Set Political Prisoners Free !

Ethiopia’s ruling thugs have sharply devalued the country’s currency to fuel the sky rocketing inflation. Ethiopia’s Ruling Thugs Owned Central Bank announced Wednesday that the birr has been devalued from roughly 13 ½ birr to the dollar to nearly 16 ½ birr, a one-day drop of about 17 percent. 
The Horn of Africa nation’s trade deficit for fiscal [...]

A Comedy of Errors: (Act I)
Rodney King’s videotaped brutal beating by members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) eventually triggered the L.A. riots of 1992. Rodney made a public appearance on the third day of the anarchy and pleaded in his inimitable style:
“People, I just want to say, can we all get along? Can [...]

There are three classes of the rich in Ethiopia: 1. the Woyannes (the super rich), 2. their hodam supporters (bottom-feeders), and 3. honest wealthy Ethiopians whose number is diminishing by the day.
(Note to non-Ethiopian readers: Hodam is one who has no conscience, who sells his country, his people, his soul… for material gain. Woyanne is [...]

On its August 9, 2010 issue, the Financial Times, a prestigious international newspaper, run an article authored by Mr. William Willis, the newspaper’s Africa Editor. In his article entitled “Perfidious Donors Betray African Democrats”, Mr. Willis wrote “…in Ethiopia, the same is almost true but with a disturbing caveat. It is an open secret that [...]

On Friday, September 10, at 12:00 noon pride will light up the face of every Ethiopian and Ethiopian American who comes to celebrate the six annual Ethiopian flag raising ceremony in San Jose.
The Annual Ethiopian Flag raising Festival is a celebratory event that gives Ethiopians, Ethiopian Americans, friends, and supporters the chance to come together [...]

Alemayehu G. Mariam:
A Brand Spanking New Constitution
In February 2008, following the ethnically-driven post-election violence in Kenya, I wrote an editorial commentary entitled “The Ethiopianization of Kenya”: 
After a half century of national existence, democratic experimentation and stability, Kenya has degenerated into a tribal/ethnic basket case beset by violence, fear and loathing… Kenya could have easily avoided [...]

Beware of Those Who Bear Olive Branches
“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” goes the old saying. I say beware of those bearing fake olive branches. In many societies, “extending an olive branch” symbolizes an act of reconciliation, goodwill and peace. In ancient Greece and Rome, people gave each other olive branches as tokens of their intention [...]

The U.S. gives about $1 billion annually to Ethiopia. But even as U.S. and other international aid has surged in the last decade, activists charge that the government has become more authoritarian.
By Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Like many in the West, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn watched [...]

By Mezgebu Tsegaye
A few hundreds of TPLF agents, sycophants and opportunists were out in Washington DC on August 5 to express their solidarity with the genocidal dictator Meles Zenawi. Well, in the US even Neo-Nazist groups have a right to rally like decent groups. So it is a bit confounding to see ETV, Aiga and [...]

By William Wallis

In Ethiopia, the same is almost true but with a disturbing caveat. It is an open secret that the double-digit growth of recent years is supported by dubious statistics.

There are plenty of reasons to be hopeful about sub-Saharan Africa. Progress towards more democratic rule, however, is no longer among them.
Anyone persuaded otherwise needs [...]

It is well known that the incombant fascistic and racist criminal regiem in Ethiopia is trying to to do everything to stay in power for just another one day. For this reason it will do every thing possible (YEMAYGELEBITEW DENGAY YELEM), if a need comes even to disintegrate the country and run for its evil [...]

By Berhanu Nega:
Introduction
With the fall of the Soviet Union and the collapse of “communism” as an ideological project in the late 80s and early 90s, there was optimism that political liberalism will spread uncontested around the world.  In the early 1990s the spread of democratic politics in what was dubbed “the third wave” of [...]

Alemayehu G. Mariam
Note: This is the fourth installment in a series of commentaries I intend to offer on U.S. foreign policy (or lack thereof as some would argue) in Ethiopia. In this piece, I argue that the Obama Administration’s recently announced Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to go after corruption in Africa and elsewhere could prove [...]

