JERUSALEM — A plane carrying 450 immigrants from Ethiopia on Wednesday marked the end of Israel’s decades-long effort to bring Jews and their descendants from the African nation to the Jewish state.
About 90,000 Ethiopians were brought to Israel in the organized immigration project that began with a dramatic airlift in 1984-85 dubbed “Operation Moses” and continued with the 36-hour “Operation Solomon” in 1991.
Left behind at that time were thousands of the Falash Mura, the name given to the descendants of the ancient Jewish community who converted to Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries, most often under pressure. The end of airlifts left some families divided between Ethiopia and Israel.
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s economy is likely to grow seven percent a year over the next three to five years, below its average of the last decade, and to push that rate higher, the government needs to change policy to encourage private investment, the World Bank said.
While seven percent GDP growth would be the envy of finance ministers in Western economies, it would fall short of an average rate of 10.6 percent that Ethiopia said it achieved in the last 10 years with its state-interventionist policies.
It would also be insufficient to meet Ethiopia’s target of reaching middle-income status by 2025. The bank says that goal is still within reach, however, if the government shifts the balance from public to more private investment.
”We still think growth could be robust – in the order of seven percent in the medium term would not be unexpected,” said Lars Christian Moller, the bank’s lead economist in Ethiopia, in an interview on Monday.
The World Bank estimates Ethiopia’s economy grew seven percent in the fiscal year July 8, 2012 to July 7, 2013, below the government’s 10 percent estimate.
Moller said Ethiopia’s $43 billion economy would need to repeat its performance of the last decade to become a middle income country – defined by the bank as one with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of around $1,430 – in 12 years.
The World Bank put Ethiopia’s GNI at $410 in 2012.
Ethiopia is banking on massive state-supported energy and transport projects to help transform its agrarian economy.
Infrastructure spending required financing equivalent to 19 percent of Ethiopia’s GDP in fiscal 2011-2012, the World Bank estimates.
But while public investment in Ethiopia is the third highest in the world as a percentage of GDP, private investment is the sixth lowest.
Major sectors including retail, transport, banking and telecoms are closed to foreign investors.
Double-digit inflation again?
Growth has been driven by an expansion in services, now the largest economic sector, and agriculture. Ethiopia’s main exports include coffee and horticulture products, and it is also a big aid recipient.
Two thirds of Ethiopia’s 8.5 percent GDP growth in 2011-2012 could be ascribed to public investment, the World Bank said.
Even though the public investments are intended to benefit the private sector in the long run, they are depriving the private sector of finances in the short term, Moller said. “And that is where a deliberate choice is being made,” he added.
”Maybe there are some really good private investment projects out there that could deserve to get that credit, that could actually make the economy grow even faster,” Moller said.
He added that Ethiopia should keep monetary policy tight to head off inflation, which could quickly return to double digits.
The annual inflation rate accelerated to eight percent in July from a 2013 low of 6.1 percent in April. It exceeded 40 percent in 2011.
A loose fiscal stance and periodic external price shocks have left Ethiopia vulnerable to price spikes. Its public investment program has injected liquidity into the market, fueling inflationary pressures.
”We are a little bit wary that inflation is going up and perhaps could hit double-digit levels again,” within the next six to 12 months, Moller said.
So far, Ethiopia has managed to keep down inflation by using its foreign exchange reserves to mop up liquidity.
That has raised questions within Ethiopia’s private sector over how easily the government can sustain its spending program and keep inflation in single digits at the same time.
”The fiscal stance is loose, and so that is contributing to inflationary pressures,” Moller said. “So that would be another benefit of slowing down on public investment; you could maintain a lower level of inflation.”
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STOCKHOLM — Clothing retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB is looking to Ethiopia as a new low-cost country in which it will produce clothing as it races to keep shelves stocked at a growing number of stores around the globe.
The Swedish clothing retailer relies heavily on Bangladesh for clothes production, and a move to Africa would expand its sourcing footprint but not replace its commitment to production in Asia. One supplier says H&M is looking to source one million garments a month from Ethiopia.
A spokeswoman said the fashion company has placed test orders with Ethiopian suppliers and says large-scale production can begin as early as this fall. H&M is adding stores in a number of markets, a move needed to help offset stagnant same-store sales in some regions.
Addis Ababa (TADIAS) – Ethiopia is hosting the 12th annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum this weekend in Addis Ababa featuring business leaders and government officials representing the United States and several African countries. The Forum that alternates between Washington, D.C. and an eligible country from the continent every other year, is being held in Ethiopia for the first time.
The AGOA forum, that was singed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000, is designed to increase business to business relations between the U.S. and African countries through duty-free export of certain African products to the United States. Last year, 39 AGOA-eligible sub-Saharan African countries “exported nearly $35 billion in products to the United States,” a spokesperson for U.S. State Department said. “AGOA provides incentives for African countries to improve their investment climates, reduce corruption, respect human and labor rights and the rule of law, improve infrastructure and harmonize trade standards to help them become more competitive in the global marketplace.” Previous gatherings of the Forum had been organized in Mauritius, Senegal, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.
The press release added: “The 2013 AGOA Forum will highlight the progress achieved since the Act’s inception in 2000 and launch a dialogue on the future of United States-sub-Saharan Africa trade and economic cooperation. These discussions will pave the way for the Obama Administration to work with Congress and other stakeholders on AGOA’s extension after September 30, 2015, when the current Act is due to expire.”
This year’s forum opened in Ethiopia on Friday, August 9th under the theme “Sustainable Transformation through Trade and Technology,” in conjunction with a business conference spearheaded by the Corporate Council on Africa that concludes on Sunday, June 11th. The event will be followed by the Ministerial Forum scheduled to take place on Monday August 12th and Tuesday, August 13th.
— You can learn more about the forum at www.agoa2013ethiopia.org.
Washington DC (TADIAS) – The four crew members killed on board the Ethiopian military plane that crashed on Friday at Mogadishu airport in Somalia were all experienced Ethiopian Air Force personnel, including two senior pilots who had also served under the previous regime, a source told Tadias Magazine.
A colleague of the former pilots who refused to be named said that those who died in the crash were experienced airmen who began work during the Derg era and were employed by the air force under the current government.
“I personally knew all of them,” the air force official said. “I am very sad to hear the news of their death in such an incident.” He added: “These pilots should be working as senior trainers and consultants not flying planes.”
The other two crew members killed out of the six officers inside the doomed cargo plane are also reported to have many years of experience in the Ethiopian Air Force.
The Ethiopian government has not issued a statement regarding the crash. But in a press release AMISOM said that the two surviving crew members have been admitted to a hospital in Mogadishu.
News reports say the aircraft (Soviet-made Antonov 24) may have been carrying ammunition. According to international media, the Somali government is to appoint a committee later today to investigate the cause of the accident as well as the extent of the damage.
Although Ethiopia does have a sizable troop presence in Somalia fighting al-Shabab militants, its forces are not in the country under the AU mission, AMISOM.
Photos: Ethiopian Military Plane Crash Lands in Mogadishu (VOA News)
ADDIS ABABA – An international rights group is urging Ethiopia’s government to end “repressive tactics” against Muslim demonstrations.
At a protest in Ethiopia’s capital on Thursday marking the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr, Muslims chanted slogans asking the government to respect their rights.
Witnesses told an Associated Press reporter that hundreds of protesters were beaten by police who dispersed the crowd near a stadium where mass prayer was being held. Police blocked roads leading to the stadium.
Amnesty International said it’s concerned with authorities’ crackdowns on freedom of speech and the right to assemble. The group said Ethiopia should restrain its response and avoid future bloodshed.
ADDIS ABABA – Muslim protesters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa clashed with police, resulting in several injuries during Idd el-Fitr prayers on Thursday.
Members of the Muslim community have been demanding that the authorities respect their right of electing their own religious leaders; they have also demanded the release those arrested over the same.
There have been tensions in the past several months, especially during Friday prayers as the worshippers engage the police in running battles during demonstrations. Last week government media reported a clash between the police and “messengers of terrorists” in Arsi Kofele town of Oromia region.
Following today’s clashes, Amnesty International released a statement calling on the Ethiopian government to end “its use of repressive tactics” against demonstrators.
“We are extremely concerned at reports coming out of Ethiopia this morning of further widespread arrests of Muslim protesters. The Ethiopian government’s ongoing repressive crackdown on freedom of speech and the right to peacefully protest has to end now,” Amnesty International’s Ethiopia researcher Claire Beston said
ADDIS ABABA — Muslims in Ethiopia protested in the capital Addis Ababa during Eid al-Fitr prayers on Thursday, part of a two-year-old campaign against what they say is government interference in their religious affairs.
A heavy police presence around the city’s stadium — the venue for morning prayers — marked a tense run-up to the Muslim holiday after clashes between Muslims and police killed up to five people last week in Ethiopia’s south.
Demonstrators chanted “Allahu Akbar” and hoisted banners that read “respect the constitution,” referring to allegations that the government has tried to influence the highest Muslim affairs body, the Ethiopia Islamic Affairs Supreme Council.
Ethiopia, long seen by the West as a bulwark against militant Islam in the Horn of Africa, denies the claims but says it fears militancy is taking root in the country.
“These were Salafist elements who tried to create disturbances as the crowd went back to their homes,” government spokesman Shimeles Kemal told Reuters, referring to the ultraconservative brand of Islam followed by al Qaeda.
“They have no following among the population but still tried to make it look like a protest. A few have been arrested.”
Muslims make up about a third of the population in the majority Christian nation of 85 million, and the vast majority follow the moderate, Sufi version of Islam.
Some have been staging mosque sit-ins and street protests in the capital for almost two years. They accuse the government of promoting an “alien” branch of Islam — the Al Ahbash sect — which is avowedly apolitical.
The government denies that, and protesters’ allegations that authorities tried to rig elections to the Islamic council earlier this year.
Shimeles said the protesters aimed to set up an Islamic state in the country and were bankrolled and guided by “extremists” overseas.
Thursday’s incidents followed clashes in Kofele in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region, where government officials said Muslims wielding machetes and arms clashed with police, killing police officers and civilians. The protesters blamed the authorities for the incident.
Last year, police arrested 29 members of a committee that called for protests, accusing them of “planning to commit terrorist acts.”
Washington D.C (TADIAS) – Leaders of five troop contributing countries to the African Union’s peacekeeping force in Somalia, AMISOM, met on Sunday in Kampala, Uganda for an emergency session where they discussed ways to harmonize ongoing efforts to neutralize al-Shabab militants in Somalia by encouraging the government in Mogadishu to “reintegrate” more moderate groups into the national army.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who is the current chairman of the African Union, attended the regional gathering along with heads of state from Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti and Sierra Leone. All of them have peacekeeping troops in Somalia under the AU peacekeeping mission.
AMISOM was first deployed six years ago to support the transitional government in Mogadishu.
The leaders also discussed achievements and challenges of the mission, which in recent months has seen al-Shabab gaining grounds, still making it a security threat to the central government.
Sunday’s conference was chaired by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, whose country deployed the first troops under the AMIOSM mandate in 2007. As of this year the force consists of 5,432 from Burundi, 999 from Djibout, 4,040 (Kenya), 850 (Sierra Leon) and 6,223 Ugandan troops.
The UN, EU and the AU as well as the U.S. are among the international financial backers of the continental peacekeeping mission.
New York (TADIAS) – The African Union Commission is preparing to mark World Humanitarian Day on August 19th in Addis Ababa under the theme “Helping Hands.” In honor of the occasion, organizers have announced a challenge for journalists from the African Diaspora who have documented or featured stories on humanitarian related issues affecting the continent within the last year.
In a statement the AU Commission said it is currently accepting submissions until the end of August for short films (maximum 3-5 minutes), a visual photo map or an essay (max. 1000 words).
The top 26 selections receive continental recognition at the Africa Solidarity Launch on September 12th and 13th, 2013 and the top 6 will win a trip to New York to the General Assembly of the United Nations, organizers said.
