Ethiopian Confidential

Kassala University Students in Need of Urgent Medical Assistance Following Clash with Regime

2011-10-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Urgent Press Release: Girifna movement

Khartoum—(October 23, 2011) On October 20, and for the third consecutive day, students in Kassala University protested the academic, economic and political situation in the country. They were met with excessive violence from the regime including live ammunition and tear gas. The worse came when a car (government Land Cruiser) ran over 8 students critically injuring four students, two of them are in urgent need of medical attention. The students are:

1. Abdulqadir Mohamed Adam (physics department): this student has been transported to Khartoum for medical attention.

2. Idrees Mohemed Ali (department of education): has suffered a fracture in his spinal cord and is grave danger. His critical situation has made it impossible to transport him by car to Khartoum due to the condition of the roads. He needs a helicopter in order to be transported to a Khartoum hospital.

3. Abdul al salam Osman Naseeb (department of economics): he has been released from hospital and his situation is stable after being treated from injuries.

4. Ahmed Hamid Qardiya (computer science department): has also been released from hospital and his situation is stable after being treated from injuries.

We call upon all humanitarian organizations and upon the Sudanese diaspora abroad to urgently mobilize efforts to get these students, who sacrificed their safety and lives to call for a life of dignity for all Sudanese, the necessary medical care they deserve and as soon as possible. As well as to publicize the atrocities and human rights violations committed against these civilians by the National Congress Party (NCP).

Moreover, there has been arrests of activists in Kassala and continued persecution of others by the NCP.

GIRIFNA, a non violent resistance movement is calling upon all humanitarian organizations and upon the Sudanese diaspora abroad to urgently mobilize efforts to get these students, who sacrificed their safety and lives to call for a life of dignity for all Sudanese, the necessary medical care they deserve and as soon as possible. As well as to publicize the atrocities and human rights violations committed against these civilians by the National Congress Party (NCP).

Meles casts the tax net wide for his dam

2011-09-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Indian Ocean, No. 1316, September 17, 2011

Perhaps Prime Minister Meles Zenawi would like to go down in history as the man who initiated the gigantic mobilization to finance the Great Renaissance Dam. This ambitious plan to build a hydro-electric dam on the Blue Nile in the west of the country should reach a capacity of 525oMW within the next few years, for a cost of € 3.5m to € 4m. To make up for the reluctance of the international donors and also to stimulate national pride, he spurred a vast operation to gather funds by selling treasury bonds. In fact, it is very much like enforced savings: with an annual inflation rate nearing 40% these treasury bonds yielding an interest of 5.5% to 6% are of no interest whatsoever. Those who most enthusiastically put their hands in their pockets are precisely the accredited contributors to the EPRDF (ruling coalition) who are fully aware that it is the price to pay to stay in the government's good books.

Meles Zenawi's private lender. During a ceremony held in Addis Ababa on 11 September to thank the leading acquires of treasury bonds, Meles Zenawi bestowed particular satisfaction to the Saudi-Ethiopian magnate Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi. This EPRDF partisan who was already the main contributor to the organization's congress last year (ION 1285) undertook this year to acquire bonds for 1.5 billion Birrs (€ 64 million). This makes him the largest private donor in Ethiopia. The other large contributors are businessmen and companies close to the regime, like Samuel Assefa, head of Sunshine Construction, a company in whose future Azeb Mesfin, the Ethiopian Prime Minster's wife has taken a substantial interest (20 million Birrs or € 856,000); Saber Argaw of Al-Sam (22 million Birrs) and Tekleberhan Ambaye of the construction company Tacon (21 million Birrs). Also on the list are the Oromia Coffee Cooperative Union (Ocfcu) headed by Tadesse Maskela (20 million Birrs), the holding company EFFORT affiliated to the TPLF (hard core of the ruling coalition) which released 157 million Birrs (€ 6.7 million) and Tiret, the investment fund linked to Amhara national Democratic Movement (ANDM, member of the EPRDF) for 25 million Birrs.