The Tigrai Liberation Front International gathering had a very disappointing turnout, our source close to the the the TPLF  herd reported.  The TPLF supporters were gathered by the Embassy  from many places  to show support  to the war criminal Meles Zenawi .  Eye witness added, most attendee were  originally from TIGRAI and  were accompanied with few of their  servants [...]

Press Release

Ethiopians in Europe attending their annual festival in Amsterdam last week  beaten up a supporter of a war criminal and genocider e who dared to wear a t-shirt with Meles Zenawi’s photo and walk in their midst. The tribal thug who had worn a black t-shirt with two pictures of war criminal Meles Zenawi acted [...]

 
Note: This is the third installment in a series of commentaries I intend to offer on U.S. foreign policy (or lack thereof as some would argue) in Ethiopia. In this piece, I argue that while some credit is due to the Obama Administration for rhetorically  promoting human rights  throughout the world giving hope to millions [...]

Press Release
China: Stop Supporting State Sponsored-Terrorism in Ethiopia
On Thursday, the 5th of August, 2010, Ethiopian Americans residing in the greater Washington DC area will hold a protest demonstration at the Chinese Embassy located on 3505 International Place, NW Washington, DC, starting from 09:00 AM in the morning. China is supporting a rogue regime in [...]

Press Release

A coalition of several Ethiopian groups are coming together to organizing a protest rally against China’s political, financial and technical assistance to the genocidal regime in Ethiopia.
The first protest rally will be held in Washington DC on August 5, 2010 at the Embassy of China.
Address: 3505 International Place, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20008
Time: 9:00 AM
With [...]

Press Release

According to Aigaforum , the tribal web-blog for idiots,  the  plan to bring TPLF cronies from various places is facing logistical troubles. The representatives for tribal thugs are urgently soliciting for financial assistance to be sent to  ethioabay2010@hotmail.com via paypla.
Without the  financial aid, the TPLF Embassy in Washington would  unable to bring the  herds [...]

By William Davison
A coalition of Ethiopian opposition parties will take steps toward becoming a single party by forming a front, said Negasso Gidada, co-deputy chairman of the so-called Medrek alliance.
The change will result in the opposition group having “one general assembly, one center, one leadership and one long-term strategic policy paper that is binding for [...]

Addis Voice is pleased to announce the re-launch of its website after taking time off to complete its upgrading project. The new cutting-edge site integrates a number of new and upgraded multimedia features.
With increasing demand for service upgrade in the face of repeated technical and server problems with our previous host, we are certain that [...]

By Zinab Amde:
In today’s Ethiopia, the grip of real power is blurred as a real political system has given way to the rise of a dictatorship that sustains its existence on sheer power, brute force and arbitrary actions.
Under a democratic system, power emanates from the will of the people and no one is attributed with [...]

Two monuments of “ABUNS”,
One counts with Martyrs and Saints,
The other a “living creature” of “Diabilos”
One was a patriot and honor to all us,
The other enemy from within, a known traitor,
The previous ,Abune Petros”,
And the latter ,Aite Paulos”.
People erected monument on his place of execution,
For their brave protector ,the hero real , Abun”,
So ;Aite” couldn’t stand [...]

When leaders of rogue nations hire Washington lobbyists, opposition voices get crowded out.

Once the province of a few fringe players operating on the margins of Washington, lobbying for foreign countries has become big business for the most prestigious firms in D.C. According to data from the Department of Justice, the number of [...]

Note: This is the second installment in a series of commentaries I intend to offer on U.S. foreign policy (or lack thereof as some would argue) in Ethiopia. In this piece, I argue that the price of U.S. lip service to human rights in Ethiopia without action is demoralization of the brave and dedicated [...]

Ethiopian Ceremonial Figure Girma Wolde-Giorgis, 85, who is currently at the Riyadh Military Hospital for a routine health checkup, may be dying from his poor health.

Girma the former cadre for Derg and now serving the TPLF thugs  arrived in Riyadh late Thursday along with a handful of aides and was received at King Khaled International Airport [...]

