog and heat would disrupt distance performances at these Olympics.
On the bell lap of the 25-lap race, Dibaba blew past silver medalist Elvan Abeylegesse, a native of Ethiopia who now competes for Turkey and who delivered the third-fastest time ever in 29:56.34. The two ran alone for the final five laps.
Shalane Flanagan of the United States took third in 30:22.22 with a move over the final two laps, despite intestinal problems earlier in the week and confusion about her placing as the lead runners began to lap the stragglers.
"I had no idea what place it was," Flanagan said. "My coach told just to remain as calm as possible. With two laps to go, I turned on the competitive juices and let it go."
Flanagan's finish further established the American women as a resurgent force in international distance running, following a bronze in the marathon by Deena Kastor at the 2004 Athens Games and a third-place finish by Kara Goucher in the 10,000 at the 2007 world track and field championships.
"I hate the word fluke," said Goucher, who finished 10th Friday in 30:55.16. "It's been said about me. I think Shalane proved tonight U.S. running is at the world level."
Yet, it has yet to match the pre-eminence of the East Africans.
The 10,000 has come to represent the sporting ascendance of women from sub-Saharan Africa and of Ethiopia's dominance over its fierce rival, Kenya, at major international championships. Ethiopian women have now won five Olympic gold medals in distance running, while Kenyan women have yet to win their first.
Ethiopia has taken first place in three of the last five women's 10,000 meters at the Olympics. And they have kept it in the family.
Derartu Tulu, a cousin of Dibaba's, became the first black African women to win an Olympic gold medal by taking first in the 10,000 at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She won the event again at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, and has come to represent for some women the possibility of escape from a life of forced subservience.
"From Tulu, we are accustomed to the 10,000," Dibaba said after Friday's victory. "It goes without saying that we have to do well. The footsteps of Tulu have to repeat themselves."
Dibaba and Tulu come from the same high-altitude village, Bekoji, located in Ethiopia's southern highlands. So does Dibaba's sister Ejegayehu, who finished 14th Friday after taking the silver medal at the 2004 Olympics. Also from this famed running center are Fatuma Roba, the 1996 women's Olympic marathon champion, and Kenenisa Bekele, the 2004 Olympic champion at 10,000 meters and silver medalist in the 5,000.
Bekoji is located on a verdant plateau, at about 10,000 feet and is as bountiful at producing runners as it is producing wheat and teff, a millet that is rich in calcium, protein and iron. Running is the favored and necessary mode of transportation for many young children in their trips to and from school and in their performance of such chores as hauling water and firewood.
The Dibabas grew up in a conical mud hut and their parents, who are subsistence farmers, lacked electricity, so the family had to go to a local hotel to watch Tulu win the 10,000 at the Barcelona Games.
Tirunesh's own elite running career got an inadvertent start
In 2001, as a 16-year-old, she traveled to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to join her sister Ejehgayehu and another relative who is variously described as a sister and a cousin. With the school year having already begun, Tirunesh said in an interview last year that she entered a cross-country race, finished fifth and was signed to run for the nation's prison police, a common practice in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Two years later, as an 18-year-old, Dibaba became the youngest track athlete to win a world title, crossing the line first in the 5,000 meters at the world track and field championships in Paris. Her style of running emulates that of Miruts Yiftur, known as Yifter the Shifter for a last-lap kick that propelled him to gold medals in the 5,000 and 10,000 at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
Dibaba could become the first woman to win both events in the same Olympics if she runs the 5,000 here, an event at which she holds the world record of 14:11.15. At this point, she is uncertain about doubling. But there was never any doubt that Dibaba would prevail with her searing kick in the 10,000 final.
"My expectation was to get gold," Dibaba said, "beautiful, everlasting gold."