Highly regulated “voluntary” contributions. In each area of activity, overseeing ministers meet once or twice a month with heads of companies to hold “collection parties” to take a stock, complete with detailed figures, of the purchases of the treasury bonds issued by the authorities. This recently gave rise to a bitter-sweet exchange of letters between the government and the association of entreprenures in the housing sector. The government has asked them to invest 200 million Birrs (€8.5 million), but finally they managed to beat the figure down and at the beginning of August the 53 entrepreneurs in the sector collected 121 million Birrs (€ 5.1 million). For their part, the employees of the federal government contributed from their salaries to the tune of 205 million Birrs (€ 8.7 million). According to various tallying witness reports, these contributions most often result from strict directives from the top officials in the administration, from which the employees are unable to opt out. And those who drag their feet beware! The Vice President of the Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, Sebsible Nesatse, and several civil servants in this administration were dismissed from their posts last month. Officially, it was because of poor management and even corruption, but certain sources see this as a purge of officials who oppose the construction of the Great renaissance Dam in their region.

A collateral victim. Environmental NGOs and Egypt are making strong protests against this project. In addition, the Norwegian consulting company Norplan was wrong-footed. Its engineers are working on the Mandaya dam (with a capacity of 2000 MW) on the Blue Nile, which is situated upstream of the Great renaissance Dam and would be drowned by the water held back. According to the Northern European magazine Development Today, Norplan has instigated a study to persuade the Ethiopian government to reduce the height of the renaissance Dam by 20 to 25 meters from the currently planned 145 meters. This would reduce the dam's electricity generating capacity by 15% to 185, but would enable the Mandaya dam to be completed. Work on the later dam is currently suspended.

TPLF and Sudan

2011-09-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

September 3, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The Ethiopian Prime minister Meles Zenawi told the US administration that toppling the government led by Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir would be the ideal scenario for Washington, according to a leaked diplomatic cable.

The January 30, 2009 note released by Wikileaks, an anti-secrecy website, detailed discussions that took place between Zenawi and Acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Phil Carter with the presence of the Director of Sudan Programs Group (SPG) at the US State Department Tim Shortley.

Focus of the talks was on the widely expected issuance of an arrest warrant against Bashir by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes he allegedly committed in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
The Sudanese leader was officially charged a little over a month after this meeting took place on seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The more serious counts of genocide were only added a year later after appeal by the ICC prosecutors.

Zenawi told the US delegation that the warrant could encourage someone in Khartoum to stage a coup but said that success of such an attempt would be nearly zero due to the close connections and mutual support for one another among senior NCP officials which would suppress any coup attempt.

“If Bashir remains in power, either because no such coup attempt is made or an attempt fails, the indictment will leave the Bashir regime a wounded animal that is more desperate than ever,” the cable quoted Zenawi as saying.

The Ethiopian Premier agreed with assertions made by US acting Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs that Khartoum’s actions seem to undermine their own long-term interests.

However, Zenawi also argued that the ruling party in Sudan is disappointed over US refusal to normalise ties despite signing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended more than two decades of civil war with the South.

At the time, Washington promised Khartoum that it will normalise ties as a reward. However, the conflict in Darfur made the US hesitant to do so amid intense domestic pressure to take action that would reverse the growing humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s western region.

“While the [Government of Sudan] GoS thought that they had moved away from a climate of bad relations with Washington when they signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Naivasha, they perceive the United States as having shifted the goal posts on them since" Zenawi said.

As a result, Zenawi asserted that the GoS believes that "the U.S. will get them one way or the other," and from that perspective, they are already in a corner. "Believing they will lose, they perceive no benefit to them of resolving the problems of South Sudan”, the Ethiopian top official said.

Zenawi said that the NCP’s strategy as a result will be to deploy delaying tactics such as postponing the January 2011 referendum, buy time on Darfur and "hope for a miracle" in 2011. South Sudan’s self determination did go ahead in January resulting in a massive vote for independence, which it achieved in January. Sudan was the first country to recognise South Sudan’s secession.

"To die today or die tomorrow, they will choose to employ delaying mechanisms allowing them to die tomorrow" Zenawi explained.

He said that while the "Islamic agenda" may have motivated the regime ten years ago, today they are interested only in money and power.

He pressed the case that direct negotiations between Khartoum and Washington could lead to rational discussions.

Zenawi then went on to wrap up his views saying that if he were the United States he would look at two options.

The first one, which he clearly conveyed as the preferred choice according to the US cable, would be to "remove the Bashir regime."

Acknowledging that such an option was unlikely, Zenawi advocated for making a clear representation to the GoS that the United States is not "out to get them" and laying out clear benchmarks of actions expected of the GoS on both Darfur and South Sudan that would be necessary to "avoid continued challenges" with the US.