Live Aid, which celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this month, was conceived after heart wrenching TV footages of dying children and emaciated adults weeping for the dead, as well as the abhorrent misery they had to face, globally brought into sharp focus the forgotten horrors of war and famine in [...]

The crushing electoral defeat of the Ethiopian opposition does not actually help the ruling party and encourages its slide into authoritarianism.
By René Lefort for openDemocracy.net
‘I really feel totally betrayed by the system,’ confessed Beyene Petros, one of the most respected leaders of the Ethiopian opposition, a few days after its crushing defeat in the [...]

Note: This is the first installment in a series of commentaries I intend to offer on U.S. foreign policy (or lack thereof as some would argue) in Ethiopia.  In this piece, I explore the human rights rhetoric in U.S. foreign policy and argue that lofty talk without action has emboldened Ethiopia’s dictators to ply their [...]

By Abebe Gellaw
Today marks the first Nelson Mandela International Day. It was last November that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a special resolution declaring July 18th an international Mandela day to be observed annually.
Mandela Day is undoubtedly a befitting tribute to a man who spent 27 years of his [...]

Speculators set up a casino where the chips were the stomachs of millions. What does it say about our system that we can so casually inflict so much pain?
Earlier this year I was in Ethiopia, one of the worst-hit countries, and people there remember the food crisis as if they had been [...]

The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Jean Ping ( an idiot) , on Saturday expressed concern about the new decision of the Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sudanese leader Omar al Bashir and its impact on the ongoing peace processes in Sudan.
Jean Ping who does not care for [...]

Food is scarce in Ethiopia, where most of the population lives in rural, drought-prone areas in a state of chronic poverty. In 2010, the Government of Ethiopia identified 5.2 million people in need of emergency food aid. Not surprisingly, this hunger crisis also impacts the thousands of refugees living just within Ethiopia’s borders.

In the isolated [...]

By David Wilkes:

15th July 2010
A ‘gold-digging’ male model dumped by a Saudi Arabian princess after she caught him with two other women attacked her chauffeur in a rage, a court heard yesterday.
The fracas unfolded at the princess’s London flat after a night of drink and drugs, jurors were told.

Swedish model [...]

British supermodel Naomi Campbell will appear before the war crimes tribunal of former Liberian President Charles Taylor, according to a statement from her representative.
She’s been called as “a witness” and “is not being accused of any wrongdoing and is not on trial,” the statement says.
Campbell had previously said she [...]

By Geletaw Zeleke
Fundamentally, social fusion emerged as a subsequent natural interaction process. Attempting to deter such a process is tantamount to blocking a stream of water with a sieve. It is becoming crystal clear that such a process has been going on in all parts of the world, owing to their natural prosperity; people of [...]

Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a second warrant of arrest against the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, considering that there are reasonable grounds to believe him responsible for three counts of genocide committed against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, [...]

Press Release

Alemayehu G. Mariam

Note: This is my sixth and final commentary on the theme “Where do we go from here?” following the rigged May 2010 elections in Ethiopia in which the ruling dictatorship won by 99.6 percent [1]. In this piece, I emphasize the importance of individual commitment and effort to help establish [...]

By JOSH KRON
KAMPALA, Uganda — At least three bombs exploded Sunday in a synchronized attack on large gatherings of World Cup soccer fans watching the televised final on outdoor screens in this normally peaceful capital, turning a boisterous night of cheering into scenes of death and panic. The police and witnesses [...]

MOGADISHU — Clashes between Somali villagers and the WEYANE (TPLF)  forces in a border area where the foreign forces carried out an operation left at least 16 people dead, witnesses said Sunday.
Residents of El-Dibir, where the fighting erupted late Saturday, grew angry over a week-long operation conducted by the Ethiopian troops [...]