Paris Hilton Responds to McCain Ad

2008-08-05T22:40:00.000-07:00

Commrade Elias Kifle = Dictatorial tabloid Blogger

2008-08-05T02:10:00.000-07:00

By Mulumebet Asfaw
The effort to democratize Ethiopia is not easy at all. Despite the fact that the opposition camp claims to aspire to demolish the monstrous tyranny of Meles Zenawi, there are many among his dissidents who have brought us nothing but division and rumour mongering. Like any ordinary citizen, I sometimes get confused and puzzled with the amount of information and disinformation tossed in cyber space to catch our attention, not only by Walta and Aiga but also the terribly mismanaged websites like the Ethiopian Review, Debteraw and Ethiolion. I will come back some other time with the issue of the two conduits of hatred and the extremism, Debteraw and Ethiolion. For now, allow me to deal with Elias Kifle, a miserably failed spin doctor.
Elias Kifle, dictatorial publisher par excellence of a tabloid website called Ethiopian Review, is destined to be a ruler. Sorry, I have already made a mistake. I mean, he is already an absolute ruler of Ethiopia's cyber space. Every single day he is churning out orders, edicts, laws and doctrines… for us, his hapless subjects who can't survive without his website.
Remember the emergency power he gave to Engineer Hailu Shawel; he ordered us to shun Dr. Berhanu Nega whom he once labelled a Weyane mole; he appointed Isaias Afeworki, Ethiopia's man of the year, he designated Bertukan Mediksa "lady liberty" and then demoted her to "lady surrender" because she rejected his uncalled for advice to wage armed struggle; he called ONLF's slaughter of innocent labourer's and Chinese miners an act of heroism; he called for the dissolution of the newly formed Andinet party and ordered us again to give an unflinching support to Dr Berhanu Nega's Ginbot 7 because he happens to be a lieutenant; he demonized Dr Taye Woldesemait for exercising his right of joining a political group of his choice; he has the audacity to urge us to pack up and join an armed struggle under the leadership of his man of the year Isaias Afewerki; he delivered the heartbreaking news to us, with no regard to his loved ones, that Professor Mesfin Woldemariam died in jail; that proven wrong he is now trying to bury the dear professor alive by calling him to leave politics to his likes…. As no time and space will allow me to list down the orders, edicts, laws, insults, slanders, blackmails and tantrums that Elias Kifle produces with utmost passion, let me stop the listing here and try to examine the underlying motive of the author of all such travesties.
Elias Kifle has started too many projects but usually ends up in conflict with anyone who ventured to work with him. He is a very bold man, ain awta as his website reveals, being sensational, emotional, judgmental, and even worse, dictatorial.
Anyone with his right mind won't dare to tell Ethiopian to form an alliance with Isaias Afeworki, author of Ethiopia's demise. It is quite obvious that even Meles Zenawi would not have made it to the helm of power without the Godfather of ethnic politics. What good has Afeworki done to be shortlisted as ER's man of the millennium? Is it for the blood letting, the misery, the dictatorship, the mafia crimes or for land locking Ethiopia with the full support of the treasonous tyrant? As the facts on the ground tell us, Isaias is a dictator who committed so much crimes and bloodbath only to set up his own empire where he is the law, the constitution, the parliament, the army… and everything. There isn't even freedom to worship the Almighty as he wants to be the only supreme power that must be worshiped in Eritrea. The Eritrean tyrant must be pleased to see our own liberator, Elias Kifle, joining the church of Afewerki worshipers. Yes, Elias has a right to join any church but it offends so many to publicly pester and bully Ethiopians to join Afewerki's church that has a declared aim of liberating Ethiopia. No, thank you!
