Ethiomedia | May 11, 2008
GONDAR, Northern Ethiopia (Ethiomedia) - Ethiopians repulsed a Sudanese army attack and captured eight soldiers during a battle near the border on Friday, a press statement released to Ethiomedia said late Saturday night.

The Ethiopia-Sudan Border Committee said the Sudanese army had crossed the border into Ethiopia via Tach Armacheho of Gondar region, and begun to burn down Ethiopian-owned agro farms when the local Ethiopians sent out a traditional clarion call that an enemy has encroached upon sovereignty and should be engaged immediately. "The Ethiopians fought back the Sudanese army which fled the area," the committee said.

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ስያሜው ግንቦት ሰባት ተብሏል

በቅርቡ ራዲዮና ድረ-ገጻቸው ይፋ ይሆናል

Ethiopia Zare (ዓርብ ሚያዝያ 30 ቀን 2000 ዓ.ም. May 09, 2008)፦ በቅርቡ ከቅንጅት ለአንድነትና ለዲሞክራሲ ፓርቲም ሆነ አሁን እንደአዲስ ከተቋቋመው አንድነት ለዲሞክራሲና ለፍትህ ፓርቲ ራሳቸውን ያገለሉት ዶ/ር ብርሃኑ ነጋና አጋሮቻቸው ግንቦት ሰባት ንቅናቄ በሚል ስያሜ አዲስ የፖለቲካ ድርጅት አቋቁመው በመጭው ሳምንት ግንቦት 6 ቀን 2000 ዓ.ም. ለህዝብ ይፋ ሊያደርጉ መሆኑን ታማኝ ምንጮቻችን ገለጹ።

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May 9th, 2008– Addis Ababa Mayor-Elect Dr Berhanu Nega and colleagues are preparing to make a major announcement next Wednesday in Washington DC, about their future political move. They have scheduled a press conference at the Ethiopian Television Network’s studio on May 14 at 10:00 AM. All Ethiopian and other media are invited to the press conference.

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By Yilma bekele

Two of my favorite characters were in the news last week. I do not think they know each other. I am sure of that. But they were both in the news. One was pleading for his life in jail somewhere in the Iraqi desert. His African counterpart was duplicating his past deeds and misdeeds. You know sooner or later he is going to find himself in the same predicament as the Iraqi prisoner. Some of us do not learn from history. Some people think they think they are an exception. ‘That won’t happen to me’ syndrome. Anyway I was surprised to read the small headline in the second page way down at the bottom, ‘Tariq Aziz goes on trial in Baghdad.’ Good old Tariq is still around. I had completely forgotten him.

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The Oromo American Citizen Council joins the Worldwide March for Freedom, Justice and Human Rights in Ethiopia, starting on May 15, 2008 and ending on March 18,

Press release May 7, 2008

We in the Oromo American Citizen Council are writing this letter to declare that we are joining our sisters and brothers of Ethiopia in the March for Freedom, Justice and Human Rights to be held on May 15 - 18, 2008, especially remembering those who fought and died for human rights, freedom, and democracy in Ethiopia.

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The Addis Ababa government’s MOI rejected license for Jimma Times (JT) based on unknown reasons and JT managers said they will continue to fight for the license.

After JT’s global presence was established in 1999 (ET Calendar) thru its official website, Jimma Times managers said it took them more than half a dozen months just to get their newspaper office space registered by the local government, allegedly due to local government bureaucracy and inefficiency. Since then, they have not been able to secure a license for their independent newspaper.

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OLF Amharic May 6 commented that the recent land"transaction" between TPLF and Sudan is a mutual
agreement benefiting both regimes.

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Press Release: May 6, 2008 – Plans are well underway for the four-day event, Worldwide March for Freedom, Justice and Human Rights in Ethiopia, starting on May 15, 2008 and ending on Sunday, March 18, but the invitation is still open for more people to join in as organizers and support people. (Image - AbbayMedia)Teleconference meetings are being held daily to assist participants in the process.

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Nairobi, 6 May 2008 (EMF) Amnesty International’s former Prisoner of conscience, Alemayehu Mesele left his family and his country to a neighboring country and then to Europe on Monday, after he was severely beaten up by Zenawi’s undercover agents. (Pictures: Alemayehu, left - after he was beaten)

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By MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A leading human rights group on Tuesday accused EPRDF troops in Somalia of killing civilians and committing atrocities, including slitting people's throats, gouging out eyes and gang-raping women.In a new report, Amnesty International detailed chilling witness accounts of indiscriminate killings in the Horn of Africa country and called on the international community to stop the bloodshed.