World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is a United Nations General Assembly-designated day dedicated to the recognition of humanitarian personnel worldwide. It was started following the 19th of August, 2003 bombing of the UN Headquarters in Baghdad that killed the former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Iraq, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, and twenty-one of his colleagues.
“Through the ‘Helping Hands’ Initiative, the African Union Commission and its partners seek to recognize the valiant efforts of African humanitarian heroes and heroines by providing a platform for illuminating their efforts,” the press release stated. “The campaign will recognize those who have made a difference in their local, national and regional communities.”
The AU statement pointed out that ‘Helping Hands’ speaks to the African tradition and humanist philosophy of Ubuntu — that one is because of others, and that responding to distress is not a duty but the natural reaction of human beings.
“Helping Hands will showcase stories and projects by Africans and the African Diaspora that have made great impact in their communities,” the statement noted. “It is an opportunity to give Africans the chance to tell their story – not only to raise awareness, but also to inspire future generations to emulate innovative and exciting approaches to making a difference.”
— You can contact the organizers or send your submission via Facebook/African-Humanitarian-Hub.
Washington D.C (TADIAS) – The head of the special investigation team that is looking into the cause of Wednesday’s UN helicopter crash in Ethiopia said all four on board were Russian citizens.
Major Girma Gebre Yohannes, who is leading the inquiry into the crash, told Tadias that “the four Russian individuals” are currently getting medical treatment at Debre Zeit hospital.
In a telephone conversation Girma said that they are due to be transferred to Addis Ababa for further medical assistance.
“The bad weather in the area is interrupting the investigation team’s activity,” Girma said. “And we are unable to fully undertake our work at the crash site.”
The helicopter was en route from Djibouti to Juba, South Sudan on a United Nations mission.
According to the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority, the Russian-made chopper crashed on Wednesday afternoon at 4:20pm in Chefe Dinsa area, located some 45km east of Addis Ababa, where it had stopped for refueling.
Washington D.C. (TADIAS) – The body of 26-year-old Olympian Meskerem Legesse, who died last week after collapsing at a restaurant in Hamden, Connecticut, has arrived in Ethiopia for burial.
A special service had been held for the late athlete at St Mary of Zion Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church in New York on Sunday, July 21st that was attended by a large number of people from the Ethiopian community, including her fellow athletes residing in the area, friends and family.
Zerihun Asrat Feleke, a family member of the athlete told Tadias in a telephone conversation from South Dakota that Meskerem’s immediate family and Ethiopian athletes were at Addis Ababa International Airport to receive her body late Tuesday.
“Her funeral is scheduled to be held on Wednesday at the St. Trinity church in Addis Ababa in the presence of her family and athletes as well as her supporters,” said Zerihun. He thanked the Ethiopian Diaspora community who have been extending their support to help transport Meskerem’s body to Ethiopia.
“I can’t tell you with enough words how Ethiopians were cooperating to support us to move her body to Ethiopia. We, families of the late athlete Meskerem Legesse, have a great appreciation for all the Ethiopian community both here in the US and in Ethiopia,” added Zerihun.
Meskerem, who was due to give birth in three weeks, is survived by her two children including her newborn whom doctors saved the same day she died. Her 2-year-old son was with his mother when she collapsed at the Chinese restaurant in Hamden. Family members told Tadias that the children will remain with their father, Meskerem’s partner.
We reported last week that the former runner was initially diagnosed as having a heart problem in 2009 after she collapsed during a training session in Arizona. The same year, Meskerem suspended her athletic career, but family members say her recent pregnancy was considered to be high risk due to her heart problem.
Below is a video from the New York Church service for the late Olympian Meskerem Legesse.
The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing that airlines inspect emergency transmitters in all Boeing 787 Dreamliners after British investigators traced a fire to a transmitter in a parked plane.
The FAA announced the proposal Saturday and is developing the inspection instructions with Boeing for the emergency locator transmitters.
The proposal, which the FAA expects to finalize within days, will ask airlines to inspect the transmitters for signs of wire damage or pinching. The inspections will also check each transmitter’s battery for unusual heating or moisture.
Although the FAA doesn’t require the transmitters aboard large commercial planes, the order for inspections will be mandatory. The FAA said it is relaying its concerns to airlines and regulators worldwide this weekend.
The proposal came after British investigators traced a July 12 fire aboard an Ethiopian Airlines’ 787 parked at Heathrow International Airport to an emergency transmitter powered by lithium manganese dioxide batteries.
Although the Air Accidents Investigation Branch found damage to the battery’s cells, it wasn’t clear whether the battery caused the problem or a short-circuit ignited the battery. Investigators said there are 6,000 emergency locators with the batteries on a wide range of aircraft, and this is the first with a significant problem such as the fire.
The transmitter’s manufacturer, Honeywell International, supported the British recommendations “as a safety-first-focused company” and said it would assist Boeing and airlines as needed.
New York (TADIAS) – In a major program that is currently airing on BBC’s World News, international correspondent Yalda Hakim uncovers abuse and exploitation on a massive scale as BBC investigates one of the most dangerous journeys on earth, and the plight of thousands of Ethiopian migrants attempting to reach Saudi Arabia in search of employment.
In a statement BBC said its World News documentary “traces the steps of the 80,000 Ethiopians who attempt to reach Saudi Arabia every year, but first they must cross the Red Sea, trek 500 kilometres through the desert and then evade Saudi border guards.”
BBC added the biggest danger the migrants face, however, is from Yemeni criminal gangs who kidnap and sell them to so called “torture camps,” where they are held and tortured for ransom.
The program travels to Bab Al Mandab on the south-eastern tip of Yemen, where the migrants come ashore, and then onto to Haradh, a Yemeni town on the Saudi border where the torture camps are located.
“With access to victims, the smugglers themselves and the torture camps, Yalda hears stories of unimaginable cruelty and uncovers evidence to suggest that the Yemeni military may also be involved in the trafficking and sexual abuse,” BBC said.
The following photographs are courtesy of BBC World News BBC World News journalist Yalda Hakim at a camp in Yemen housing Ethiopian migrants. (Courtesy photo)
Yalda Hakim at a Migrant camp in Haradh run by The International Organization for Migration. (BBC News)
— If You Tune In:
Our World: Yemen: The Most Dangerous Journey on Earth
On BBC World News (all times GMT):
Friday July 19th 2013 at 23:30,
Saturday 20th 2013 at 11.30 and 16.30
Sun 21st 2013 at 17.30 and 22.30 www.bbc.com
Washington, D.C. (TADIAS)- A delegation of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights conducted a visit to Addis Ababa this week to meet with AU and Ethiopian officials and to assess the human rights situation in Ethiopia. The EU parliamentary delegation was led by Barbara Lochbihler of Germany and included Jacek Protasiewicz of Poland, Jörg Leichtfried of Austria, and Jean-Jacob of France.
The group was turned away from Kaliti prison, where most of Ethiopia’s prominent imprisoned journalists and political leaders are held.
Reached by phone the head of the EU delegation, Barbara Lochbihler, said officials at the prison administration asked the delegation to leave the area without giving them any explanation. She said they had received permission in advance through the EU delegation in Ethiopia to visit the Kality prison facility. She said the meeting was scheduled from 8:00 am to 9:00 am on Wednesday morning.
“However, when we arrived there, we were denied access,” Barbara said. She noted that the delegation had a similar visit earlier this year to Yemen without such an incident. “We are protesting this action,” she said. “It is honestly disappointing.”
Barbara indicated that the delegation was scheduled to visit journalists Reyout Alemu, Eskinder Nega, Woubishet Taye and other imprisoned opposition party officials.
“The Government of Ethiopia must guarantee freedom of opinion, speech and the right of peaceful assembly at all times, in accordance with its Constitution and obligations under international law,” the European Union said in a statement.
In an interview with the Associated Press Getachew Reda, a spokesman for Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, said Ethiopia has no political prisoners. “We do have, like any other country, people who were convicted of crimes including terrorism who are currently serving their sentence,” he said. “We are not going to release anyone just because some European Union members said so.”
Getachew dismissed the EU appeal saying: “They [the prisoners] would only be freed when either they complete their sentence or probation on good behavior.”
Regarding their visit to the AU headquarter, a priority issue for the EU delegation was the fight against impunity. In this respect, Ms. Lochbihler declared, “Africa has played a pivotal role in the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Cooperation among international, regional and national levels is crucial to promote global justice and peace. We owe to the African victims of atrocious war crimes that those responsible are brought to justice.”
As to Ethiopia, the visitors took note of some “encouraging developments,” such as the adoption of the National Human Rights Action Plan and the establishment of the Human Rights Commission and of the Ombudsperson.
“While welcoming the efforts of the Ethiopian authorities in the field of economic and social rights, notably in relation to poverty alleviation, the EP delegation called for the opening of the domestic space for civil society, which could only contribute to the overall development of the country,” EU said in a statement. “They stressed that civil society organizations should be allowed to function freely, without interference, harassment and undue restrictions.”
The European delegation’s visit to Addis included meetings with representatives of the government, parliament, opposition parties, as well as with representatives of civil society organizations.
Washington DC – (TADIAS) – The 8th Annual Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum will be held on July 27, 2013 in Washington D.C., to discuss business and investment opportunities in Ethiopia, as well as to award and honor pioneering entrepreneurs from the community.
Organizers of the annual conference announced that the 2013 event will focus on “Investing in Agri-business: Opportunities and Challenges for Diaspora Investors.”
“Specifically, the Forum will discuss specific investment opportunities in agri-business, agro-processing and financing and value chain development opportunities in select subsectors,” organizers said in a statement.
In addition, the forum this year features an agri business concept competition and the winning teach will be rewarded with a round trip ticket to Ethiopia and technical support from the Forum and its sponsors as well as “participate in a USAID-funded matching grant program to support investments in select agricultural value chains.”
The 2013 Ethiopian Diaspora Pioneer Businessperson Selection Committee is currently accepting nominations from the public and will announce the awardee by July 19, 2013. It was to be recalled that last year the Pioneer Ethiopian Diaspora Business Person award was shared by Ato Tadiwos Getachew Belete, founder and CEO of Boston Partners PLC, and Ato Zemedeneh Negatu, Managing Partner of Ernst & Young Ethiopia & Head of Transaction Advisory Services (Corporate Finance) Eastern Africa Ernst & Young LLP.
“The Forum and Awards Event will highlight the work of the Ethiopian Diaspora entrepreneurs and various business and investment opportunities available for Diaspora businessmen and women,” said Yohannes Assefa, Founder and Executive Director of the yearly gathering.
The Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum is organized by The Ethiopian American, a Virginia based Ethiopian Diaspora business and investment group.
— If You Go:
8th Ethiopian Diaspora Business Forum & Awards Dinner
Date: July 27, 2013
Place: Jack Morton Auditorium, George Washington University
Attendance is by registration.
Please register at www.theethiopianamerican.com.
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Washington, D.C. (TADIAS) – Ethiopian Airlines plans to file an insurance claim after one of the company’s 787 Dreamliners caught fire while parked at London’s Heathrow airport on Friday.
Tadias Magazine has learned that the demand for financial compensation could be worth millions of dollars and will be made as soon as the inquiry led by UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport is completed.
“The insurance claim will include damage to the aircraft and other losses,” a source told Tadias on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak to the media.
The official indicated that the airline is closely monitoring developments in London, but it is not yet clear to whom the insurance request will be made.
The British regulator said in a statement on Saturday that its initial investigation show damage to the upper part of the aircraft’s fuselage, but they do not believe that it was caused by battery problems. “At this stage there is no evidence of a direct causal relationship,” the press release said, referring to the blaze and the batteries.
Ethiopian Airlines had temporarily grounded its 787 Dreamliners earlier this year for inspection following a safety warning issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address the risk of battery fires.
In London, the Ethiopian Boeing jet was empty and parked at a remote corner of the airport last Friday at the time the fire broke out. And there were no reported injuries. “As you know investigation is still being carried out,” the source said, speaking about the accident at Heathrow.