Anyone with his sanity intact won't have the audacity to tell Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, a lifetime freedom fighter, to leave politics, the struggle for justice, freedom and democracy. Where is the decency? Where is the common sense? Where is the desire for justice? I was shocked to read Elias's scribbling like a naughty school child that enjoys defacing a good desk or a toilet wall: "The current visit to the U.S. by Ethiopia's distinguished scholar and human rights activist Professor Mesfin Woldemariam has one mission: To preach to Ethiopians in the Diaspora NOT to support all-inclusive struggles to defeat the Meles fascist regime in Ethiopia and instead to start preparing for the 2010 elections. It is a mission to disarm the people of Ethiopia and make us all spineless people who do not stand up and defend ourselves." [ER, July 10, 2008]
The outrage did not stop there. It becomes boundless when Mr Elias pours insult: "Dear Professor, you are a great scholar in the field of geography. You are a respected human rights advocate. Please stick to those fields. Leave the politics to those who know the kind of language Woyanne thugs understand…" Such is an example of cyber terrorism that Mr Elias wants to commit. Assaulting and damaging anyone who do not subscribe to his views is his trademark.
On so many occasions, Elias Kifle has declared that he is struggling to bring about democracy, justice, freedom and equality in Ethiopia. As Ghandi has once advised us: "You must be the change you wish the world to be." If one aspires to bring about democracy that person must be a democrat who does not dictate the destiny of others. If one wants to bring about freedom that person must know what freedom entails and must allow others to live in liberty without any fear of his cyber blackmailing, holding any views and making any choices without infringing on the rights of others. In the same manner, anyone who declares to bring us justice has to desist from committing injustice. All the evidence from Elias cyber trails is damning. Elias tries to destroy others using his WMD [Website of Mass Destruction] unjustly.
Let me conclude by referring to Elias Kifle's spin again. Here are the winners of ER's person of the year in 2007: "Alemayehu Gebre Mariam, Berhanu Nega [ER had named him a Weyane spy], Bertukan Mideksa [lady liberty now undeservedly named by Elias as "lady surrender"], Daud Ebsa [OLF leader with a secessionist agenda], Isaias Afeworki [an architect of Ethiopia's turmoil, but now Mr Kifle's Godfather of liberty].
Here are those who won the ER vote for "harming Ethiopia the most". Take note of the interesting voting tally! Hailu Shawel [60%], Meles Zenawi [36%], Taye Woldesemayat [11%], Iyasu Alemahu of toothless EPRP [4%], Jenday Fraser, an employee of George Bush [7%].
There are many who think that Elias is a fighter, fighting for Ethiopia. But what I am witnessing is a confused man fighting with himself…not for democracy or anything to that effect. He is a dictator in the making that I would not allow to dictate me what to do and choose. If ER wants to be a credible source information, the owner must stop giving orders to Ethiopians what to do, what to wear, eat, believe or worship. In all honesty, the reason I sometimes visit ER is just to see watch a shallow spin doctor called Elias Kifle making a fool of himself. Nothing else!