በዋሽንግተን ዲሲ ለአርቲስት ታማኝ በየነ ታላቅ የክብር ምሽት ተደረገ
እሁድ ጁን 27 ቀን 2010 አንድ ታላቅ ታሪካዊ ምሽት ቨርጂኒያ በሚገኘው የሂልተን ሆቴል አዳራሽ ውስጥ እጅግ ደማቅ በሆነ ሁኔታ ተከናውኖአል። ክፍተኛ ቁጥር ህዝብ የተገኘበት የዚህ ዝግጅት ዓላማ የሀገር አንድነትና የህዝብ ነጻነት ጠበቃና ኮከብ አርቲስት ታማኝ በየነን ለማክበር ነበር።

ከአውሮፓ ድረስ ለዝግጅቱ በመጡና በዋሽንግተን ዲሲ አካባቢ የሚኖሩ ታዋቂ ግለሰቦች [...]

By Natalie Orenstein/Newsdesk.org
Nestled in Ethiopia’s rural Debub Gondar Zone exists Awra Amba, a small, utopian community in which men cook supper and religious observance is taboo.
Sixty-three-year-old Zumra Nuru, a longtime promoter of gender equality and religious freedom, founded the society in the 1980s. As a child, Nuru was skeptical of the inequality [...]

By Cassie White for News Online’s Investigative Unit
The man who ran Australia’s adoption program with Ethiopia for 20 years has stood down amidst ongoing serious allegations of corruption.
Earlier in the year ABC News Online revealed allegations by adoptive parents about the program, which until the end of last month was run [...]

By Steven MorrisGarima Gospels, possibly among earliest surviving illustrated Christian manuscripts, preserved by Anglo-French team working at remote monastery
Legend has it they were created in a day after God intervened to delay the sunset. Today, a British charity revealed how it had worked to save the Garima Gospels and set out evidence suggesting they may [...]

Alemayehu G. Mariam
Note: This is my fifth commentary on the theme “Where do we go from here?” following the rigged May 2010 elections in Ethiopia in which the ruling dictatorship won by 99.6 percent [1]. In this piece, I express deep regrets over the never-ending subjugation of women in Ethiopian society and call for [...]

Press Release

By M G Zimeta
It gets a disproportionately large slice of Africa’s aid, but the Ethiopian regime does not act in the best interests of its citizens or its neighbours. So why has the G20 made the country a spokesman for the entire continent?

Last week the leaders of the world’s largest [...]

By Geletaw Zeleke:
የሰዉ ሌጅ መሰረታዊ ፍሊጎቶቾነው። እውነቱን ሇመናገር ሶስት ብቻ አይመስለኝም። የሆነ ሆኖ ዋናው እና መሠረታዊ ፍሊጎታችን ግንሜዲ ሊይ ወዴ ቋሌ። እነዚህብቻ ሳይሆኑ የእንስሳትም ናቸው። ሊሞች ፤ በሬዎች ወዘተ እነዚህን ነገሮች ይፈሌጋለ ። በመሆኑምእነዚህ መሰረታዊ ፍሊጎቶቾ የህያዋን ሁለ መሰረታዊ ፍሊጎቶቾ ቢባለ ትንሽ ስሜት ይሰጣሌ።የሰዉ ሌጅ መሰረታዊ ፍሊጎቶቾ ነጻነት ተብል ይጠራሌ። እነዚህንሌጆች ፈቃዴ ነዉ። የፈሇገዉን መሌበስ [...]

Press Release

 
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit, inspection, investigative and special reports prepared by OIG insults the thugs ruling Ethiopia and indicates the growing concern about the gangsters destablizing Ethiopia and who are  hurting the US interests in Africa:   

 “….Inspector General of the United States says Ethiopia has a veneer of stability, but the potential [...]

Press Release

James Butty | Washington, D.C.:
A U.S. based universityExperts Gather in New York Wednesday to Discuss Jihadism in Somalia
Professor Kenneth Menkhaus of Davidson College says counter-terrorism efforts might have further strengthen Islamic groups in Somalia  
 professor has said counter-terrorism efforts by both U.S. and Ethiopian governments to marginalize or defeat Islamic groups in Somalia might have [...]