In an email response to Tadias Boeing said “we do not publicly discuss the contents of any discussions we may have with our customer.” The Boeing spokesperson said the aerospace corporation has been asked to participate as an advisor to the investigation and has a team on the ground working in support of authorities. “Protocol dictates that all publicly released information concerning the investigation must come from, or be approved by, the AAIB,” Boeing said.
The probe, which is underway inside a special hangar at the London airport, is being conducted by England’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), The Boeing Company and Ethiopian Airlines.
New York (TADIAS) – President Barack Obama’s just-concluded Africa trip has brought positive international media attention to the continent, particularly to the success stories of Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania — countries that administration officials say were chosen for their “exemplary progress” in economic development, transparency in governance, independent press, respect for human rights and rule of law.
In a recent interview with Tadias Magazine David H. Shinn, former U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia and Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., said President Obama’s trip to Africa is an effort to underscore the importance of US-Africa relations after a period of relative non-engagement at the presidential level during his first term in office.
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did make frequent visits to Africa over the last four years, which partially made up for the absence of President Obama except for a brief visit in 2009 to Ghana and trip to Egypt in connection with Middle East issues,” Ambassador Shinn pointed out.
At lower levels of the government, Shinn noted, the United States remained “thoroughly engaged” with the continent, but he said this is not the same as presidential involvement. “I think this trip by President Obama will go a long way in strengthening the ties between the United States and African countries,” he said.
Why such a short list? we asked. “Whenever a U.S. president visits Africa, it is difficult to visit more than three countries because of the vastness of the continent,” Shinn replied. “In choosing countries to visit, there are always geographic, language, regional and political considerations.” He added: “Once the decision is made to visit three countries, the next step is to identify countries in three different regions of sub-Saharan Africa that also include both French and English [speaking nations].”
Senegal was picked as the West African and francophone country. South Africa, the economic powerhouse in Africa, was selected as the southern African choice. Tanzania represents East Africa.
“All three countries have good records on governance and democratization, a consideration which placed these three countries above several other possibilities,” Ambassador Shinn said. “Kenya, the birthplace of Obama’s father, would have been an obvious choice but was not selected because both the newly elected president and vice president face charges from the International Criminal Court.”
DAR ES SALAAM — President Barack Obama ended his Africa trip Tuesday, voicing confidence in Africa’s future with help from a new U.S. model for development assistance.
In Tanzania, Obama and former president George W. Bush marked the 1998 al-Qaida terrorist bombing. Coordinated truck bomb attacks on the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, and Nairobi, Kenya on August 7, 1998 left 224 people dead.
Just over three years later, al-Qaida attacked the United States directly on home soil on September 11, 2001.
In a brief ceremony at the new embassy building that opened in 2003, Obama and former president Bush laid a wreath at the memorial to those killed in the attacks.
With five family members of victims and those who survived the attack nearby, they walked side by side to the memorial, and bowed their heads for a moment of silence.
Obama’s Africa trip has been focused primarily on enhancing trade and investment in the continent, based on a new model of aid, public-private partnerships with African governments and reforms.
But security threats faced by African nations, and the U.S. role in helping to counter extremist groups, were on the agenda in his discussions from Senegal to South Africa and Tanzania.
In South Africa, Obama spoke of what he called the “senseless terrorism that all too often perverts the meaning of Islam – one of the world’s great religions – and takes the lives of countless innocent Africans.”
He also attempted to counter the notion that the United States is militarizing its involvement in Africa, saying ultimately Africans must shoulder their own security responsibilities.
“I know there’s a lot of talk of America’s military presence in Africa. But if you look at what we’re actually doing, time and again, we’re putting muscle behind African efforts,” he said.
In the final event of his Africa trip, Obama visited a formerly idle power plant brought back to life through joint Tanzanian-U.S. efforts, highlighting his new initiative to double access to electricity in Africa.
Obama said this reflects his approach of combining public and private resources to spur economic progress.
He referred to other new initiatives, from agriculture to education and health, and said the United States intends to be a strong partner with Africa in years ahead.
“That is what all our efforts are going to be about, is making sure that Africans have the tools to create a better life for their people and that the United States is a partner in that process. It’s going to good for Africa, it’s going to be good for the United States and it’s going to be good for the world,” he said.
Over a week of travel, Obama highlighted democratic progress and the importance of civil society and human rights in Senegal.
He held up South Africa’s democratic transition and progress against HIV/AIDS as a model for Africa, met family members of critically ill former president Nelson Mandela, and underscored the role of Africa’s youth in building the future.
As he left Tanzania he said he was inspired, and convinced that “with the right approach Africa and its people can unleash a new era of prosperity.”
— Obama Receives Huge Welcome in Tanzania (VOA News Video)
President Barack Obama, followed by first lady Michelle Obama, does a dance upon his arrival ceremony with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, right, July 1, 2013, at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. (VOA News/AP)
BY Dan Robinson
DAR ES SALAAM — In Tanzania, President Barack Obama and President Jakaya Kikwete have discussed plans to step up economic engagement with the continent and a “new model” for U.S. assistance.
The Obamas received a warm airport welcome from the president and his wife, complete with a marching band, and women dressed in traditional “khanga” skirts bearing Obama’s picture.
In a news conference after bilateral talks, both leaders took questions about the development, trade and investment agenda of Obama’s trip. Obama reiterated a key objective of his new model for engagement.
“I have said this throughout Africa. We are looking at a new model that is based not just on aid and assistance, but on trade and partnership,” he said.
President Kikwete thanked President Obama for “invaluable” support in Tanzania’s development efforts, from education to food security and HIV/AIDS prevention.
“The lives of the people of Tanzania are different today thanks in many ways to the support we have been getting from the United States of America,” said President Kikwete.
Obama noted Kikwete was the first African leader welcomed to the White House after Obama took office.
Obama also noted that his visit to Tanzania came just ahead of the 50th anniversary of the late President John F. Kennedy welcoming President Julius Nyerere to the White House on July 15, 1963.
Obama called Tanzania a close partner with the United States on major development initiatives, and lauded Tanzanians for democratic progress.
“Tanzanians continue to work to strengthen their democracy. Parliament, opposition groups, civil society groups and journalists are all doing their part to advance the good governance and transparency on which democracy and transparency depend,” he said.
The two leaders also discussed African conflicts, including the one in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Obama said all parties need to implement commitments under a recently-signed U.N. Framework for Peace.
Obama said the peace framework has to be more than just a piece of paper and countries surrounding Congo need to step up.
“The countries surrounding the Congo they have got to make commitments to stop funding armed groups that are encroaching on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Congo,” he said. “They have signed on to a piece of paper, now the question is, do they follow through?”
As Obama arrived, the White House announced he had signed an executive order to provide $10 million to sub-Saharan countries to help them combat trafficking in wildlife.
Tanzania and other countries are highly dependent on wildlife tourism. U.S. officials noted that rhinos and elephants are particularly threatened by poachers, who are motivated by high prices for horns and tusks in an illegal trade worth at least $7 billion per year.
On Tuesday, Obama and former U.S. president George W. Bush, who is also visiting Tanzania, participate in a wreath-laying event at the site of the al-Qaida U.S. embassy bombing in 1998.
Obama used a response to a question on the appearance by reiterating praise for the anti-AIDS program PEPFAR that Bush initiated.
“I am looking forward to being able, on African soil, to once again thank him on behalf of the American people, for showing how American generosity and foresight could end up making a real difference in people’s lives,” said Obama.
Meanwhile, first lady Michelle Obama and her predecessor Laura Bush will participate in a First Ladies Summit in Dar es Salaam about empowering women in Africa.
— President Obama Outlines Partnership Model with Africa (VOA News)
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama tour the jail where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, near Cape Town, in South Africa on June 30, 2013. (VOA News/Reuters)
By Dan Robinson
July 1st, 2013
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA — President Barack Obama has outlined a new model for U.S. engagement with Africa, supporting greater economic opportunity and democracy, and African-led solutions to security.
At the University of Cape Town, Mr. Obama presented a broad picture of his goals for U.S.-Africa policy, including assistance, trade and investment, health, and security cooperation.
The speech was framed around the legacy Obama said former president Nelson Mandela has left for the continent.
Earlier he and his family visited Robben Island, where Mandela spent nearly two decades of his 27 years in prison under the former apartheid regime. “Nelson Mandela showed us that one man’s courage can move the world and he calls on his to make choices that reflect not our fears, but our hopes, in our own lives and in the lives of our communities and our countries,” he said.
Obama said the United States will “up our game” in a continent he described as “poised to take off,” with new trade and investment and steps to bring down trade barriers.
He spoke about his food security initiative to help lift 50-million people out of poverty within a decade. And he announced a “Power Africa” initiative to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa, with an initial investment of $7 billion.
Obama said he will continue seeking ideas from Africa’s young people about their continent’s future. He announced his plan to hold a first-ever summit in Washington of sub-Saharan African leaders.
“I am proud to announce that next year, I am going to invite heads of state from across sub-Saharan Africa to a summit in the United States to help launch a new chapter in U.S.-Africa relations,” he said.
The president spoke of a “historic shift” in Africa from poverty to a growing middle class with fewer people dying of preventable disease, but still threatened by the “rot of corruption” and conflict.
“It is not moving fast enough for the child still languishing in poverty in forgotten townships. It is not moving fast enough for the protester who is beaten in Harare, or the woman who is raped in Eastern Congo. We have got more work to do because these Africans must not be left behind,” he said.
Obama called South Africa an example of the difference between freedom and tyranny, saying governments “should exist to serve their people and not other way around.”
Citing free and fair elections and the growth of civil society from Ghana to Zambia, he said governments that respect the rights of their citizens and abide by the rule of law do better and draw more investment.
In Zimbabwe, he said only a credible election can help repair the country’s economy. “There is an opportunity to move forward, but only if there is an election that is free and fair and peaceful so that Zimbabweans can determine their future without fear of intimidation and retribution. And after elections there must be respect for the universal rights upon which democracy depends,” he said.
Obama said the United States is interested in investing not in “strong men, but in strong institutions” and supports open and accountable governments, independent judiciaries, and societies that empower women. “No country will reach its potential unless it draws on the talents of our mothers and our sisters and our daughters,” he said.
Obama said opportunity and democracy cannot take root as long as fear prevails in too many places, citing conflicts in Mali, Somalia, Congo and Sudan.
He said the United States supports African-led solutions, noting U.S. support for African Union peacekeeping in Somalia and efforts against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army in central Africa.
“From Mali to Mogadishu, senseless terrorism all too often perverts the meaning of Islam one of the world’s great religions and takes the lives of countless innocent Africans. From Congo to Sudan, conflicts fester robbing men and women and children of the lives they deserve. In too many countries the actions of thugs, and warlords and drug cartels and human traffickers hold back the promise of Africa, enslaving others for their own purposes,” he said.
He said America makes no apology for helping African efforts to end conflict and stand up for human dignity.
Earlier, Obama joined retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu at a youth center named after him for AIDS prevention.
“Your success is our success. Your failure, whether you like it or not, is our failure. And so we want to assure you that we pray for you to be a great success. We want you to be known as having brought peace to the world,” said Tutu.
President Obama and his family depart early Monday for Tanzania, the final stop on his three-nation Africa tour.
Watch: President Obama delivers the central speech of his three nation Africa tour (VOA News)
New York (TADIAS) – The African Union Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York hosted a “High level Panel Discussion and Workshop” on Wednesday June 26th inside the UN building marking the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the predecessor to the African Union (AU), headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The event opened with a remark by Ambassador Tete Antonio of the Permanent Observer of the AU to the UN, who delivered an introductory message from Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission and the first woman to lead the organization. Statements were also made by the head of the African Group for the month of June 2013, Mr. Roble Olhaye, Permanent Representative of Djibouti to the United Nations.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Ali A. Mazrui, the famed academic and political writer on African and Islamic studies as well as North-South relations. During his speech Professor Mazrui, who turned 80 last year, proposed that the AU, which currently has no real authority to make binding decisions for all of Africa’s 54 states, perhaps should establish a permanent member council similar to the U.N. with a rotating chairmanship. He suggested the body should be made up of 4 or five countries, one from each region based on size of population: “Nigeria from the West, Egypt from the North, Ethiopia from the East and South Africa from the South.”