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Eskinder Nega
The imprisoned journalists have appeared before court today. No outside party was allowed to follow the proceedings, but we know that the court ruled that they should remain in prison for fourteen more days until the police wind up its investigation. The ruling came as a surprise since it is quite plain that the police have no need for further investigation after impounding what it has determined to be incriminating evidence.

U.S. Congressman from California, Mr Dana Rohrabacher, joins the Ethiopian people in demanding the immediate release of Teddy Afro. He sent the following short and to-the-point letter to dictator Meles Zenawi.
PDF

By Melissa Schmitt - WASHINGTON — Teff. Most people haven’t heard of this nutrient-packed grain grown in the highlands of East Africa, but if you’ve ever dined in an Ethiopian restaurant, you’ve eaten it. And if you want to eat it again, it’s going to cost you.

Teff is the main ingredient of injera, the sour flatbread that is a symbol of Ethiopian hospitality, and as ubiquitous as Americans’ morning coffee.

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Eskinder Nega,
Addis Ababa.

In a move that is widely believed to have been deliberately chosen to coincide with World Press Freedom day, the Ethiopian government has struck against the private press yesterday. This is part of the erstwhile slide to naked tyranny following the brutal crackdown after the 2005 election.




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By Mustafa Haji Abdinur
MOGADISHU (AFP) - Islamist militants on Friday vowed to avenge the killing of a man said to be Al-Qaeda's chief in war-torn Somalia and warned people from nations they consider hostile to stay away from the country.
The US military on Thursday killed Moalim Aden Hashi Ayro and at least 11 others when it bombed a house in the central town of Dhusamareb.

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By Peter Heinlein, Addis Ababa- 30 April 2008
Heinlein report - Download (MP3) audio clip

Ethiopian officials are re-evaluating the need for emergency food aid in light of evidence that drought conditions and food shortages in parts of the country may be worse than estimated. VOA’s Peter Heinlein recently visited areas of southern and eastern Ethiopia where the drought threatens to cause widespread famine.

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By yilma bekele

I read on Walta, the Government official web site that the Ethiopian Prime Minster held a ‘discussion with various Trade Unions’ in Addis Ababa. Discussion is always good. Walta does not list the Trade Unions involved in this discussion. May be it is because in today’s Ethiopia it really does not matter. All Trade Unions are organized by and are accountable to the government. Free and independent association of any kind is not tolerated in Ethiopia. The government is the official ‘baby sitter’ of the country. The old adage ‘children can be seen but not heard’ is the guiding principle of the theory of ‘revolutionary democracy’ being constructed in Ethiopia.

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All these far flung concept, country, system and a celebrity have one thing in common. The current Ethiopian regime is the unifying factor here. It is a well-planned and calculated move by the princess of darkness from Arat Kilo. They are a ploy to put too much up on the screen, too many things all at once and it is very difficult to focus. We are inundated with too much information. It is difficult to hit a moving object.

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Ethiomedia, Editorial

April 28, 2008 To be or not to be prime minister in 2010? That was the question put to Meles Zenawi by Newsweek a couple of weeks ago: "Will you stay as prime minister after your term expires in 2010? Meles: "This is likely to be my last term." Such was the pithy and cryptic response of the normally pompous and bombastic dictator. "Likely"? What does that mean? Used as an adverb, the word "likely" is commonly preceded by a modifier such as "very", "most" or "quite" as in "This is (most) likely to be my last term." So used, the word conveys a measure of sincerity, good faith and certitude about one's intentions, if not actual plans. Used in its adjectival form, the word "likely" could mean "probable" or "possible", as in "It is probable or possible this could be my last term."

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National Front for the Liberation of Ogaden (NFL) has threatened the Ethiopian government forces with "a long guerilla warfare" using military equipment and vehicles at its disposal. In an exclusive statement to Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Abd-al-Qadir Hasan, the NLF deputy leader, said our armed forces are continuing their military operations, scoring victories every day against the Ethiopian forces. He noted that the NLF has succeeded in liberating 70 percent of the territory of the Muslim Ogaden region. He rejected characterization of the Ogaden people and the NFL fighters as insurgents fighting against the Ethiopian state.

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