Source: Nazret.com

Zenawi is selling Ethiopian lands to neghbouring countries.

2008-07-22T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here we go again News from Djibouti.
"The president, Ismail Omar Guelleh, has returned to the capital yesterday after a working visit to Ethiopia in 48 hours. The purpose of his stay in Addis Ababa focused on the formal concession of arable land with an area of five hectares, from the Ethiopian authorities.
The field, located Baaleh in the Oromo region, should serve the wheat crop. It should be noted that the allocation of arable land Baaleh completes the acquisition of an earlier batch of 2000 hectares in Gadaref in Sudan. Remember also that soil Gadaref have produced five hundred tons of sorghum that Djibouti has recently approved.
In short, both concessions are part of a government strategy adopted in 2005 aimed at meeting the challenge of food security in the country. The objective remains more than ever a national priority insofar as the price of basic food commodities have experienced successive increases over the past months."

Somalia: Time to Pay Attention

2008-07-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

The United States has contributed to the mess in Somalia by failing to grasp the nuances of the Muslim world.
By Frankie Martin

While the world looks elsewhere, Somalia is in flames. The nation just topped a list of the world’s most unstable countries by Foreign Policy magazine, and the United Nations has declared the humanitarian situation there “worse than Darfur.”
In the next three months the number of people requiring immediate food aid will reach 3.5 million. Over one million refugees have fled their homes. Due to a raging insurgency against the current transitional government – which has support from both the West and Ethiopia – Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, has earned the nickname, “Baghdad on the sea.”
In Somalia, there are no diplomatic superstars like Condoleezza Rice or Kofi Annan, who rushed to Kenya to settle its election crisis; there are no celebrities like Mia Farrow or Jim Carrey to urge international action and awareness as they did in Sudan and Burma.
Instead, Somalia’s crisis has elicited a collective yawn of indifference. Just mentioning the country’s name is enough to cause even the most dedicated diplomat or aid worker to throw up their hands in desperation.
Ironically, unlike the above conflicts, the current crisis in Somalia has developed in part due to America’s "war on terror" and failure to grasp some of the nuances of Islam.
The Muslim world is not a monolith; there is an ongoing struggle among Muslims with differing interpretations of the religion. Somalia is a traditionally Sufi country – the mystic, open form of Islam distinct from more conservative interpretations as those seen in places like Saudi Arabia.
But in Somalia, a more conservative movement developed under the secular dictatorship of President Siad Barre and during the anarchy that followed his ouster in 1991. The resulting Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) implemented Shari’a law, and although its stricter tenants were opposed by many Somalis, the grassroots movement gained strength because people sought order and justice in a country marred by starvation, warlord violence, and tribal conflict.
Despite internal differences in the interpretation of Islam, the UIC created a state of relative stability that led to the return of Somali businesses, united conflicting tribes and ended piracy off Somalia’s perilous shores.
But the ascension of the UIC worried the United States, which believed the group was sheltering Al-Qaeda members seeking a safe haven in Somalia. The United States intervened by backing secular warlords – reportedly some of the same individuals it had fought during 1993’s “Black Hawk Down” incident – against the UIC, strengthening, rather than isolating, extremism in Somalia. Despite their ample firepower, the warlords were defeated by the UIC in mid-2006.
In December 2006, UIC extremists threatened Somalia’s traditional archrival Ethiopia, which they accused of intervening in Somali affairs. Already concerned the UIC would support a domestic ethnic Somali insurgency, Ethiopia invaded. The United States backed Ethiopia’s invasion and its ensuing occupation with intelligence, air strikes, Special Forces, and rendition of terror suspects to Guantanamo Bay.
An Iraq-style insurgency soon began inside Somalia, mainly drawn from UIC elements but also members of the Hawiye clan, the tribal base of the UIC. These tribesmen believe the United States and Ethiopians are attacking them by supporting the Somali transitional government, run largely by tribal rivals the Daarood. Because they are Muslim, they believe Islam is under attack and seek to defend it.
Somalia faces many profound challenges, but a recent ceasefire – which calls for an end to the insurgency ahead of an eventual Ethiopian troop withdrawal in favor of U.N. troops – has brought some hope.
The recent momentum in Somalia for a shift to religious conservatism – and sometimes militant extremism – mirrors similar shifts around the Muslim world. However, with quick and responsible action, the United States can still help shift it back.
The United States should first pressure Ethiopia to withdraw and bring all Somali factions to the negotiating table.
It can also work within traditional tribal structures to reach out to Somalia’s people, effect political change and distribute aid. By reaching out to Somali moderates who would be happy to challenge the extremists themselves, and funding development programs that show a renewed respect for local customs and religion, the United States can help swing the pendulum away from extremists who preach that Islam is under attack from the West.
To do this, the United States must immediately change a failed policy. Instead of effectively fighting those individuals who wish America harm, it has taken on the Somali people. The United States should learn from its disasters in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan that using force to myopically crush “terrorists” at the expense of entire populations only strengthens extremists.
These days any attention given to Somalia is encouraging. But to create a stable society that would alleviate the suffering of Somalis and address Western security concerns, something more is required: a true understanding of what has gone wrong and the will to effect positive change.

Frankie Martin is Ibn Khaldun Chair Research Fellow at American University’s School of International Service in Washington, DC. He did field work among Somalis in Kenya for the book Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization by Akbar Ahmed (Brookings, 2007). This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Bush’s Rampage in Somalia

