Ethiopia: Western Diplomatic Omerta in Ethiopia
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Monday 08 February 2010 Ethiopia: Western Diplomatic Omerta in Ethiopia By Alemayehu G. Mariam*Reporting on the eerie silence of Western diplomats in Addis Abeba on Birtukan Midekssa, the first woman political party leader in Ethiopian history and Ethiopia’s # 1 political prisoner, Xan Rice, a reporter for the Guardian wrote last week: That foreign embassies, including Britain’s, which have been refused permission to visit Mideksa, have barely made a public complaint about the case appears to back opposition complaints that when it comes to Ethiopia, donors favour stability over democratic reforms or human rights… ‘The [Ethiopian] government says the more we make noise the more difficult it will be to get her [Mideksa] out,’ said one Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. ‘Are we going to risk our entire aid budget for one person? No.’” Rice questioned in the caption to his piece whether Birtukan is “Ethiopia’s jailed victim of Western realpolitik.” [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Witnesses say Ethiopian troops back in Somalia By presstv.ir Heavily-armed Ethiopian vehicles have reportedly crossed into south central Somalia, seizing the family of a man with Al-Shabab links. Witnesses said the neighboring country's troops entered the towns of El Barde and Yeed on Saturday, seeking the unidentified man, according to a Reuters report. "They came with armored vehicles and were searching for a well-known local man who also works with Al-Shabab," Hussein Ronow, a town resident said on Sunday. The man reportedly escaped, but his wife and three children along with his brother and his brother's family were arrested. [ Read the rest... ]
Sunday 07 February 2010 Ethiopia: Ethiopia Is The Last Country In Africa Allowing Its National Telco, ETC A Monopoly On All Telecom Services By officialwire.comEthiopia is the last country in Africa allowing its national telco, ETC a monopoly on all telecom services including fixed, mobile, Internet and data communications. This monopolistic control has stifled innovation and retarded expansion. The government tries to encourage foreign investment in a broad range of industries by allowing foreigners up to 100% equity ownership. However, there is no official schedule for the privatisation of the national carrier and the introduction of competition, but once this happens, the potential to satisfy unmet demand in all service sectors is huge. Ethiopia has the second lowest telephone penetration rate in Africa, but it recently surpassed Egypt to become the second most populous nation on the continent after Nigeria. However, it is also one of the poorest countries in the world with approximately 80% of the population supporting themselves through subsistence agriculture, which accounts for more than half of the country’s GDP. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: New law forces journalists to reveal sources By AFP(AFP) ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s new anti-terror law strips journalists of the right to protect the identity of their sources, a top official said in a statement carried Saturday by the national news agency ENA.“The anti-terrorism law revoked the rights of journalists not to disclose their information sources when they report on terrorism,” the agency quoted State Minister for Communication Shimeles Kemal as saying. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Flight ET409 and the surplus Ethiopians
It took a story in the Los Angeles Times to help me gather my thoughts together. I knew there was something missing in the story unfolding in front of me. The article by Alexandra Sandels and Borzou Daragahi of Los Angeles Times brought it all in focus. Flight ET409 is a tragic story. We all felt the pain and anguish. Although death is a natural occurrence, a tragedy like ET409 distresses us all. It is death magnified. ET409 was a sudden death in the family. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Ethiopia gets Microsoft software in Amharic ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – US software giant Microsoft has launched Windows Vista in Amharic, the first operating system in the national language of Ethiopia, the official news agency said Saturday."Launching the Amharic version software is a major step forward for Amharic to be a language of technology," Director of the Ethiopian ICT Development Agency, Debretsion Gebremichael was quoted as saying by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA). [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's Hydro Plans Get Stuck in the Mud?  internationalrivers.org On Jan. 13, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi inaugurated the Gilgel Gibe 2 scheme, the country's biggest hydropower project. "It is possible to speed up development without polluting the environment," Zenawi proudly declared as he cut the ceremonial ribbon. Yet this was wishful thinking. Due to shoddy preparation, the project had already been delayed by more than two years. And less than two weeks after the inauguration, the project's core component, a 26 kilometer-long tunnel, collapsed partly. Power generation had to be stopped for several months. Ethiopia's hydro sector demonstrates that there are not shortcuts to sound infrastructure development. Cutting corners does not "speed up development," but produces costly mistakes. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: No snow but Ethiopia's ski hope is on a roll By By Barry Malone ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia's only Olympic skier wheels down a suburban Addis Ababa street on his roller skis, expertly weaving around six donkeys and drawing stares from locals more used to watching runners train. Robel Teklemariam went to the Turin Winter Olympics four years ago and came 84th out of about 100 cross-country skiers. Now the man whose dreadlocks and bright outfits drew stares in Italy has qualified for the Winter Games again. "If I'm closer to the winner than I was at the last Olympics then I'll be very happy," Robel said, sweating in the blazing sun after the workout. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Black Boxes of Crashed Ethiopian Jet Retrieved Lebanese army officials say navy commandos have retrieved the flight recorders from an Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet that crashed off the Lebanese coast last month, killing all 90 people on board. Officials said the so-called "black boxes" were taken to a Lebanese naval base in Beirut Sunday and will be handed over to a committee investigating the crash. Search teams located the latest segments of the plane 45 meters under the Mediterranean Sea just south of Beirut. [ Read the rest... ]
Thursday 04 February 2010 Ethiopia: Ethiopian Government Appeals for Aid to Feed 5.2 Million People By Jason McLureFeb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia needs emergency aid to feed 5.2 million people this year, the government said, appealing for 642,983 metric tons of food from foreign donors. The Horn of Africa nation has already received confirmed pledges for 396,212 tons of food and is still seeking 246,771 tons of aid valued at $188 million, the government and aid agencies said in a report e-mailed to reporters late yesterday in the capital, Addis Ababa. [ Read the rest... ]
Liberia ready to accommodate Haitians, says pres. Sirleaf By runningafrica.comThe Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has announced that Liberia would be open to accommodating Haitians who would want to re-settle following the massive January 8, 2010 earth quake in Port Au Prince, Haiti last month..The Liberian President told the BBC in an interview while she was attending the AU summit in Ethiopia on Tuesday that she did not believe that there should be an imposition of a mandate by the AFRICAN UNION (AU) for African countries to resettle Haitians but instead it should be a voluntary effort. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Ethiopia's ruling party says opposition may incite violence By Jason McLureADDIS ABABA (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia’s ruling party said the country’s largest opposition grouping, the Forum for Democratic Dialogue (Medrek), would try to foment violence after elections scheduled for May in an effort to spur foreign governments to intervene. “They are ready to create violence after the elections,” Hailemariam Desalegn, the parliamentary whip for the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front [a cover for Tigrean People's Liberation Front (Woyanne)], said in a phone interview this week. “Their ultimate objection is not free and fairelections but to get power-sharing like in Zimbabwe and Kenya. I think this is very dangerous and they should be properly told this.” [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Proud Teddy at the Proud Bird in L.A.  By Alemayehu G. MariamIt is really great to be young; but for those who are not, the next best thing is to be at a Teddy Afro concert and jam late into the night with a ballroom full of irrepressible and euphoric young Ethiopian Angelinos. On February 13, Proud Teddy brought his triumphant “Love Conquers All” world tour to the Proud Bird, a well-known LA institution for one-half century themed around vintage WW II war birds. Teddy was in top form belting out one hit after another as he almost levitated on stage. His Abugida Band and backup singers bellowed flaming rhythms and roots-style music combining traditional Ethiopian melodies with reggae beats. Teddy was on fire at the Proud Bird, as was his enraptured audience. I have listened to Teddy Afro on CD and viewed his Youtube videos countless times. His voice, his message and powerful lyrics and his melodies have moved me, rocked me, soothed me and lifted me when I was down. But there is nothing that compares to watching this young musical genius live. The difference between watching Teddy live and listening to him on CD/Youtube is the difference between listening to gospel music on the radio and singing it in the choir with the preacher directing. The Proud Bird concert was a quasi-spiritual experience, almost like being at an old time southern Baptist revival. His audience was not only passionately and emotionally involved with the lyrics and melodies in his music, they were spiritually bonded to him with some invisible gravitational force. There was not a single person at the concert who was not movin’, swingin’, rockin’ and rollin’ and groovin’. [ Read the rest... ]