By Josh Weinstein
The Obama Administration recognizes that the successful pursuit of development is essential to our security, prosperity, and values.  In a world shaped by growing global economic integration and the fragmentation of political power; by the rise of emerging powers and the persistent weakness of fragile states; and the potential borne of globalization and [...]

Unity Toronto
Greater Toronto Area and surrounding regions is home to thousands of Ethiopian Canadians. Early settlement begun in great numbers as far back from the early 80s following Derg’s red terror campaign and armed rebel groups displacing local populations. The influx of refugees to Sudan from Gondar, Eritrea and Tigray in thousands prompted western governments [...]

By Alemayehu G. Mariam:
Note: This is my fourth commentary on the theme, “Where do we go from here?” following the rigged elections in Ethiopia last month in which the ruling dictatorship won by 99.6 percent[1]. In this piece, I express deep anguish over the enormous problems and challenges faced by Ethiopia’s youth, and [...]

Leaders controlling about half the forces of a separatist rebel group in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region have agreed to make peace, the ruling thugs  said.

Leaders controlling about half the forces of a separatist rebel group in Ethiopia’s Ogaden region have agreed to make peace, the ruling thugs  said on Saturday, but [...]

By Neel Arora – At a Capitol Hill hearing, experts on Somalia and Ethiopia warned the area is becoming less stable and less democratic.
Washington, D.C. – infoZine – Scripps Howard Foundation Wire – One of the world’s most volatile region, the Horn of Africa, has come under greater scrutiny, as the [...]

„Elel – Elel – Elel”, I won by land slide! Said the BABOON,
On his “peaceful”, “fair” and “democratic” sham “election”,
Who let in the first place assassins to run for contestion?
When “International criminal court” is prepared for his final decision?
The World’s number one and brutal fascist be placed in detention?!

If a “Government” owns the “Juditiery organ” [...]

By THANE BURNETT, QMI Agency
Did someone order a lot of opinions?
Here is just a sample of the concerns and organizations — most perfectly respectful and a few that are potentially far from peaceful — that will raise their voices during the G20 and G8 summits.
• Black Bloc — Arguably the most notorious collection [...]

This week, the results of the recent Ethiopian general election were confirmed. The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the incumbent government whose leader Meles Zenawi has been prime minister for twenty years, have claimed a landslide win that is neither revolutionary nor, allegedly, entirely democratic: 90 percent of parliamentary [...]

By Liz Monteiro
KITCHENER – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is a repressive dictator who shouldn’t be allowed to visit Canada and participate in the G20 summit this weekend, says an Ethiopian-born Kitchener man.
Semou Zinabou and about 60 local Ethiopians are taking their disdain to the streets and participating in a protest against Zenawi at Queen’s [...]

PRESS RELEASE
Contact Mr Yesuf Omar  (416 )570-3041
Mr. Aklilu Wendaferew  (647) 223-0404
Dr Busha Taa (416 ) 962-7605
June 24, 2010
Major protest against the invitation of the worst of the worst dictators Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia at the G20 summit

PM Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia has been invited to attend the G20 summit scheduled to take place in [...]

In response to jamming of ESAT and Voice of America by the tribal thugs in Ethiopia, groups of Ethiopian Americans in the Diaspora may start to jam the Ethiopian Government Television and Radio broadcasts in Ethiopia. 
According to our sources, more than two dozen Ethiopians have taken the various tasks on how to Jam Ethiopian Rulers [...]

Growing Number of Ethiopians are Embracing Armed Movement against the Crockodile Liberators Blood Sucking 80 Million People and Destabilizing the Horn of Africa 
According to sources, after the shameless thug and tribal chief  Meles Zenawi claimed to win 99% of the votes during the 2010 election, many Ethiopians who supported the three opposition parties EDP, MEDREK [...]

A continent away from Kyrgyzstan, Africans like myself cheered this spring as a coalition of opposition groups ousted the country’s dictator, President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. “One coconut down, 39 more to harvest!” we shouted. There are at least 40 dictators around the world today, and approximately 1.9 billion people live under the grip of the 23 [...]