He concluded the discussion by highlighting that "they [Khartoum] don’t trust the Obama Administration," and "they trust the Obama Administration less than the Bush Administration," and with a clear reference to US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice and former Senior NSC Director for Africa Gayle Smith. Both officials are considered hardliners in their views of Khartoum.

Relations between Sudan and Ethiopia are considered to be generally strong in recent years. Addis Ababa was one of Bashir’s first stops after the ICC arrest warrant.

Ethiopia is seen as an honest broker by Sudanese parties and has hosted numerous meetings between north and south over the past two years.

More recently Ethiopia agreed to deploy its troops as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Sudan’s disputed Abyei region.

Khartoum sent tanks and troops into oil-producing Abyei last May, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee the fighting. But both sides agreed to set up a demilitarised zone along the border after talks in Addis Ababa.

Last month Zenawi attempted to mediate between the NCP and Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) in a bid to end the ongoing clashes that erupted last June in South Kordofan. However, the effort seemed to have been fruitless.

To makes matters worse, the Sudanese army on Friday clashed with the SPLM-N fighters in Blue Nile state which borders Ethiopia. It remains to be seen how the latter would react particularly given reports of exodus by civilian population from the state in the aftermath of the fighting.

There are small signs however, that relations between Addis Ababa and Khartoum are not as smooth as it seems.

The government sponsored Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website has carried a report that was critical of choosing Ethiopian troops to deploy in Abyei citing national security concerns and Addis Ababa ties with Israel.

Furthermore, the Paris-based Indian Ocean newsletter reported concerns by Addis Ababa over information of meetings between Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) officers and members of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and leaders of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP).

The report said Khartoum on the other hand is angered over Ethiopian military support to Juba which it claims is falling into the hands of SPLM-N in South Kordofan. The SPLM-N is the northern sector of South Sudan’s ruling party the SPLM. During Sudan’s second north-south civil war (1983-2005) large numbers of marginalised groups in Blue Nile and South Kordofan joined the SPLM in their conflict with Khartoum.

Khartoum has said it now perceives the SPLM-N to be an illegal military force and political party, which continues to be backed by the SPLM in South Sudan.

In October 2008 Sudan summoned the Ethiopian ambassador to protest against weapons that it said had arrived in South Sudan’s capital Juba on an Ethiopian military plane.

EPRDF REGIME ARRESTS,TORTURES AND DEPORTS DJIBOUTIANS

2011-08-04T15:52:00.001-07:00

Punjab farmers to grow multiple crops in Ethiopia (There are bringing in their own farmers on top of it all!)

2011-08-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

Business Standard, India (August 2, 2011)

Vijay C Roy

New Delhi/ Chandigarh - Karuturi Global Ltd, the largest rose producer in the world, has acquired about 7,70,000 acres of land in Ethiopia for cultivation of cereal crops.

If everything goes as planned, the enterprising farmers of Punjab would be seen managing large farms in Ethiopia in near future. Karuturi Global Ltd, the largest rose producer in the world, has acquired about 7,70,000 acres of land in Ethiopia for cultivation of cereal crops, palm oil plants, sugar cane, etc and is offering work to the farmers of Punjab.

This is for the first time that a global corporate has come forward with a concrete business model of collaborating with the Indian farmers, who had been trying to explore such opportunities for the past two years.

Paving way for others, Punjab-based farmer Puneet Singh Thind has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the company as a consultant and would manage about 2,500 acres of land initially.

Speaking to Business Standard, Puneet Singh Thind said, “I have visited Ethiopia a couple of times and was really keen to start farming there. So I have signed an MoU with the Karuturi Global Ltd. They are going to provide all kind of infrastructural support to me. Very soon, I would float a company for managing the farms. Initially, I would be managing 2,500 acres of land. As far as revenue sharing is concerned, it would be in the ratio of 65:35.”

He added further, that the land is very fertile and virgin. “I am planning to have multiple crops and would grow maize, wheat, paddy, vegetables, etc,” he added.

Earlier, Karuturi Global, Founder and MD, Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi said, “This initiative gives Indian farmers the opportunity to enjoy the economies of scale that come along with large scale commercial farming seen in America or Australia.”

Indian farmers in collaboration with a corporate body such as Karuturi can avail of the agro ecosystem that the company offers on a revenue sharing model. Karuturi has been in Africa for close to a decade and is set to be a key player.

Earlier, the progressive farmers, mainly members of Poscon (Confederation of Potato Seed Farmers) were planning to take about 2000-5000 hectares of farm land on lease in Ethiopia for growing cash crops like oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane and maize. Also, farmers’ organisation like Rashtriya Kissan Sangathan was exploring Ethiopia for opportunities in agriculture.