Mazuri also recalled Nelson Mandela’s memorable interview with Ted Koppel on ABC’s Nightline on February 15th, 1990, soon after he was released from his 27-year imprisonment. “Most people would look at the last 27 years of your life or at the life of someone who has spent the last 27 years in prison and say to themselves “what a waste.” What about you?,” the ABC host had asked. “That is true, to spend 27 years at the prime of your life is a tragedy and I regret those years that I have wasted in prison,” Mandela had responded. “But there are very positive aspects too because I had the opportunity to think about problems and to reflect on my mistakes.” Mandela added: “I also had the opportunity of reading very widely and especially biographies and I could see what men sometimes from very humble beginnings were able to lift themselves with boot strings and become international figures and men that are useful to society in their own community and to the world.”
The gathering also included screenings of a short documentary focusing on the history of the founding of the OAU in Addis Ababa on May 25th, 1963 as well as a trailer of a film highlighting the organization’s 50th anniversary celebrations .
Below is a slideshow of images from the panel discussion:
Watch: Feb. 15, 1990: Nelson Mandela Interview with Ted Koppel on ABC’s Nighline
Washington, D.C. (TADIAS) – The U.S. congressional subcommittee on Africa held a hearing on Thursday entitled Ethiopia After Meles: The Future of Democracy and Human Rights. The featured witnesses included Donald Y. Yamamoto, Acting Assistant Secretary of State at the Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs; Earl W. Gast, Assistant Administrator at USAID’s Bureau for Africa; Berhanu Nega, Associate Professor of Economics at Bucknell University; Dr Peter Pham, Director at the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center, Atlantic Council; Mr. Obang Metho, Executive Director of Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia; and Mr. Adotei Akwei, Managing Director for Government Relations at Amnesty International, USA.
New York (TADIAS) – In the late 1990s, long before the Egyptian cabinet got caught on live television discussing to sabotage Ethiopia’s $4.7 billion Grand Renaissance hydroelectric dam project, a law professor and his students at Stanford University were quietly researching the legal case that could assist Ethiopia in the event that the inter-country conflict ended up at the International Court of Justice for resolution.
“I was very happy when I learned Ethiopia was going ahead with the Blue Nile Gorge project; and then very concerned when the Egyptian cabinet meeting conversation leaked, referring to Egypt’s going to war against Ethiopia,” said former Congressman Tom Campbell who is currently the Dean of Chapman University School of Law in Orange, California. “What totally irresponsible statements.”
In a recent interview with Tadias Magazine, Mr. Campbell recalled that two of his Stanford law students, Paul Epstein and Ken Fleuriet, had prepared a draft brief that dealt with just these questions.
“International law requires upstream and downstream users to engage in equitable use of a river’s water,” he said.
Egypt, which operates its own multiple dams built on the Nile, is vigorously opposing Ethiopia on the basis of a colonial era agreement that served only the interest of Egypt and Sudan. In a review article entitled “Who Owns the Nile? Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia’s History-Changing Dam” published at Ohio State University, Andrew Carlson notes that “After achieving its independence in 1922, Egypt negotiated the Nile Waters Agreement of 1929 with the East African British colonies. This accord established Egypt’s right to 48 billion cubic meters of water flow, all dry season waters, and veto-power over any upriver water management projects.” Despite that over 85% percent of the waters flowing to Egypt came from the Blue Nile originating in Ethiopia, Carlson states that Ethiopia’s emperor Haile Selassie “was not consulted.” An additional colonial-era agreement between Egypt and Sudan, which Egypt claims should be followed today also left out five other upriver countries from fair use.
“Does Ethiopia have the legal right to dam the Nile?” we asked. The answer, Mr. Campbell gave is a resounding “Yes.”
“Unquestionably Ethiopia has the legal right to build the dam,” he replied. “The issue had been one of funding: the U.S. had supported Egypt at the World Bank, and the World Bank had not funded the project. I believe Ethiopia found alternative funding from China.”
Mr. Campbell added. “While Egypt wants more of the Nile to be diverted to new settlements in the Sinai, Ethiopia wants water to prevent the devastating drought that occurs every seven years. This favors Ethiopia. Further, Ethiopia’s storage of water in the Blue Nile gorge will result in far less evaporation per cubic meter of water than Egypt’s storage in Lake Nasser, a shallow lake with huge loss to evaporation.”
Mr. Campbell emphasized that this essentially means sharing the river, based on traditional uses, and the value of the proposed new use. “The International Court of Justice exists for just this kind of dispute resolution,” he argued.
In their brief Epstein and Fleuriet asked: “Beyond the broad notions of fairness and justness embodied in the concept, just what are the particulars of ‘equitable utilization?’ In very large measure the modern doctrine of equitable utilization is nothing more than a compromise between the two extreme positions. Equitable utilization recognizes a right of upper riparians to develop and exploit their water resources, but also imposes upon them a burden to take the needs of their downstream neighbors into account.”
“My advice is for Ethiopia to commence a legal process in the International Court of Justice.” Campbell urged. “The sooner this goes to the ICJ the better, as any military threat would, on top of being highly irresponsible, then be perceived by the world community as an attempt to short cut the process of the ICJ.”
A peaceful protest rally in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, has sparked speculation the government may be relaxing its tight restrictions on political demonstrations. The large turnout at the rally has also raised the profile of a little-known opposition party that seems to be attracting a large following among Ethiopia’s disaffected youth.
Sunday’s demonstration drew thousands to the streets of Addis. But estimates of how many thousands varied widely. State-run television reported it was 2,000, while organizers said it was more like 15,000 to 20,000.
Whatever the figure, the event was significant. It marked the first time authorities have allowed a mass political protest in Addis Ababa since 2005, when police gunned down demonstrators who accused the ruling party of fraud in parliamentary elections.
Pictures and video of the demonstration created a sensation on the Internet, prompting speculation about whether Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s government might be easing restrictions on political speech imposed by his predecessor, the late Meles Zenawi.
It also raised questions about whether a new generation of opposition leaders might be emerging. The rally was organized by the Semayawi (Blue) Party, a small offshoot of an opposition group that collapsed following the 2005 election.
Party president Yenekal Getinet said the Blue Party represents the desire for change among the 70 percent of Ethiopians under the age of 35, who he said want to break away from the Marxist ideas that have dominated the country’s political thinking for more than a generation.
“This is a new generation of leaders,” said Getinet. “Many political leaders for the last 20 years, be it in the ruling party or opposition are from the leftist ideology or Marxist-Leninist mindset and ethnocentric. So this is the new generation from the globalization era, a bit liberalized, vibrant and knowledge-based; and this may be the reason why, I am from the new generation.”
The protest was mainly called to demand the release of political prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and the organizers of last year’s Muslim protests that called for an end to government interference in religious affairs.
Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal was quoted Monday as saying the overwhelming majority of the protestors were Muslims, including Islamic extremists. But law professor Yakob Hailemariam, who is representing the Muslim protest organizers in court, and was the keynote speaker at Sunday’s rally, said the demonstrators represented a broad spectrum of Ethiopian youth.
“Actually, the number of Muslims was only one-fifth, it was not very significant. They stand out because of their clothes, but they were not that many. But the demo was espousing their cause that Muslim jailed leaders should be released, so that was one of the demands, but it has not religious sentiment to it,” said Yakob.
Yakob, who is gained prominence as a senior prosecutor with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, expressed surprise that Ethiopia’s ruling EPRDF party had allowed the demonstration. He said it is too early to know whether this represents a change in the tight restrictions on protests that have been in effect since the 2005 post-election violence.
“It Is hard to tell. The EPRDF is secretive and it is difficult to know what their intentions are. I have been wondering why they allowed this demonstration. Are they opening up? Is this an indication? Because they have been prohibited since 2005. Strictly prohibited,” said he said.
Blue Party leader Getinet declined to speculate about whether authorities would tolerate more protests.
Other opposition figures, including Yakob Hailemariam, have noted that the demonstration permit had been issued just before last month’s African Union summit, when the government’s restrictions on political speech were under scrutiny by a host of international visitors, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Yenekal said the test will come in three months, when the Blue Party plans to ask for another demonstration permit to press its demands for release of political prisoners.
Critics allege Ethiopia has become a de facto one-party state, noting the ruling EPRDF’s near total domination of all elections since 2005. The late prime minister Meles Zenawi rejected that label, however, calling it a dominant-party state.
— Thousands Hold Peaceful Demonstration in Rare Ethiopia Protest (VOA News)
Thousands of Ethiopian opposition activists demonstrate in Addis Ababa, June 2, 2013. (Marthe van der Wolfe/VOA)
Marthe van der Wolf
June 02, 2013
ADDIS ABABA — Thousands of Ethiopians demonstrated Sunday in Addis Ababa, the first political protest against the country’s ruling party since 2005.
The demonstrators were shouting they wanted their human rights to be ensured, that political and religious prisoners should be released, and accusing state television of only broadcasting propaganda.
“We have been raising lots of questions for the government and one is to release those political party leaders and journalists,” said Getaneh Banch, a member of the Blue Party, the opposition party that organized the demonstration. “And we have been also calling for the government to release also those who have been dislocated from their locations, because of their ethnic background.”
This was the first political demonstration since the 2005 elections, after which many protesters and opposition leaders were imprisoned.
One of the opposition leaders jailed after the 2005 elections, Jacob Hailemariam, says this demonstration is significant for Ethiopia.
“This will definitely encourage people to demand their rights that they have been very quite about, until today,” he said.
Many of the protesters were young men with a Muslim background who do not necessarily support the Blue Party, but do feel a change in government is needed.
“I am not happy with the political party of this nation,” said Mustafa, a high-school teacher. “I never support this party because if I am a citizen I can not believe in what I believe. We are suffering too much, our leaders are in prison.”
University student Shimelis says he does not expect any immediate change, but still feels it is important to be present.
“When we demonstrate, we express our idea, we express our thinking to the government and to the international community,” he said.
New York (TADIAS) – Last week police in Ethiopia conducted a high-profile corruption sweep in Addis Ababa, the biggest of its type in the Capital in more than ten years, arresting several people, including a Minister and his deputy in charge of the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority.
But how big is corruption in Ethiopia on the global scale? We placed a phone call to the Washington, D.C office of Global Financial Integrity (GFI), which tracks illicit financial flows out of developing countries worldwide.
According to Clark Gascoigne, a spokesperson for GFI, the organization’s latest available research data show that the amount of money that Ethiopia lost to smuggling of cash out of the country, both by the government and the private sector between 2001 and 2010, totals 16.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Mr. Gascoigne pointed out GFI’s statistics are based on official data provided by the Ethiopian government, World Bank, and IMF.
“Our numbers indicate all funds that illicitly left the country in a ten year period including by individuals and private companies illegally funneling their money out of Ethiopia,” he said.
Ethiopia also ranks 113 out of 176 countries in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, the global civil society coalition that encourages accountability initiatives by regular citizens.
Meanwhile, the Federal Anti-Corruption Commission in Ethiopia said that Melaku Fanta, a Minister and the Director General of the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority, and his deputy, Gebrewahed Woldegiorgis, are two of the highest ranking officials apprehended so far on bribery, kickback, tax evasion, illegal trading and fraud accusations.
New York (TADIAS) – In a wide-ranging interview with France24 this week, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn energetically fielded a number of questions in his role as the current chairman of the African Union about the continent’s troubled spots, including the situation in Mali, the elections in Kenya, the prospect of peace in Somalia, and the border issue with Eritrea. But when the topic changed to domestic matters and the imprisoned journalist Reeyot Alemu, winner of the 2013 UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize, so did the tone of the Prime Minister.
“For us our due process of law is, you know, according to the international standard and practice and we will continue on this way whether whoever says it,” he said. “What matters is the peace, security and democracy in the country, rather than what somebody says.”