Alemayehu G. Mariam
This is my third commentary on the theme, “Where do we go from here?”, following the rigged elections in Ethiopia last month.[1] In this piece, I urge Ethiopian intellectuals to exchange their armchairs for the public benches and leave their comfort zones  of  passivity and silence to become advocates of peaceful change [...]

By Jason McLure
June 19 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia expelled an American journalist working for the U.S.-owned Voice of America radio service after detaining her for reporting claims by a rebel group that government forces killed 71 civilians.
Heather Murdock said today that she was detained by Ethiopian security June 12 while investigating reports by the separatist Ogaden [...]

By Ainhoa Goyeneche and Jason McLure
June 17 (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia’s annual inflation rate increased to 7.4 percent in May, led by non-food costs, the Central Statistical Agency said.
Annual inflation accelerated from 6.8 percent in April, the Addis Ababa-based agency said today on its website.
Non-food prices increased 19.8 percent from a year earlier, while food inflation, [...]

Leslie Lefkow:
House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Hearing of June 17, 2010
Thank you, Chairman Payne, and members of the subcommittee, for inviting me to participate in this hearing. My name is Leslie Lefkow. I am a senior researcher with the Africa division of Human Rights Watch and I lead our [...]

Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), Chairman

Horn of Africa: Current Conditions and U.S. Policy
Horn of Africa: Current Conditions and U.S. Policy
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
Statements:

The Honorable Donald M. Payne,
Mr. Ted Dagne,
Ms. Leslie Lefkow,
Ms. Sadia Ali Aden,
Kenneth John Menkhaus, Ph.D.,
Mr. Pagan Amum

Date Thursday, June 17, 2010
Time 10:00 AM
Location Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building

Protest Report:
www.march4freedom.org
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Ethiopian Americans Denounce the Recent Sham Elections in Ethiopia and Call on the US to Change its Foreign Policy towards the Tyrannical Rulers
Ethiopian Americans held a successful demonstration across the street from the State Department in Washington and the White House on June 14, 2010 expressing their outrage at the sham [...]

By Pierre Englebert:
THE World Cup, which began on Friday, is bringing deserved appreciation of South Africa as a nation that transitioned from white minority domination to a vibrant pluralist democracy. Yet its achievements stand largely alone on the continent. Of the 17 African nations that are commemorating their 50th anniversaries of independence this year — [...]

Note: In my first commentary [1] on the theme, “Where do we go from here?”, I suggested that the ruling dictatorship in Ethiopia following its 99.6 percent “victory” in the May 2010 parliamentary “election” will continue to do business as usual in much the same way as it has over the last two decades. In [...]

Ogaden group alleges massacre
Rebels in Ethiopia’s eastern Ogaden region have accused the government of killing 71 civilians in a military operation last month.
The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which says it is fighting for autonomy for ethnic Somalis in the region on the border with Somalia, said the operation against them started on May 18.
It [...]

By William Easterly and Laura Freschi |

World Bank Ethiopia country director Ken Ohashi has a letter in the New York Review of Books responding to Helen Epstein’s charge that the Bank is supporting tyranny (which we also blogged). Ken’s letter defends World Bank aid to Ethiopia:
There are concerns about the overall governance of [...]

Ahmed Hussen, National Post · Tuesday, Jun. 8, 2010

Later this month, leaders from Ethiopia and Malawi will be in Toronto as invited guests of the G20. While it is to be expected that the Malawian President would be invited in his capacity as the Chair of the African Union, it is more [...]

ARLINGTON, VA – Ethiopians have set June 27 as a day to honor Tamagn Beyene, an artist who over the years has become a symbol of perseverance, courage, and defiance in the struggle for democracy and justice. Today, after nearly two decades of steadfastly speaking out against tyranny in Ethiopia, Tamagne is held in high [...]

JODY CLARKE
LETTER FROM ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopian stability is key to maintaining regional stability in the volatile horn of Africa
ETHIOPIA CONFOUNDS the senses. You land in the capital expecting grinding poverty and a harsh, arid climate. Instead, you stumble on a cityscape tucked between soft green hills, gleaming confidently with new glass [...]