2008-07-17T00:34:00.000-07:00

by Mike Whitney
While George Bush was breezing through photo-ops at the G-8 summit in Japan, his Ethiopian proxy-army in Somalia was grinding out more carnage on the streets of Mogadishu. More than 40 civilians have been killed in the last 48 hours.
On Sunday, Osman Ali Ahmed, the head of the UN Development Program in Somalia, was shot gangland style as he left a mosque after prayers. He died before reaching the hospital with wounds to the head and chest. Ali Ahmed is just the latest of the peace-keepers who have been killed in the ongoing battle between Bush’s Ethiopian occupiers and the Somali guerrillas.
US foreign policy in Somalia has resulted in disaster. Millions of Somalis have been forced to flee their homes and relocate to tent cities in the south to escape the fighting. The latest surge in violence has been the worst in a decade and the security situation continues to deteriorate despite the arrival of 2,600 troops from the African Union and a tentative truce that was signed in June between some of the warring factions.
The western media has stubbornly refused to report on the rising death-toll in Somalia, choosing instead to focus all of their attention on America’s “villain du jour,” Robert Mugabe. Mugabe appears to be next on the neocon’s list for regime change. (Paul Wolfowitz even composed a postmortem for Zimbabwe’s president in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, “How to Put the Heat on Mugabe”)
In 2006, the United States supported an alliance of Somali warlords known as the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) who established a base of operations in the western city of Baidoa. With the help of the US-backed Ethiopian army, western mercenaries, US Navy warships, and AC-130 gunships, the TFG was able capture Mogadishu and force the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) and their allies to retreat to the south. But, much like Iraq and Afghanistan, the resistance has coalesced into a tenacious guerrilla army which has returned to the capital and resumed the fight making it impossible for their Ethiopian adversaries to govern.
As the struggle continues, the humanitarian situation has gone from bad to worse. At least 2.6 million Somalis are now facing famine due to acute food shortages spurred by a prolonged drought, violence and high inflation. UN monitors have warned that the figure could hit exceed 3.5 million by the end of 2008. The UN Security Council has helped facilitate the violence by failing to condemn US support for Ethiopia’s invasion and by promising to send peacekeepers to mop up after fighting ends. They’ve shown no interest in stopping the bloodshed or threatening sanctions against the aggressors. The UNSC has become little more than an accomplice in Bush’s rampages.
In an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now, Salim Lone, a columnist for the Daily Nation in Kenya and a former spokesperson for the UN mission in Iraq explains the UN’s role in providing the “go ahead” for the US invasion:
The lawlessness of this particular war is astounding; the most lawless war of our generation. You know, all aggressive wars are illegal. But in this particular one, there have been violations of the UN Charter and gross violations of international human rights. But, in addition, there have been very concrete violations by the United States of two Security Council resolutions. The first one was the arms embargo imposed on Somalia, which the United States has been routinely flaunting for many years now. But then the US decided that that resolution was no longer useful, and they pushed through an appalling resolution in December, which basically gave the green light to Ethiopia to invade. They pushed through a resolution which said that the situation in Somalia was a threat to international peace and security, at a time when every independent report indicated, and Chatham House’s report on Wednesday also indicated, that the Islamic Courts Union had brought a high level of peace and stability that Somalia had not enjoyed in sixteen years. So here was the UN Security Council going along with the American demand to pass a blatantly falsified UN resolution. And that resolution actually was a violation [of the] UN Charter. You know, the UN Charter is like the American Constitution and the Security Council is not allowed to pass laws or rules that violate the Charter. And yet, who is going to correct them?
The Bush administration has predictably invoked the “terrorist” hobgoblin to justify its involvement in Somalia, but no one is buying it. The ICU is not an Al Qaida affiliate or a terrorist organization despite the absurd claims of the State Department. It is true that the ICU was trying to enforce Sharia Law, but a much milder form of Sharia than America’s ally, Saudi Arabia.
The ICU was the first government in over a decade to restore security and order to Somalia and — generally speaking — the people were supportive of the new regime. Political analyst James Petras summed it up like this:

The ICU was a relatively honest administration, which ended warlord corruption and extortion. Personal safety and property were protected, ending arbitrary seizures and kidnappings by warlords and their armed thugs. The ICU is a broad multi-tendency movement that includes moderates and radical Islamists, civilian politicians and armed fighters, liberals and populists, electoralists and authoritarians. Most important, the Courts succeeded in unifying the country and creating some semblance of nationhood, overcoming clan fragmentation.

The real motives behind the invasion were oil and geopolitics. According to most estimates 30 percent of America’s oil will come from Africa in the next ten years. Bush’s new warlord friends in the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) have already indicated that they are ready to pass a new oil law that will encourage foreign oil companies to return to Somalia. The same oil giants that are now lining up in Iraq will soon be making their way to Somalia as well.
The Horn of Africa is also critical for its deep-water ports and its strategic location for future military bases. It’s all part of the Grand Schema for reconfiguring the region to accommodate America’s hegemonic ambitions.
Humanitarian Catastrophe: “The Ethiopian invasion has destroyed all the life-sustaining systems”
Heavy fighting and artillery fire have reduced large parts of Mogadishu to rubble. More than 700,000 people have been forced to leave the capital with nothing more than what they can carry on their backs. Entire districts have been evacuated and turned into ghost towns. The main hospital has been bombed and is no longer taking patients. Ethiopian snipers are perched atop rooftops across the city. Over 3.5 million people are now huddled in the south in tent cities without sufficient food, clean water or medical supplies. It is the greatest humanitarian crisis in Africa today; a man-made Hell entirely conjured up in Washington.
Just weeks ago, Amnesty International reported that it had heard many accounts that Ethiopian troops were “slaughtering (Somalis) like goats.” In one case, “a young child’s throat was slit by Ethiopian soldiers in front of the child’s mother.”
In another Democracy Now interview, Abdi Samatar, professor of Global Studies at the University of Minnesota, had this to say:

The Ethiopian invasion, which was sanctioned by the US government, has destroyed virtually all the life-sustaining economic systems which the population have built without the government for the last fifteen years. And the militia that are supposed to protect the population have been looting shops. For instance, the Bakara market, which is the largest market in Mogadishu, has been looted repeatedly by the militias of the so-called Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, supported by Ethiopian troops. And the new prime minister of Somalia, Mr. Hassan Nur Hussein, has himself announced in the BBC that it was his militias that — who have looted this place. So what you have is a population that’s hit from both sides — on one side, by the militias of the so-called Transitional Federal Government, which is recognized by the United States, and on the other side, by the Ethiopian invaders who seem to be bent on ensuring that they break the will of the people to resist as free people in their own country…. What you have is really terror in the worst sense of the word, a million people have been displaced that the Ethiopians have been denying humanitarian aid, and the United States which seems to just watch and let it happen. It’s like there’s has been a calculated decision made somewhere in the world, maybe in Washington, maybe in Addis Ababa, maybe in Mogadishu itself, to starve these people until they submit themselves to the whims of the American military and the Ethiopians, who are acting on their behalf.

Amnesty International has called for an investigation of the United States role in Somalia. Regrettably, neither the United Nations nor the establishment media are at all interested in Bush’s war crimes in Africa. All they care about is Mugabe.

NEW LAWS THREATEN FREE EXPRESSION IN ETHIOPIA

2008-07-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia has passed a new media law that bans censorship of private media and the detention of journalists, but which critics say maintains other threats to free expression.
"Under the new law, previous restrictions against private media outlets, such as detention of journalists suspected of infringement of the law, has been scrapped," a Parliament statement said.
But opposition members say the law, passed on 1 July, still allows state prosecutors to invoke national security as grounds for impounding publishing materials prior to publication and distribution.
Opposition Parliamentarian Temesgen Zewede told reporters, "Although censorship is abolished, such a right to impound press material before distribution is tantamount to censorship."
The government is also planning to impose strict controls and "draconian" criminal penalties on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in a separate law, say Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
Ethiopia says the draft law on charities and societies is a way for NGOs to be financially transparent and accountable to their stakeholders. But Human Rights Watch says the government's intent is "to consolidate that trend by taking the 'non' out of 'non-governmental' and putting civil society under government control."
For example, the draft law imposes stiff criminal penalties for anyone participating in "unlawful" civil society activity - jail time for participating in a meeting held by an unlawful organisation or disseminating the organisation's information.
Who decides which NGOs are lawful? The government of course - the bill calls for a Charities and Society Agency with extensive powers to license NGOs, monitor their activities and interfere in their management and staffing, says Human Rights Watch.
Plus, all non-Ethiopian NGOs are not allowed to carry out work related to human rights - making it difficult for IFEX members to report free expression violations or engage in human rights activities in the country. Meanwhile, Ethiopian rights NGOs that get more than 10 percent of funding from foreign sources would be considered foreign and would also be closed down.
"The law's key provisions are blunt and heavy-handed mechanisms to control and monitor civil society groups while punishing those whose work displeases the government," say Human Rights Watch and Amnesty. "It could also seriously restrict much of the development-related work currently being carried out by some of Ethiopia's key international partners."
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty are calling on donor governments, especially Ethiopia's biggest donors, the United States and the United Kingdom, to speak out publicly against the criminalisation of human rights work in Ethiopia.
"Their policy of silence has had the effect of helping to embolden the Ethiopian government to make further assaults on human rights, exemplified by the draft NGO law," says Human Rights Watch.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, once considered a pioneer of democracy in Africa, had seen his reputation wane since post-election violence that killed 200 people in 2005. Journalists and opposition members viewed as sympathetic to the protesters were then arrested and charged with treason, and now formal political opposition has become nearly extinct in most of the country.