Reeyot, who is now 32-year-old, was arrested in June 2011 inside a high-school class room where she worked as an English teacher. She was wanted for her opposing views in her part-time job as a columnist for the then Amharic weekly Feteh. She is currently serving a five year sentence in Kality prison. UNESCO said last week that she was recommended for the prestigious award by an independent international jury of media professionals in recognition of her “exceptional courage, resistance and commitment to freedom of expression.”
“The whole important thing in this issue is that rule of law is one of the pillars of democratic process in the country,” the PM told the French television station, without mentioning Reeyot by name. “So we have responsibility also not only to have, you know, any kind of issues in the country, but to secure our people from any kind of terrorist actions.”
Hailemariam added: “In this regard, I think what’s important is that we are following all the international standard including the UN charter for human rights and democracy, which we have signed and ratified in my country. So I think it is according to the international, universal declarations that we are operating in the country.”
“Do you think there is room for improvement?” the reporter for France24 asked. “Do you agree that things could be better in this regard that there should be more vibrant press and a more vibrant opposition to make Ethiopia a real and full democracy?”
“I think there is no doubt about it,” the PM said. “Not only in Ethiopia, even in much more civilized democratic nations like France you have always something to improve. So how can we say there is no need of improvement in a fledgling democracy and a democracy of only fifteen years of age.”
The PM argued that establishing a culture of democracy takes time. “Therefore, we have a fledgling democracy, we have to learn lots of things, there are a number of rooms for improvement, including, the press, media and all kind of things,” he said. “We are learning from the international practices and my government is open to learn and improve things at home.”
The UNESCO Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize is awarded annually during the celebration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd, which will take place this year in Costa Rica. The UNESCO jury highlighted Reeyot’s critical writing published in several independent Ethiopian newspapers on various political and social issues focusing on poverty and gender equality.
We urge Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to do the right thing for Ethiopia and exercise his authority under the constitution to pardon Reeyot Alemu.
Watch: PM Hailemariam Desalegn interview with France24
New York (TADIAS) – In the early 1990’s when Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega was a young man living in the suburb of Washington, D.C., which is home to one of the largest populations of Ethiopian-Americans in the United States, he dreamt of one day opening an independent newspaper company in his native country. Unfortunately, two decades later Eskinder, now 45 years old, is languishing behind bars, locked away for 18 Years at Kality prison nearby where he was born and raised in Addis Ababa separated from his wife, 8-years-old son, profession, and branded as a terrorist.
Eskinder, who has been in and out of jail eight times since he returned to Ethiopia almost twenty years ago, stands convicted of attempting to subvert the country’s constitution, which in principle affords its 80 million plus citizens all of the universally accepted due process guarantees and human rights — including that “no one can be deprived of his liberty for exercising his freedom of expression or being a critic of the government.”
Last year around this time there was a glimmer of hope among Eskinder’s compatriots at home and in the Diaspora rightly encouraged by the news that PEN America had awarded him its prestigious “Freedom to Write” prize. Tadias Magazine had the opportunity to attend and cover the ceremony on May 1st, 2012 at the literary organization’s annual gala dinner held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. We interviewed a number of people on camera including Eskinder’s wife, Serkalem Fasil — herself a former journalist who gave birth to their son Nafkot in 2005 during her own stint as a political prisoner — who accepted the award on her husband’s behalf, as well as her former cellmate the renowned Ethiopian opposition leader and former prisoner of conscience Birtukan Mideksa, who is currently in exile and a Harvard fellow in the United States. Both Serkalem and Birtukan’s spirits were buoyed by PEN’s success stories of advocating on behalf of those that are selected to be honored. Forty-six women and men have received the award since 1987; 33 of the 37 honorees, who were in prison at the time of their nomination, were subsequently released.
“International human rights law does not prohibit prosecution of members of terrorist organizations or those who support cooperate and assist terrorism by any means,” Ethiopian authorities wrote to members of the European Parliament in February who had urged Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn back in December to consider the release of the imprisoned journalist. “Rather, it prohibits any form of discrimination and impunity of prosecution.”
Since the Pen Award, however, impunity and unchecked power by a single party is what appears to be preventing officials from resolving the matter once and for all. Instead the ruling party agents have turned to a strategy of Chinese-style campaign, disturbingly similar to the attack against Ai Wei Wei — the contemporary artist and outspoken critic of the Chinese government. Eskinder’s personal story mirrors Ai Wei Wei’s in more ways than one. Both individuals had studied in America in their youth and returned to their birth countries to work. Both Ai Wei Wei and Eskinder turned to blogging as a means of expression, both were incarcerated for refusing to stop writing and asserting their right to self-expression. And both men had firmly decided to stay in their native country to continue their work despite the fact that unjust harassment was looming over them and they knew they were putting their lives at stake.
While Ai Wei Wei has received overwhelming international support from art institutions and human rights organizations, Eskinder’s story hasn’t reached the critical spotlight needed to win his rightful release.
The labeling of Eskinder as a ‘terrorist’ is designed to deflect criticism and to intimidate international agencies into covering their eyes and ears regarding domestic human rights abuses in Ethiopia. Meanwhile, local officials are busy exploiting the flow of financial assistance from the same donor countries that are eager to hunt real terrorists residing in the populous Horn of Africa region.
The Ethiopian authorities, of course, don’t see anything wrong with the fact that the Federal Police seem to be habitually confusing a “pen” for a deadly weapon. Today, Ethiopia is listed among the top ten most censored countries in the world. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that compiles the annual data, says the nation is one of only two African countries along with Eritrea that still holds the distinction.
In the last decade Ethiopia has shown an impressive potential for economic progress as well, but also mimicking China in downplaying respect for human rights. Without specifically mentioning Eskinder Nega, there has been a development of late in the Ethiopian parliament that is apparently aimed at fixing the general issue concerning freedom of expression in the country. But let us cross our fingers that this time it’s not part of the fly-by-night and feel-good charm offensive intended to cloud the festering problem.
On the world stage, it is also encouraging to see the finding by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on Eskinder’s ongoing detention as a violation of international law. The panel of five independent experts from four continents held earlier this month reported that the government violated Eskinder’s rights to free expression and due process. The UN body called for Eskinder’s immediate release following sustained lobbying efforts by his international pro bono lawyers and support by his friends in exile, including Birtukan Mideksa, who recently wrote a well received Op-Ed piece on Al Jazeera English highlighting her anguish over the muzzling of progressive Ethiopian voices.
New York (TADIAS) – The first Global Education and Technology Health Summit was held at the United Nations in New York last week, which brought together academics, social entrepreneurs, distance learning experts, physicians, business leaders and ministers of health for a talk on the impact of mobile technologies to improve global health.
The summit was organized by Johns Hopkins Center for Clinical Global Health Education and Global Partnerships Forum and co-hosted by the International Telecommunication Union as well as the governments of Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Norway.
Dr. Enawgaw Mehari, Neurologist and Founder of People to People (P2P) global network was a panelist discussing information and communications technologies, and the patient versus provider relationship. Citing his organization’s work, Mehari described the People to People as being founded on the principle of triangular partnership consisting of “the mother country (Africa), the Diaspora, and Western institutions.” The main effort is to “implement programs that contribute to closing the gap through education, training, and research,” Mehari told Tadias in a later interview. An example of such a program was an emergency medicine initiative coordinated by People to People, Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, and Wisconsin University as well as a neurology program at Black Lion Hospital in collaboration with the Mayo Clinic.
Another panelist, Ms. Amy Lockwood, Deputy Director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health at Stanford University, supported Mehari and the role that individuals from the Diaspora can play by noting that pilots implemented by NGOs or student interns are short-term and don’t help to form the deeper, and more meaningful connections needed to scale and grow programs. “When you are a member of the Diaspora you have an umbilical cord” she said and urged practitioners to move towards implemented innovative projects with the support and collaboration of diaspora resources.
Dr. Seble Frehywot, Principal Investigator of the MEPI Coordinating Center at George Washington University also presented on the topic of creating centers of excellence for ICT in health education and research training that would likewise serve as hubs of innovation.
Ethiopian Diaspora physicians participating in the summit included Dr. Senait Fisseha from the University of Michigan who is both a doctor and lawyer by training and is involved in global health activities in collaboration with medical schools in Ethiopia. She felt the summit was “an interesting meeting looking at the impact of technology to improve health care services as well as global medical education,” but also pointed out that she “would like to see more healthcare providers and stakeholders at this meeting as well as diaspora from all African and Asian countries who really have a vested interest in addition to NGOs and funders.” She travels once a month to Ethiopia to oversee projects that are currently being developed on the ground.
On the topic of leveraging mobile technology to strengthen health systems, Dr. Ferew Lemma Feyissa, Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Health in Ethiopia, told Tadias that the summit has enabled them to network and meet with various technology company representatives including from Dell and Verizon who have shown interest in working with them as private sector partners. An area of health that Ethiopian Ministry of Health is primarily focused on is improving maternal and child health outcomes, and expanding emergency obstetric care at the district level. Dr. Feyissa notes that Ministry is also using mobile technology tools to “help us enhance the skills of health extension workers in the primary health care unit.” In the future, Ethiopia also hopes to use mobile health to address chronic care and to support the vastly expanded medical education system in Ethiopia.
During the ministerial addresses, Ethiopia’s Minister of Health, Dr. Kesetebirhan Admazu Birhane, described the three-tier health system, which is comprised of health centers and community health extension workers. “We consider our community health extension program as a pillar of our health system,” he said. “And through this program we have trained and deployed 38,000 health extension workers, with two workers per village.” Most of these professionals are women who have been “tasked to do health promotion, disease prevention, and provide basic curative services,” he added. The four areas of support for them include data exchange, improving supply chain so that workers are receiving supplies on a continuous basis, and using mobile technology to improve both communication between the community health extension workers and labs and hospitals. One outcome of this program is that “we have seen an increase in antenatal visits as well as an increase in institutional delivery rates,” Dr. Birhane said, citing the use of mobile technology to reduce maternal mortality in Ethiopia. “So the challenge is to have the same quality of success at scale.”
Similarly, the Director of e-health at the Rwandan Ministry of Health said his nation has three community health workers per 75,000 villagers, which exceeds the goal of the million community health worker campaign for Sub-Saharan Africa announced by President Paul Kagame, Novartis CEO Joseph Jiminez, and Columbia Professor Jeffrey Sachs this past January at the World Economic Forum.
In addressing some of the current challenges faced, Dr. Birhane noted the recent expansion of Ethiopia’s medical schools from just three to 25 new medical schools. Dr. Birhane spoke of the difficulty in retention of physicians who leave and practice in other countries, and mentioned the initiative to increase medical school enrollment capacity from “150 five years ago to 3,000 this year.” The challenge is that “we don’t have enough faculty,” he said, “and that’s where technology will definitely help.”
Dr. Wuleta Lemma, Director for the Center for Global Health Equity at Tulane University and Country Director for Tulane’s program in Ethiopia has been working for several years in Addis Ababa spearheading the development of a pre-service Master’s training program in health monitoring and evaluation, as well implementing an e-health and mobile health strategy called HealthNet in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.
Speaking of such efforts, Dr. Birhane said “we have tried to create a linkage between universities in Europe and the U.S. with our newer medical schools. And we have also created a network with the Ethiopian Diaspora.” He added, “I would like to call upon our partners here to work with us to really improve the quality of medical education in Ethiopia using information and communications technologies.”
State Minister for Primary Health Care in Uganda, Ms. Sarah Opendi cited similar hardship in the retention of trained doctors in her country, noting physician preferences to work for higher pay in the private sector or abroad. Yet, by using mobile technologies, Uganda has improved service delivery and monitoring of medicines, and has better quality of data from monthly reports, as well as improved anonymous consultation services for HIV/AIDS patients through the national, toll-free hotline. Uganda has also “connected regional referral hospitals with the national hospital so that doctors can easily consult with their colleagues.”