By Bertu (Reprint) :Today we herald a new day in the way we see the world through the prism of Ethiopia’s long standing asset and what it means for the new order.
We need to look inward to find what our limitations has been so far to leave a blank stage for Woyane in [...]

Alemayehu G. Mariam
Note: In my last commentary[1] on the theme, “Where do we go from here?” I suggested that the ruling dictatorship in Ethiopia following its 99.6 percent “victory” in the May 2010 parliamentary “election”  will continue to do business as usual in much the same way as it [...]

There is a concerted effort by the government of Ethiopia and its supporters abroad to discredit the VOA Amharic Service. As you know, the Ethiopian government has jammed the VOA Amharic service and German Radio in Ethiopia. Now, they have started a petition campaign against VOA. If they succeed [...]

Birtukan Mideksa, the country’s main opposition leader, has been in jail for 18 months
Two months ago, Halle Mideksa celebrated her fifth birthday. For the fourth time, the bubbly little girl—dressed, to meet Maclean’s, in pink and purple, hopping on one foot, a yellow sucker gripped between her teeth—had to celebrate without her mom, Birtukan Mideksa. [...]

NEW YORK – Haile Gebrselassie has accomplished just about everything a distance runner can accomplish, with one exception — running the ING New York City Marathon. The Ethiopian great will finally run the race on November 7. During National Running Day activities, the 27-time world record holder spoke about the race.
By [...]

ADDIS ABABA — A century-old Ethiopian prayer book stolen decades ago was returned to the African nation late Wednesday after the American collector who held it agreed to the restitution.
The precious relic is a psalter written in the liturgical Geez language and illuminated with bright and colourful pictures of saints that belonged to Emperor Menelik, [...]

Court: Victims can sue ex-Somali prime minister
 
By AP – WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block a lawsuit against a former prime minister of Somalia over claims that he oversaw killings and torture in his home country. 
The high court said it will allow lawsuits against Mohamed Ali Samantar to go forward despite [...]

By PETER WANYONYI
THE ‘NATION’ RECENTLY AND single-handedly condemned the sham that passed for a general election in Ethiopia. The editor might as well not have bothered: Ethiopia’s ‘election’ was worth little comment, other than for the dry observation by Westerners that, since Meles Zenawi is back in power, it was business as usual. 

Hence, some food aid [...]

 
Visiting scholar Abebe Gellaw says the United States has traded silence for security and military cooperation by ignoring Ethiopia’s “appalling human rights record.” He exhorts the United States to live up to promises to support democratic reform: “There must be no exceptions.”
On May 23, Ethiopia’s incumbent Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was reelected in a landslide. [...]

By Heather Murdock SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
9:48 p.m., Sunday, May 30, 2010
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia | Nineteen-year-old Hanouk’s lips shook slightly, and he looked up and down the wide, rocky pathway outside the polling station. He said he just voted for an opposition party.
Ruling-party supporters had been visiting his house for months, he said, sometimes [...]

Alemayehu G. Mariam
Note: Over the past week, I have received numerous requests from those who read my last commentary “Ethiopia at the Crossroads of History”[1], to share my views on the on the question, “Where do we go from here?” in the aftermath of the so-called May 2010 elections.  I am pleased to oblige in [...]

 
JOHANNESBURG — From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail Published on Wednesday, May. 26, 2010 4:10AM EDT Last updated on Wednesday, May. 26, 2010 5:29AM EDT

Ethiopia’s ruling party has claimed a landslide victory in the first vote since a brutal crackdown in 2005, but the election was heavily tilted in favour of the government, foreign observers say.
Official [...]

PRESS RELEASE
For the past three days and intermittently before that, Ethiopian Satellite Service (ESAT) broadcasts in Ethiopia have been interrupted due to undetermined electronic interference.
Following preliminary investigations, we have confirm the following facts:
Our service providers have performed extensive technical tests and determined that ESAT transmissions have been targeted for multiple interference from unknown sources.
Once [...]

by Robele Ababya
Tyrant Meles crossed the finish line of election 2010 carrying the albatross of genocidal crimes coupled with sellout of national interests on his neck. There is no need to repeat the mantra of his heinous crimes but it is important to note his all too familiar habit to deceive the international community, this [...]