DLA Piper Pleads Ethiopia's Case Against Human Rights Sanctions

2008-07-03T03:02:00.000-07:00

Daphne Eviatar
The American Lawyer
As reported last week in The Hill and also by an overseas blogger at an E.U. hearing in Brussels, DLA Piper is lobbying on behalf of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and his Ethiopian government on Capitol Hill. For a minimum of $50,000 a month, DLA Piper lobbyists are urging Congress not to sanction the country for human rights violations. It's a bold move, given that Zenawi's violent crackdown on protesters following contested national elections in 2005 was strongly condemned by human rights advocates.
Although the United States has maintained good relations with the Ethiopian government, deeming it an ally in its war on terror, the Department of State in 2006 reported that Ethiopian security forces shot and killed 187 people, wounded 765, and arrested and detained opposition leaders, human rights advocates and journalists. The State Department's report last year suggested the situation had not improved, noting that the government's human rights violations included:

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 pre-trial detention; infringement on citizens'
privacy rights and frequent refusal to follow the law regarding search warrants;
use of excessive force by security services in an internal conflict and
counterinsurgency operations; restrictions on freedom of the press; arrest,
detention and harassment of journalists for publishing articles critical of the
government...

A bill pending in Congress -- the Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 -- would withhold $1.5 million in military aid and place other sanctions on Ethiopia until the government agreed to take specific steps to improve its human rights record. DLA Piper partner Dick Armey, a former House majority leader, together with partner Gary Klein are among the lead lawyers working on Ethiopia's behalf to defeat the bill. The bill passed in the House last October and has been strongly promoted by human rights groups. According to The Hill, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has not yet taken up the bill.
That may be why some Ethiopians are increasingly expressing outrage at DLA Piper for trying to kill the legislation. Kinfu Assefa, an exiled Ethiopian journalist and editor of the Ethiopian Media Forum, was on hand last week when DLA Piper appeared at an E.U. hearing in Brussels on behalf of the Ethiopian government to defend the country’s human rights situation.
In his post on Nazret.com's Merkato blog -- which identifies itself as "the largest Ethiopian news and information service online" -- Assefa recounted an exchange between the mayor-elect of Addis Ababa and the DLA lawyer:
"You were doing everything to kill HR 2003," Dr. Berhanu [the mayor of Addis Ababa and a leader in the opposition party] responded to the lobbyist. "You earn money by defending a corrupt and criminal regime at the expense of the misery of millions of the Ethiopian poor."
DLA Piper spokesman Jason Costa said that the firm's partners were all at a global retreat off the coast of Spain and could not be reached for comment. The firm did provide the following statement: "The firm is assisting Ethiopia in strengthening bilateral relations with the U.S., including assisting Ethiopian capacity-building efforts, expanding trade and investment opportunities, building relationships with Congress, and enhancing relationships with financial, academic, and public policy institutions."In documents filed with the Department of Justice in May 2006 in which its fee arrangement is disclosed, the firm says that it will provide "legal advice and counsel on a broad range of legislative, regulatory, legal matters and public relations needs."
Interestingly, as The American Lawyer will be reporting in more detail, DLA Piper also is assisting Ethiopia on a pro bono basis with its law school in Addis Ababa. Working with a Northwestern University law professor, DLA sent several partners and associates this past spring to teach two-week courses in business negotiations, international corporate dealmaking and international arbitration. It fell to the Northwestern professor to teach international human rights law.
Asked if he knew that DLA was also helping Ethiopia try to kill the human rights bill, DLA partner Sheldon Krantz, who directs the firm's nonprofit arm, New Perimeter, said he was unaware that the firm represented the Ethiopian government before he agreed to take on the Addis Ababa Law School project in mid-2007. That's not wholly implausible, given that DLA has more than 3,700 lawyers in 25 countries. Then again, the firm's lobbying for the Ethiopian government had been reported on by Legal Times in November 2006 and by the International Herald Tribune in October 2007.
"We were not aware of that when we decided to take on this project," says Krantz. "But our view is that New Perimeter was going to take on the law school as a client separate and apart from the firm's work with the government. Whether there is an issue or not, our view is that this is the right time to help this law school."