The Minister of State for Health in Nigeria, Dr. Alit Pate, shared with participants that his country has 65,000 registered health extension workers, but more initiative is needed, especially when it comes to evaluating the impact of using mobile technology to improve health outcomes. He mentioned an online portal for training midwives that initially received a lot of hits but then experienced a decline in submissions, and emphasized that incentives need to be put in place to encourage community health extension workers to continue submitting valuable data used for tracking progress.
Incentives such as providing promotion opportunities for community health workers to supervisory levels, and providing access to medical education via distance learning modules to increase medical student enrollment and retention are just a few ways that Dr. Feyissa at the Ethiopian Ministry of Health hopes to build and maintain a trained health workforce. Uganda’s integrated use of an innovative health system tracking service known as IHRIS is yet another avenue for better monitoring and evaluation of health outcomes.
The Summit also covered subjects such as health and media literacy, and leveraging social media to address issues including increasing organ donation. Sarah Wynn-Williams, Manager of Global Public Policy at Facebook informed the audience that the launch of Facebook organ donation profiles increased organ donation by 800% in California in the first week alone.
Lee Wells, Head of Health Programs (Africa) at Vodaphone Foundation looked forward to translating the success of mobile money such as the M-Pesa system in Kenya to the mobile health sector. He stated that “last year, 25% of Kenya’s GDP was transferred via M-Pesa mobile system.” He emphasized “It’s low-cost, let’s use what’s already available.”
New York (TADIAS) – Fairness, justice, forgiveness, equality before the law, and deference for the sanctity of life and human dignity are not foreign concepts to the diverse nationalities, cultures and religions that make up the modern Ethiopian mosaic, but it is not encouraging to see the legal language justifying the continued imprisonment of a number of Ethiopian journalists on the grounds that the nation’s current administration of justice meets international standards.
In a recent paper entitled Information on the Allegations Concerning the Arbitrary Detention of Mr. Eskinder Nega, Ethiopian legal experts wrote a 19-page response to the 16 members of the European Parliament who urged Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn back in December to consider the release of the imprisoned journalist Eskinder Nega. In the document, shared with Tadias, Ethiopian officials explain to the European MPs that their actions are anchored in international law.
“The trial process of Mr. Eskinder Nega demonstrates that due process guarantees were ensured in keeping with domestic legislations and international standards as enshrined in the ICCPR and other relevant human rights instruments to which Ethiopia is a party,” the document said. “International human rights law does not prohibit prosecution of members of terrorist organisations or those who support cooperate and assist terrorism by any means. Rather, it prohibits any form of discrimination and impunity of prosecution.”
This is open to interpretation, however, and it is apparently constitutional to brand citizens as terrorists for their critical views and subject them to arbitrary arrest and detention. It is illegal for writers, journalists, columnists, bloggers, and others with opposing perspectives to share unapproved observations with any audience if it touches upon subjects decrying abuses of power and corruption.
“The Constitution of Ethiopia strictly prohibits deprivation of rights or liberty without due process of law except on such grounds and in accordance with clearly established law,” the text continued. “This has been witnessed during the trial process of Mr. Eskinder Nega.”
The legal brief includes a twenty-six point argument covering topics including background of the case and pretrial detention, the charge brought against the defendant, the trial, observance of the right to legal counsel, as well as the accused’s right to visitations, and the appeals process in which Eskinder was actively involved.
In its opening paragraph the brief also highlights the individual freedoms and rights enshrined in the Ethiopian constitution. “No one can be deprived of his liberty for exercising his freedom of expression or being a critique of the Government,” it declared.
“Ethiopia is a country governed by of rule of law. All persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.”
Then why are Reeyot Alemu, Eskinder Nega, Wubishet Taye and others languishing in jail separated from their families and friends? Why are they not able to practice journalism?
The brief also argues that in Eskinder’s case he was charged for conspiring to cause violence in collaboration with an illegal organization, noting that “Mr. Eskinder Nega was found guilty by court of law for involvement in a conspiracy to commit a crime of terrorism as an accomplice with a clandestine and terrorist organization named Ginbot 7 which has publically declared its intention to overthrow the democratically elected Government of Ethiopia through assassination of government officials, destroying public property, destabilizing peace and constitutional order of Ethiopia.”
“The Federal Prosecutor, after meticulously investigating Mr. Eskinder Nega’s participation in terrorism and ensuring the presence of ample evidence, requested the Federal First Instance Court in Addis Ababa for an arrest and search warrant.”
The document added: “Cognizant of its responsibility not to arrest, search or seize a person’s property contrary to the law, police arrested the defendant, searched and seized the relevant property of evidentiary significance after securing arrest and search warrant from the Federal First Instance Court. His house was searched and relevant evidences found were seized by court warrant issued by the Federal Court in accordance with article 26 (3) of the Constitution and article 19 of the Ethiopian Anti-Terrorism Proclamation. The defendant promptly brought before a court of law within 48 hours in accordance with article 14(3)(c) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 19 and 20(1) of the FDRE Constitution and tried without undue delay.”
The legal brief makes no mention of Ethiopia’s tradition of pardoning prisoners, most recently approved by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi before he passed away on August 20th, 2012, which freed over 1,900 inmates including two Swedish journalists — reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson — who were jailed for assisting members of the outlawed rebel group the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).
New York (TADIAS) – As we extend our best wishes to President Barack Obama for a successful second term in office, we also urge the White House to pay more attention to the diverse voices in our community and to engage the Diaspora as the U.S. formulates better policies towards Africa in the next four years. After all, as citizens, we are voters and taxpayers, and therefore stakeholders in what the United States does in Africa.
Influencing U.S. foreign policy also requires a culture of respectful political discourse among ourselves, which has not been the hallmark of the Diaspora during Obama’s first term, particularly by Ethiopian pundits in the United States.
In one of the many memorable lines delivered at his second Inaugural Address this week, President Obama said: “We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect.”
It is a message that political leaders, activists and scholars in our community should take to heart if they are to be effective moving forward in communicating on behalf of a wider constituency and in shaping future U.S.-Africa and U.S-Ethiopia relations.
— Related: Obama Stresses Unity in Second Inaugural Speech (VOA News)
Video: Sights and Sounds from the 2013 Inauguration (NBC)
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian Airlines has temporarily grounded its 787 Dreamliners for inspection following a safety warning issued by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA said on Wednesday that the 787 should not operate until the risk of battery fires is addressed.
The crisis began when one of the planes owned by the Japanese airline, All Nippon Airways, was forced to make an emergency landing in Japan when a cockpit warning indicated a battery problem and a burning smell. Ethiopian follows Chile’s LAN, Air India and the European Aviation Safety Agency who have all sent out grounding orders.
“Ethiopian Dreamliners have not encountered the type of problems such as those experienced by the other operators,” the airlines said in a press release. “However, as an extra precautionary safety measure and in line with its commitment of putting safety above all else, Ethiopian has decided to pull out its four Dreamliners from operation and perform the special inspection requirements mandated by the US FAA.”
Ethiopian airlines, which has been operating the Dreamliner since mid-August last year, said it is working closely with Boeing to comply with the US FAA approved special inspection. “The airline aims to return the Dreamliners to service as soon as possible, after full compliance with the new procedure,” the press release said.
ADDIS ABABA — A new study says the fastest-growing sectors of Ethiopia’s economy, such as telecommunications, land management and construction, are prone to corruption. A study conducted by the World Bank and the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission was made public on Friday.
At the same time, the study praises Ethiopia for its generally low levels of corruption compared to other low-income countries.
Rupert Bladon of the World Bank says fast growing sectors are more vulnerable to corruption but that steps can be taken to reduce the practice.
“I think it needs a combination of efforts. I think you need strong regulatory frameworks, and also strong institutions and people working in those institutions helping to oversee the regulation of those,” he said. “In terms of areas where you have large procurement, it’s very important that there are transparent regulations that are being followed across the public sector.”
Fast growing sectors in developing countries such as Ethiopia are instrumental to economic growth. The study focused on eight different sectors.
The telecommunications sector is at high risk, according to the study, because of weak accountability and the monopoly position of the telecom service provider.
Abdurahim Ahmed of Ethiotelecom is not impressed with the findings of the research:
“The research states that this country has a strong policy framework. This means the policy of this company emanates from the government’s policy, which the research puts as a strong policy framework. So the monopolistic framework emanates from the country’s policy,” he said. “There is nothing that had been presented that correlates these two, the monopolistic nature and the reason that it will become prone to corruption.”
Ethiotelecom does not see corruption as a top priority at the moment, but they did say they would look into the report’s recommendation to improve accountability within the company.
The Ethiopian government has already started to change its land policy to reduce corruption. The chairman of the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Ali Suleiman says much more is administrated and registered than before:
“The government had no data which part of the land was occupied or owned by somebody. Because of this lack of registration it was easy for people, for engineers, for land managers, to corrupt with this plot of land,” he said. “But now a database has been started to be implemented and the procedures, how to get title deeds, how to prove ownership – all this starting from policy registrations and directives started to be implemented.”
Examples of other efforts to reduce corruption can be found in the construction sector. Any transaction over $162,000 (3 million Ethiopian birr) has to be published on a website. This is also an effort to change public perception. The study reports that the public perception does not correspond with the actual level of corruption.
Chairman Ali says the level of corruption is much lower than other low-income and developing countries, but that there is a perception that corruption is rampant in the East African country:
“In all sectors it proves there is a disparity between perception and reality. Our assignment is to see the reason why people perceive in such a way,” Ali added. “I think one reason because we lack transparence in our public services and maybe people they don’t differentiate between inefficiency and corruption – maybe any delay, any inefficiency, maybe translated to corruption.”
Ethiopia scored 113 out of 176 countries in the 2012 Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, the anti-corruption watchdog.
— Read more news at VOA.
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Washington, D.C. – ESAT is reporting that FBI is currently investigating an alleged assassination plot against U.S.-based Ethiopian journalist and opposition activist Abebe Gellaw. The FBI has not confirmed the report.
According to Ethiomedia, Boston FBI spokesman Greg Comcowich said he wouldn’t go into details but noted that the FBI takes such type of crimes seriously.
ADDIS ABABA — An Ethiopian journalist lost an appeal on Tuesday against a five-year prison sentence for her role in promoting subversive plots by a rebel group.
Reyot Alemu, a columnist at the now-defunct Feteh newspaper, and fellow journalist Woubishet Taye were found guilty a year ago of conspiring to participate in attacks under the orders of rebel groups and sentenced to 14 years behind bars. The pair were arrested in July 2011.
An appeals court reduced Reyot’s sentence to five years in August and dropped two of the three charges to leave just the promotion of “terrorist activity.”
A subsequent appeal to dismiss the case altogether, however, was rejected on Tuesday and she faces another three years and three months in prison, having already served more than 19 months.
New York (TADIAS) – The Walya Antelopes, Ethiopia’s national soccer team, have enlisted a trio of foreign-based Ethiopian players as part of the line-up for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations 2013, which is set to commence on January 19th in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Coach Sewnet Bishaw has chosen 28-year-old Swedish-born midfielder Yussuf Saleh and 21-year-old Ethiopian-American footballer Fuad Ibrahim, in addition to the team’s star striker Saladin Said who plays abroad for Wadi Degla in Egypt. Yussuf comes from the Swedish football club Syrianska, while Fuad is currently playing for the Minnesota Stars in the North American Soccer League.
The head coach Seyoum Kebede toldStar Africa that he “has high hopes his youthful team have a bright future.”
Ethiopia is scheduled in group “C” and faces Zambia, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. The Walya’s opening match is against the defending champions Zambia on January 21st.
ADDIS ABABA – Innovative Ethiopian footwear manufacturer Sole Rebels will open its second retail outlet in Taiwan this year. With ambitions to open 30 more franchise stores across the world in countries like the United States, Australia, Italy and Japan, Sole Rebels, the largest African footwear brand, is now fast becoming a global competitive brand.