Wednesday 03 February 2010 Ethiopia: Meles Zenawi in the eyes of African leaders? Tedla AsfawI saw sixteen minutes of praise of Meles Zenawi by some African leaders on pro TPLF web site Aiga this morning, I was not surprised. You invite someone in your home and ask him or her how am I doing, no one says negative things about you. The real stuff is said during lunch or coffee break while no one is around. Moreover, this praise of our leaders is not new. I still remember "Janhoye Ye Africa Abate, Talaku Mere " on his 80th birthday celebration. What did Africa do to him when he was murdered ? I can assure you that Meles Zenawi never condemned the murder of King Haile Selassie, many African leaders had good time with the killer Mengistu Halilemariam back then too. [ Read the rest... ]
Sudan: Court to rule on Sudan president genocide charges By The Associated PressTHE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court are ruling on whether Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir should be charged with waging genocide in Darfur. The court charged al-Bashir with seven counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in March 2009 for allegedly orchestrating a campaign of murder, torture, rape and forced expulsions in Darfur province. But judges said there was insufficient evidence to merit charging him with three genocide counts. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: ET409 crash: Hezbollah denies its delegation missed the flight` By yalibnan.comHezbollah denied on Wednesday a report in Al-Liwaa newspaper that a high-profile party delegation missed boarding the crashed Ethiopian airliner. The party added that the daily based its false information on rumors about Hezbollah MP Nawwar al-Sahili’s travel plans. According to Hezbollah, the unfounded report harms the families of the victims as well as the party. Al-Liwaa has reportedly based its hypothesis on Hezbollah’s unusual concern about the catastrophe and the fact that a Hezbollah delegation, including Hashem Safieddine and MP Nawar al-Sahili, was supposed to be on the plane. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: 'Sabotage' Not Ruled Out Altogether in Ethiopian Plane Crash By naharnet.comHypotheses and speculations mounted about a "sabotage" action in the Ethiopian plane crash which plunged into the Mediterranean sea in stormy weather earlier this week with 90 passengers and crew on board feared dead. The Ethiopian plane crash which plunged into the Mediterranean sea in stormy weather earlier this week with 90 passengers and crew on board is likely a "deliberate" attack, some media reports said Wednesday. While the daily al-Liwaa said the crash is likely a "deliberate" attack, pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat did not rule out "sabotage" after the disaster presumably killed all 90 passengers and crew. [ Read the rest... ]
Tuesday 02 February 2010 Ethiopia: US envoy pledges to press Ethiopia on rights By rawstory.comPresident Barack Obama’s nominee to be the next US ambassador to Ethiopia pledged on Tuesday to press the government in Addis Ababa to improve human rights, free political prisoners and make upcoming elections fair. Donald Booth said the United States had “complex interests” in Ethiopia, and that the two nations, while differing in tactics, saw largely eye-to-eye on the need to bring stability and prevent an Islamist takeover of Somalia. [ Read the rest... ]
Ethiopia: Ethiopian journalist jailed for criticising leader  By AFPADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian journalist has been jailed for a year for criticising the prime minister, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) said Tuesday. "An Ethiopian judge sentenced a journalist to prison on Friday in connection with a January 2008 column that criticized Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's statements about religious affairs in Ethiopia, according to local journalists," the New York-based press rights watchdog said. It identified the journalist as Ezedin Mohamed, editor of Al-Quds, which it described as a "Muslim-orientated newspaper". The Al-Quds column is said to have challenged Meles's characterisation of his country as "Orthodox Christian Ethiopia," CPJ said. [ Read the rest... ]
Monday 01 February 2010 Ethiopia: After Losing a Post, Qaddafi Rebukes the African Union By JASON McLUREADDISABABA, Ethiopia — Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, delivered a rambling rebuke of fellow African heads of state Sunday after they chose to replace him as chairman of the African Union and failed to endorse his push for the creation of a United States of Africa. “I do not believe we can achieve something concrete in the coming future,” said Colonel Qaddafi, before introducing President Bingu wa Mutharika of Malawi as his successor at the African Union’s annual summit meeting, held in Addis Ababa. “The political elite of our continent lacks political awareness and political determination. The world is changing into 7 or 10 countries, and we are not even aware of it.” [ Read the rest... ]
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