How a continent missed its moment

2008-07-03T02:45:00.000-07:00

By Michela Wrong (has spent 13 years reporting on the African continent and is the author of two non-fiction books, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz," about the Congolese dictator Mobutu, and "I didn't do it for you", about the Red Sea nation of Eritrea.) Blogger's Note: I recommend her book "I didn't do it for you.", and it is worth reading.

Mbeki's grand project has been sabotaged by his inability to view events on the continent outside a narrow racial prism
As the UN, EU, US and Britain all piled in to cajole or browbeat the African Union into Doing the Right Thing over Zimbabwe at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh, I experienced a sudden déjà vu.
There was another occasion when commentators informed us that Africa's leaders had fin ally lost patience with Robert Mugabe and were about to rap him across the knuckles. That would be the August 2007 meeting of the Southern African Development Community - at which Mugabe's entrance triggered a standing ovation. Funny how we keep getting it wrong.
As this column was going to press, the AU had eventually decided to press for "a government of national unity". A call for dialogue between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC is perfectly unobjectionable but Zanu-PF and the MDC have been negotiating for years without any noticeable dilution of Mugabe's powers, and the sheer viciousness of the election was an unlikely harbinger of trust and compromise.
The AU had, in any case, already missed its moment. The time for Mugabe's African brothers to speak forcefully was in March, when Tsvan girai won the first round of the election and officials sat on the results for five weeks. Their silence, urged on them by South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, encouraged Mugabe to wage a rearguard action. Zimbabweans paid a bloody price.
But what did the international community really expect of the AU? Any organisation that includes among its elder statesmen Egypt's Hosni Mubarak (27 years at the helm), Gabon's Omar Bongo (41 years) and Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang (a modest 29) will have problems lecturing members on the merits of democracy, as Mugabe himself pointed out. Exactly which recent elections could they have held up as models? Kenya's? Nigeria's? Ethiopia's?
Then there's the mindset. The Organisation of African Unity, dubbed "the dictators' club", was consigned to history back in 2002, its members' knee-jerk tendency to attribute their woes exclusively to colonialism, apartheid and Cold War interference supposedly buried with the title. Thanks to a generation of progressive "Renaissance" leaders, announced Mbeki, an invigorated institution would in future deliver "African solutions to African problems".
The continent would still need western financial and technical help, of course, but the world should no longer assume Africa was incapable of policing itself. A key ingredient would be the African Peer Review Mechanism, which catered for governments to be assessed frankly by their counterparts. Six years on, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, Eritrea's Isaias Afewerki and Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi no longer look like enlightened Renaissance leaders. Or rather, theirs is the Renaissance of the Borgias and Machiavelli, not that of the Medicis and Galileo.
On the policing front, it is true that Nelson Mandela managed to negotiate a peace deal between rebels and the government in Burundi, and that an AU force successfully snuffed out a separatist movement in the Comoro Islands. But it took a British military operation to stop civil war in Sierra Leone and Somalia. AU forces have proved little more than token presences, short of equipment, manpower and political backing.
During Kenya's election crisis in December, what was striking was the ruling party's open contempt for Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Ghana's president, John Kufuor, two eminent Africans who flew in to mediate. It was only when the British and US governments told President Mwai Kibaki that travel bans had been drawn up and asset freezes were being prepared that it stepped back from the brink.
Zimbabwe tops the list of failures. The classic explanations for African leaders' long indulgence of Mugabe - respect for an elder and former liberation guerrilla, irritation at being lectured by the west, a preference for quiet diplomacy - lost most of their force in the dreadful run-up to the second poll. The facelift has slipped, leaving the AU today bearing a depressing resemblance to its predecessor.
Mbeki's grand project has been sabotaged by his inability to view events on the continent outside a narrow racial prism, and by his refusal, having publicly adopted a position, to be seen to backtrack.
As the South African president was the man who first championed the notion of "African solutions to African problems" with such passion, it is fitting he should now bear the blame for discrediting it in the eyes of the world.