PRESS RELEASE
ETHIOPIAN SATELLITE TELEVISION ADVISORY BOARD FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2010
Ethiopian Satellite Broadcasting Service Interruption
The Ethiopian Satellite Broadcasting Service (ESAT) has been off the air for the past 24 hours.
We have received thousands of telephone calls and email inquires concerning the interruption of service. We thank our viewers and supporters for their expressions of [...]

by Messay Kebede
Friday, 28 May 2010
I am still struggling to make sense of Sunday’s election from the viewpoint of the Woyanne government itself. There is no doubt that its results represent a crushing and demoralizing defeat for the opposition. Such a colossal defeat shows once again the pettiness and the self-defeating impact of the disputes [...]

May 28, 2010
If it was not so tragic we would have gloated with a well deserved “we told you so” and hailed the end of the illusion of a multi democracy governance (however limited) in Ethiopia. The May 23 general election in Ethiopia really brought no surprises–we had said the EPRDF will win hands down [...]

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. That was the Cold War creed. No matter how despicable the regime, it was OK if it was properly aligned, meaning capitalist or communist.

After the Soviet Union fell, there was hope that this country would choose its allies based on the content of their character. But in [...]

Ethiopia’s newly re-elected through a sham election, Chief Bandit Meles Zenawi, sharply rebuffed U.S. and European Union criticism of the weekend election, as opposition leaders called Wednesday for a rerun.
P Meles Zenawi said his gangster party’s landslide win in Sunday’s poll was free and fair in his sick mind despite the EU’s initial report that [...]

For Immediate Release
May 26, 2010
Election 2010 in Ethiopia:  Consolidation of a One Party Dictatorship in Ethiopia
The European Union’s chief election observer Mr.Tijis Berman’s comments have confirmed other reports coming from Ethiopia that the national elections held on Sunday, May 23rd were neither fair nor free. During a press conference in Addis Ababa, Mr. Tijis Berman stated [...]

Washington, DC, May 25, 2010 (The White House/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) — We acknowledge the conclusion of Ethiopia’s parliamentary elections on May 23, 2010. We commend the people of Ethiopia for their civic participation and note that the voting proceeded peacefully.

We are concerned that international observers found that the elections fell short of [...]

ETHIOPIAN AMERICAN CIVIC ADVOCACY

Fighting for Democratic values, Human Rights, and Donor Accountability

The Honorable Barack Obama
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Re: Ethiopia’s Sham Election
Dear Mr. President:
Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy is writing this letter to convey to you our concerns about Ethiopia’s recent fraudulent election and to ask you to speak [...]

by Lauren E. Bohn
As the ballot counting continues in Ethiopia, tensions remain high.
Sunday’s election is likely to give the incumbent Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s U.S.-allied party, Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, a majority in parliament and another five-year term. It was the first nationwide vote since the troubled 2005 election when ensuing protests left nearly [...]

Shortly after dawn Ethiopia’s capital was filled with the sound of loud hailers, the horns of flatbed lorries packed with people and the distorted blast of sound systems playing music.
Roads in Addis Ababa on Tuesday were blocked by paramilitary police in pale blue combat uniforms. A helicopter with a surveillance camera zoomed in on the crowded [...]

By ANITA POWELL
The Associated Press
Tuesday, May 25, 2010; 5:27 AM
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Tens of thousands of ruling party supporters rallied Tuesday in Ethiopia’s capital to celebrate victory in the national election, while the chief EU observer said the poll had been marred by an uneven playing field.
A top opposition leader denounced the provisional results [...]

Press Release

The Ethiopian ruling gangr chief  Meles Zenawi claimed that his party has won a sham national election according to the made up provisional results, the Meles Zenawi’s electoral board said on Monday, a victory that would extend Meles Zenawi’s rule to nearly 25 years.
Gangster Meles Zenawi  has given himself  the “Atse or the King” [...]