While, the progressive farmer members of Poscon are planning to take about 2000-5000 hectares farm land on lease in Ethiopia for growing cash crops like oilseeds, pulses, sugarcane and maize, members of Rashtriya Kissan Sangathan are looking to grow cotton, paddy, non-edible oil seeds and palm land by taking 5,000 hectares of land on lease.

According to their members, fertile land coupled with low lease money and developmental cost, makes a viable proposition for the farmers for cultivation.

ABEBE GELLAW: COMPROMISING BIRTUKAN MIDIKSA

2011-08-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

By Demeke Balcha

Abebe Gellaw has written a euphoric article posted by Ethiomedia in which he trumpets loud and afar that Birtukan Midiksa has been given a fellowship by the American National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an organization he hails and to which Birtukan also pays homage as she “accepts with humility and in the name of the Ethiopian people this honor”.

Leave the Ethiopian people alone! Abebe Gellaw was plucked from Europe and brought to the CIA training centre that is sometimes called Stanford University and now let loose on the Ethiopian opposition. He recently “got” 40,000 US dollars for ESAT and as recognition becomes chairman of the ESAT. Abebe serves US interest above and before any Ethiopian one. It is no wonder that he now praises NED for giving a scholarship to Birtukan who is thus going to be manipulated and controlled by the CIA and Washington to serve their interests in Ethiopia. What is NED? Here is what some knowledgeable Americans had to say:

“The National Endowment for Democracy is foreign policy loose cannon. Promoting democracy is a nebulous objective that can be manipulated to justify any whim of the special-interest groups--the Republican and Democratic parties, organized labor, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce--that control most of NED’s funds. As those groups execute their own foreign policies, they often work against American interests and meddle needlessly in the affairs of other countries, undermining the democratic movements NED was designed to assist. Moreover, the end of the Cold War has nullified any usefulness that such an organization might ever have had. There is no longer a rival superpower mounting an effective ideological challenge, and democracy is progressing remarkably well on its own.

NED, which also has a history of corruption and financial mismanagement, is superfluous at best and often destructive. Through the endowment, the American taxpayer has paid for special-interest groups to harass the duly elected governments of friendly countries, interfere in foreign elections, and foster the corruption of democratic movements”. (Barbara Cony).

Corruption of democratic movements and leaders-- this is the task of NED and of its agent Abebe Gellaw. NED, in the service of right wing interests in America, has been extensively criticized for its destructive meddling all over the world. Writing “The skinny on the National Endowment for Democracy”, Brendan I. Koerner noted:

“The most common complaint is that the NED's money only goes to support movements and politicians that fit into the United States' foreign-policy objectives, regardless of whether those who receive the money engage in undemocratic campaigns. Most recently, the left assailed the NED for its indirect support of Venezuelan groups that were active in attempts to overthrow democratically elected President Hugo Chavez”. NED funds and trains opposition groups, leaders, journals (for example Khartoum Monitor),TV stations, etc with the aim of bringing these in line with American policy. Its recent implications in Egypt and Tunisia have also been criticized as an attempt of compromise national sovereignty and to put the people’s movement under American control. If Abebe Gellaw works for NED it is only to be expected as he is suspected of being an American “kitregna” but that Birtukan should be involved with such an organization raises many questions. There were in the past doubts that she was being primed and propagated by the foreign powers to give her prominence and to make her serve their interests. This suspicion is now being reinforced. Consider the scholarship given to Seye Abrha to go to Harvard for a year. Was he being pushed out of the way to make an American plan to replace Meles (if need be) by General Tsadkan more feasible and easy or was he being groomed by America itself? These are questions Ethiopian patriots should raise with seriousness now that the danger against Ethiopia has increased and plots are many to sabotage the struggle of the people.

If Birtukan is the genuine daughter of Ethiopia, she should not thank NED or feel honored by its offer but she should REJECT the fellowship offer and declare openly and firmly that she serves only Ethiopian interests. Ethiopians in the Diaspora should also condemn the “kitregna” Abebe Gellaw and all others who are working with foreign powers against the interest of Ethiopia.

Qelebeten Situat: A new book from Beljig Ali

2011-06-03T02:09:00.000-07:00

ECB bidding advertisment

2011-04-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

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2010-12-30T05:09:00.000-08:00

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