The company currently sells its innovative range of artisan shoes made from recycled materials in 55 countries and is now one of Ethiopia’s thriving businesses with a major presence on e-commerce sites such as Amazon. Its success reflects this Horn of Africa nation’s growing footwear-manufacturing industry as Chinese businesses are increasingly investing in the sector here.
Founded in 2005 by Ethiopian entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun, who wanted to create jobs and sustainable prosperity in her country, Sole Rebels made two million dollars in sales in 2011 and is expecting to generate over 15 to 20 million dollars in revenue by 2015.
“We are extremely excited to open a Sole Rebels store in the heart of Taichung. Taichung is a footwear epicentre, home to the Asian design centre for the planet’s largest footwear brands,” Bethlehem told IPS.
Johannesburg (TADIAS) – Preparations are underway for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, and Ethiopia’s national team (The Walya Antelopes), that qualified for the tournament for the first time since 1982, is also gearing up for the continent’s most prestigious soccer competition, which kicks off on January 19th in Johannesburg.
By all accounts the past year has been very productive for Ethiopia. The website SouthAfrica.info noted, their games included a tie against the host country, which led to the firing of South Africa’s coach Pitso Mosimane “after a string of unconvincing results.”
The Walya Antelopes, popularly nicknamed “The Black Lions,” also advanced past Benin and Sudan on “the away goals rule” after a draw with Benin followed by victory over Sudan, against whom they lost 5-3 in Khartoum and then beat 2-0 in Addis.
The team’s star players are striker Saladin Said, who plays abroad for Wadi Degla in Egypt, and Adane Girma of Ethiopia’s Saint George Club, who was voted the best player in the Ethiopian Premier League in 2011.
Speaking about Saladin his former coach Belgian Walter Meeuws is quoted as saying: “Said is a very skilful player, technically strong, good speed and a good positioning as striker. He reads very well the game and the last year he became stronger in both power and physical strength.”
New York (TADIAS) – From the death of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to the apparent suicide of Alem Dechasa, and from the surprise results at the London Olympic games to the decisive re-election of President Barack Obama, 2012 has been a year of many lessons and historic transformations.
The televised abuse of Alem Dechasa, the Ethiopian woman that was violently mistreated outside the Ethiopian embassy in Lebanon last March, and her suspicious suicide a few days later, was one of the most watched and heartbreaking stories we covered this year: (In Memory of Alem Dechassa: Reporting & Mapping Domestic Migrant Worker Abuse)
The mysterious absence, illness and death of PM Meles Zenawi was by far the biggest political news of the year in our community. On July 15th the 57-year-old prime minister failed to show up for an African Union meeting that he had religiously attended without absence since the early 90’s. What followed next was several weeks of bizarre secrecy by the Ethiopian government and repeated pronouncements of vague assurances by officials about the status of the PM’s health. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was eventually declared dead on August 20th and was given a state funeral on September 2nd, 2012 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa. The confusing summer frenzy also exposed the weakness of the flummoxed political opposition in the Diaspora as disorganized and fractured, neither inspiring confidence nor prepared for public leadership and responsibility.
What was inspiring in 2012, however, was the spectacular performance of our women athletes at the London Olympics. Ethiopia earned seven medals this year, three of them gold, courtesy of Tirunesh Dibaba, Meseret Defar and Tiki Gelana — making the country the leader in Africa on the athletics medal count and globally trailing only the United States, Russia, Jamaica and England.
Here are images from some of the biggest stories of 2012.
Washington, DC (TADIAS) – Last week I hosted the second public forum on mental health here in Washington, D.C. The interactive get-together attracted over 100 participants from across the country who joined the conversation via conference call as well as an online live stream channel in addition to those who attended in person at the Shaw Neighborhood Library.
I am happy to report that it was another fruitful and educational event. My only regret is that we ran out of time before we could cover all the speakers because we did not assign and monitor time segments properly, which we will fix next time.
One of the key point that was repeatedly emphasized at the meeting was the need to incorporate religious leaders in this dialogue as well as in the treatment and healing process for individuals. There are studies that show that the close knit and communal nature of our culture does play a protective role in preventing mental illness.
As tax payers we do have the right to vocalize the importance of including natural remedies to be recognized as part of the treatment plan by lobbying the appropriate government agencies that write the policies governing health service providers.
It was also noted that there is an abundance of health professionals among the Ethiopian & Eritrean populations in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, but that talent pool is under-utilized. Often medical professionals are at the forefront of this fight and if given the proper training could recognize any ongoing mental health issues as they are developing, most importantly as it relates to substance abuse and addiction.
We also learned that the World Health Organization has partnered with the Ethiopian Ministry of Health to implement a Mental Health program in Ethiopia that could also be used as a resource.
The impact of Post Traumatic Syndrome Disorder (PTSD), which is commonly found among war veterans in this country, is another mental health problem that affects immigrants who have witnessed violence in close proximity, and how detrimental these effects are on a person’s psychological well-being, especially for those who have experienced violence in the Horn of Africa. Another issue raised was the impact of political oppression and how it affects an individual’s psychological makeup.
We also received an update from the working-team that was tasked to conduct research. The advocacy-group is led by the organization “My Love in Action” and they are to come up with a needs assessment survey, and create outreach programs geared towards collaborating with organizations that work with professionals in the behavioral science fields, including educational institutions, as well as student associations. They are making progress but they need your help so please get involved.
Sadly, our event took place the day following the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut where a 20-year-old gunman shot and killed 26 people – mostly children – at Sandy Hook Elementary School before committing suicide himself. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims’ families.
Below is a short video featuring clips from the “Second Community Forum on Mental Health” held on Saturday December 15th. I will keep you posted on future gatherings. In the meantime, you can follow updates on twitter @MyLoveInAction.
Watch: Clips from the “Second Community Forum on Mental Health” held on December 15th
New York (TADIAS) – The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists released its 2012 census of imprisoned journalists yesterday identifying 27 offending countries with 232 writers, editors, and photojournalists behind bars this year, an increase of 53 from 2011 and the highest since the organization began the survey in 1990. According to CPJ, the 2012 figure surpasses the previous record of 185 journalists imprisoned in 1996.
The report said the trend was driven primarily by terrorism and other anti-state charges levied against critical reporters and editors.
CPJ highlighted Turkey, Iran, and China as the three leading jailers of journalists, while Eritrea and Ethiopia are the only African countries that are listed among the top ten press offenders.
“Rounding out the top five jailers were Eritrea, with 28 journalists in prison, and Syria with 15; the worst abusers of the rule of law,” the organization said. “None of the journalists in jail in either country have been publicly charged with a crime or brought before a court or trial.”
More than half (118) of those held globally were online journalists and more than a third were freelancers.
CPJ singled out Burma for “some improvement” this year: “For the first time since 1996, Burma did not rank among the nations jailing journalists. As part of the country’s historic transition to civilian rule, authorities released at least 12 imprisoned journalists in a series of pardons in 2012.”
Of the 27 countries imprisoning journalists, the top 10 jailers were:
New York (TADIAS) – Hundreds of amnesty seekers in the United Arab Emirates are rushing into the Philippine consulate and the Consulate-General of Ethiopia on the first day of a two-month amnesty program for illegal residents.
According to Khaleej Times, one of UAE’s English daily newspapers, more than 200 amnesty seekers have reached the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO), located at the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai.
No official figures have been released regarding the number of Ethiopians that have come forward.
A Filipino woman named Cherry R. told the publication that she resigned from her job upon the demands of her company when she ran into trouble with several banks for delinquent accounts. “I wanted to leave the UAE but I was informed by a friend, who went to check with the police and the immigration on my behalf, that two banks had imposed a travel ban. Even at the time my father died, I could not go home. This amnesty is a great opportunity for me to go home or to legitimize my status,” she said.
“At the Ethiopian Consulate-General, Fananesh A. said she has been illegally staying in the UAE for five years, and though she wanted to go home, she could not go back due to travel ban from banks. “With this amnesty, I am looking forward to seeing my family again.”
The report added that her friend Abenet S. was absconding from her employer, which stopped her from leaving the country. “My father died and that day I cried for days because I could not go home. I felt I was put in a cage. Now is my time to go.”
Houston, Texas – An Ethiopian-American man in Houston claims he was assaulted outside an Ethiopian Orthodox Church by another Ethiopian while he handed out flyers for a memorial service in honor of the late prime minister Meles Zenawi, according to criminal and civil court documents, the Houston Press reports.
According to the suit, the man was allegedly “head-butted so hard that he was knocked out cold.” The person also claims that other church members assisted in kicking him when he was down.
“The victim and plaintiff, Tesfai Tsadik, is suing both Wossenu Gizaw, the alleged assailant, and Debre Selam Medahnealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Fondren Southwest house of worship near which the alleged assault took place,” the report said. “According to the pleadings in the civil suit, on August 26, Tsadik attended services at the church. After church let out, Tsadik went across the street and started handing out flyers for Zenawi’s memorial service.”
Per the Houston Press: “That might not have been the wisest move. The church founders and many of its members are opponents of Meles Zenawi. The members of the church, including members in leadership positions, have openly shared their views and hatred of Meles Zenawi and his government. In fact, church members and leaders protested outside during the funeral of Mr. Zenawi.”
“So apparently Tsadik was decidedly not preaching to the choir. Even so, this is a free country, and what allegedly happened next is reprehensible.”
Watch: Mitt Romney and President Obama’s Private Lunch at the White House (ABC News)
— Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2012
New York (TADIAS) – President Obama and his one-time Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, will have lunch at the White House on Thursday, the President’s press secretary announced in a statement released on Wednesday.
“Governor Romney will have a private lunch at the White House with President Obama in the Private Dining Room,” the statement said. “It will be the first opportunity they have had to visit since the election. There will be no press coverage of the meeting.”
“In fact, the meeting will be closely watched,” The New York Times noted. “The two men competed intensely for the better part of a year. Mr. Romney, in private conversations with donors shortly after the election, blamed his loss in part on the president promising “gifts” to Democratic constituencies like minorities and students.”
In their election night speeches, both men were complimentary of each other. “I wish all of them well, but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters,” Mr. Romney said in his remarks. For his part Mr. Obama extended an olive branch to his former rival saying he looked “forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together.”
— Related: What Does the Re-Election of Obama Mean for U.S.-Ethiopia Relations? (TADIAS)
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In 2005, Ethiopia concluded an agreement with the Dutch company HPFI, sharing its teff genetic resources in return for a part of the benefits that would be achieved from developing teff products for the European market.
In the end, Ethiopia received practically no benefits. Instead, due to a broad patent and a questionable bankruptcy, it lost its right to utilize and reap benefits from its own teff genetic resources in the countries where the patent is valid.
The amazing story of the Teff Agreement has been uncovered and meticulously documented in a recent FNI report by FNI researchers Regine Andersen and Tone Winge.
Addis Ababa – Call it a small step for a brand, but a giant leap for Ethiopian business. Shoemaker soleRebels, whose funky footwear is entirely designed and made in Ethiopia, set up its second overseas outlet in the Taiwanese city of Kaoshiung last month. The brand already operates a store in Vienna.
Boosting its international profile is a distinct possibility for soleRebels, which sells the world’s only Fair Trade-certified footwear. The fashionably designed sandals, slip-ons, lace-ups and boots are handmade and feature organic cotton linings. They’re environmentally friendly too: many of the products have soles made from recycled car tires, as does a lot of the everyday footwear found in Ethiopia. “We are working for change,” says CEO Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu. She started soleRebels in her mid-20s with five staff and a small workshop in her grandmother’s village of Zenabwork, outside Addis Ababa. Inspiration came from her homeland: poverty and unemployment indicated the need for new enterprises, and plentiful Ethiopian artisanal skills were indicative of unused talent. What won Alemu professional recognition and a string of awards, however, was her determination that soleRebels would subvert the image of Ethiopia so firmly established by the famines of 1984-5, and the international response of Band Aid and Live Aid. The brand’s foundation, says Alemu, is “trade not aid.” She adds: “We can produce and sell, and do it all by ourselves. We are not begging all the time.”
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s Federal Supreme Court has postponed hearing an appeal of the conviction of prominent Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition leader Andualem Arage. But the court gave its first indication Thursday that charges brought by prosecutors under the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation may not be that strong by demanding that prosecutors justify the June convictions.
Journalist Eskinder Nega received an 18-year sentence, while opposition politician Andualem Arage is serving life in prison on terrorism-related charges.
Andualem’s lawyer, Abebe Guta, said the court has found many irregularities in the prosecution’s charges.
“As they scrutinized our ground of appeal they found so many legal and factual irregularities,” said Abebe. “Therefore, before the ruling passes, that means before our appeal is accepted or approved, they wanted to summon the prosecution officers to come and justify.”
Maran Turner, the executive director of Freedom Now, a Washington D.C.- based organization that works on individual prisoners of conscience cases, said the latest developments are positive. Freedom Now has been supporting Eskinder and brought his case before the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
“It seems to me that the court also is confounded by the charges against Eskinder and the other defendants,” Turner said. “So the fact that the court has postponed the case, it obviously acknowledges the flaws that we see, which is that the charges themselves are flawed. In fact, the case is flawed from the very beginning of arrest.”
Eskinder, Anualem and more than 20 others were found guilty of ties to a U.S.-based opposition group, Ginbot 7, classified as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.
Amnesty International and other rights advocacy groups have said the trial was a sham used to silence dissent.
It’s been three months since 40-year-old Yayehyirad “Yared” Lemma and 31-year-old Yenenesh “Yenni” Desta were shot to death in front of their Lower Greenville home. The couple was returning home from Desta, the Ethiopian restaurant they ran on Greenville Avenue near Forest Lane, when a man accosted them on their front porch. Police would later say Abey Belette Girma was the shooter, and that he’d followed the couple home from the restaurant because they’d “disrespected him.”
Dallas police issued a capital murder arrest warrant for Girma, who’d left the state: A witness told police the 37-year-old Girma showed him the pistol he used to shoot the couple, then forced him to drive to Goodland, Kansas. Eventually, Girma showed up in Aurora, Colorado, where he was taken into custody and booked into the Arapahoe County jail.
And that’s where he sat till last week. But Dallas County records show that Girma is now being held in the Dallas County jail. He’s being held on a $1 million bond, charged with capital murder.
Sources familiar with the case say it took so long to get Girma back to Dallas because he fought extradition.
Girma is due in court Monday to approve Juan Sanchez as his court-appointed attorney. Sanchez says a pre-trial hearing will follow soon after.
New York (TADIAS) – U.S.-Africa relations was not part of the conversation in the 2012 U.S. Presidential elections, but what does the re-election of President Barack Obama mean for American diplomacy with Ethiopia?
“The election campaign had almost nothing to do with African issues,” said David H. Shinn, former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia. “As a result, I don’t see the re-election of President Obama and the new Congress, which is little changed, having much impact on US-Africa or US-Ethiopia relations.”
According to Shinn once the United States deals with the looming fiscal crisis, we will see more attention focused on Africa by the Obama Administration, including “a major visit” to the continent. “Kenya will certainly be on the list,” Ambassador Shinn said. “The other countries will be selected based on their progress with democratization and economic development in that order.”
Ambassador Shinn, who is currently an Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and a frequent commentator on East African Affairs, added: “Assignments in the Senate and House on committees related to Africa will be important, but I don’t see much change there either.”
Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam, who teaches political science at California State University, San Bernardino, and a contributor to various Ethiopian websites, said although he is one of many Ethiopians who have been disappointed by the Obama administration’s ‘see-no-evil’ approach to Ethiopia, he nevertheless was pleased by the Ethiopian American voter participation in the 2012 elections as well as by the re-election of President Obama.
“I fully supported President Obama’s re-election despite lingering disappointments over his administration’s policy of willful blindness to flagrant human rights violations in Ethiopia,” Professor Alemayehu said. “But I believe in a second term he will vigorously pursue a foreign policy agenda that balances America’s global strategic interests with its commitment to promote the values of freedom, democracy and human rights in Africa and elsewhere.”
He added: “I was glad to see a healthy and civil debate among Ethiopian Americans on whether to support President Obama or Gov. Romney. In America, we have the constitutional right to vote, organize and express ourselves without fear or penalties. I agree wholeheartedly with the president’s election night speech regarding the value of a vigorous and civil debate in a democracy: “These arguments [over the direction of the country] we have are a mark of our liberty. We can never forget that as we speak people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter, the chance to cast their ballots like we did today.” I remember with great sadness that in November 2005, hundreds of Ethiopians lost their lives and thousands were imprisoned for peacefully challenging what they believed to be theft of an election and the silencing of the voices of dissent and democratic opposition in Ethiopia since that time. I am very pleased to see the high level of excitement, enthusiasm and participation of young Ethiopian Americans in this election. Nearly one-fifth of President Obama’s support came from young people. It is heartening to see that young Ethiopians are an important part of the youth vote.”
Ambassador Shinn said he is optimistic that a more robust form of democracy will eventually take root in Ethiopia as well, but that initiative must come from the Ethiopian side. “With a new government in Ethiopia and a government in Washington with a new lease on life that is committed to encouraging democratic principles, I am hopeful there will be progress in Ethiopia,” he said. “But this depends more on Ethiopia than it does the United States.”
Former Ethiopian opposition leader Judge Birtukan Midekssa, who is currently a visiting fellow at Harvard University Law School (President Obama’s alma mater), noted she’s appreciative of “the dynamic” nature of the democratic culture in the United States. “What is impressive is that the deep commitment of the American people to various institutions of their country, their willingness to play by the same rules when it comes to conducting elections, and the enormous value they give to the whole process. In my opinion, these are all part and parcel of what is at the epicenter of this remarkable achievement,” she said. “I think all the candidates, campaign volunteers of both sides and everyone involved deserve to be congratulated for making the election a success.”
Birtukan highlighted: “As it was the case in most of the previous elections, the US presidential race of this year also encourages and inspires multitudes around the world, including Ethiopia that is laboring to give birth to democracy in its own unique national color. It is my strong expectation that President Obama and his administration would renew their commitment to show more solidarity with the people in the African continent as outlined in his Accra speech at the beginning of his first-term.”
For Ayele Bekerie, an Associate Professor of History and Cultural Studies at Mekelle University in Ethiopia and a scholar of African and African American studies, the re-election of Obama is a vindication for Obama’s historic presidency. “Obama wins and that means Americans have accepted his leadership,” he said. “The voters have given Obama a second chance and he has to perform now. I believe his election is good news for U.S.-Ethiopia relations.”
We called the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington, D.C seeking input from Ambassador Girma Birru for this article. The Ambassador was unavailable to comment. We will update the story when we receive a response.
— Related: President Obama Wins Second Term
Video: Watch the world reacts to Obama’s victory (NBC News)
New York (TADIAS) – Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States and the first African American to hold the office, has been re-elected for a second term.
Mr. Obama defeated his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, after a long, hard-fought and one of the most expensive presidential campaigns in American history.
President Obama secured victory in the swing states of Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire that put him over the top in the final electoral vote count.
Television networks declared the election in the president’s favor shortly after polls closed in all 50 states late Tuesday night on November 6th.
Governor Mitt Romney called to congratulate Mr. Obama on his re-election before addressing supporters gathered at his campaign headquarters in Boston. “I wish all of them well, but particularly the president, the first lady and their daughters,” Governor Romney said in brief remarks. “This is a time of great challenges for America, and I pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation.”
President Obama delivered his acceptance speech in his hometown of Chicago. “Tonight in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back,” the president told a waiting country in the wee hours of early Wednesday morning. “We know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come.”
— Related: What Does the Re-Election of Obama Mean for U.S.-Ethiopia Relations?
Watch: Obama’s Triumphant Return to Washington (NBC News)
New York (TADIAS) – As Ethiopian Americans prepare to cast their ballots in the 2012 presidential election on Tuesday, regardless of the choice of candidate, we urge our readers who have not voted early to vote on November 6th and to exercise their citizenship right to participate in the democratic process.
Four years ago when we backed Barack Obama for President, we were motivated not only by the historic nature of the 2008 election, but also by the enthusiastic, grassroots activism that his candidacy had generated in our community. Although we cannot agree with every decision that the Obama administration has made in the last four years, both domestic and foreign, there can be no doubt that the Ethiopian Diaspora’s contribution to the American tapestry has received more national attention in the same period than at any previous time in history, both through appointments to key administration positions as well as honoring innovators and high achieving professionals.
President Obama could do better to articulate and encourage the culture of free press, government transparency and accountability in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa. However, it is ultimately our responsibility as citizens to make our voices heard. Regardless of who wins this election, we hope that political activists in our community tone down the non-constructive criticism that prevents all of us from responsibly engaging in the democratic system.
Broadly speaking President Obama’s accomplishments have been impressive, including the passage of the most sweeping health care reforms since 1965, preventing another “Great Depression” and saving the American automobile industry from demise. The economy that was on a doomsday downward spiral when he took office in 2009 has rebounded to a positive territory with the latest jobs report showing “persistent economic growth.”
Most importantly we believe President Obama has remained true to the spirit of his historic 2008 campaign to be a leader of the people, by the people for the people. It goes without saying that President Obama has earned our vote. We urge Ethiopian Americans to support his re-election!
—- Video: Watch President Obama makes his Case in Ohio
On Friday evening, with slightly more than 36 hours to go before the 2012 ING New York City Marathon, Mayor Michael Bloomberg canceled the annual event, amid criticisms the runners would be siphoning off valuable resources needed in the city’s recovery from Superstorm Sandy. But the decision hardly discouraged a group of nearly 1,300 runners from boarding the Staten Island Ferry toward the starting line. Far from anticipating a grueling 26.2-mile run, however, these would-be racers ran their own marathon, carrying garbage bags and backpacks full of donated supplies ranging from blankets to Home Depot gift cards that they delivered to the destroyed homes of Staten Island residents.
“I’ve run the marathon three times, and there was an odd familiarity getting on the Staten Island Ferry this morning with a group of runners for a completely different reason,” says runner and New Yorker Jon Bennion. “It was fascinating, the anxiety and jitters were replaced by an overwhelming sense of community.”
— After Days of Pressure, Marathon Is Off
By KEN BELSON (NYT)
Published: November 2, 2012
New York – After days of intensifying pressure from runners, politicians and the general public to cancel the New York City Marathon in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, city officials and the event’s organizers decided Friday afternoon to cancel the race.
The move is historic — the marathon has been held every year since 1970, including the race in 2001 held two months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks — but seemed inevitable as opposition to the marathon swelled. Critics said that it was in poor taste to hold a foot race through the five boroughs while so many people in the area are still suffering from the storm’s damages, and that city services should focus on storm relief, not the marathon. Proponents of the marathon — notably Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Mary Wittenberg, director of the marathon — said the race would provide a needed morale boost, as well as an economic one.
New York (TADIAS) – Several years ago in Addis Ababa, when a young, idealistic woman named Reeyot Alemu, who was working as a high school English teacher, began contributing part-time to local independent newspapers and writing mostly opinion articles that were critical of various government policies, she knew that she could potentially upset those in power. Reeyot, however, had no idea that her courage would one day earn her prestigious international recognition, albeit while in Kality prison.
Reeyot, now 31, is currently serving a five-year term on terror charges, and was among four women who where honored last week by the International Women’s Media Foundation for their courageous work in journalism. Reeyot, a former columnist for the the publications Awramba Times (now in exile and online) and the Amharic weekly Feteh (now blocked), was given the 2012 “Courage in Journalism” award at a ceremony held in Manhattan on Wednesday, October 24th.
“When I nominated Reeyot for the Award, I wanted to show the face of courage in her, so that girls in our country will not be discouraged from becoming a voice to the voiceless,” said Elias Wondimu, who accepted the award on her behalf and read a letter penned by her for the occasion.
“When I became politically aware, I understood that being a supporter or member of the ruling party is a prerequisite to living safely and to get a job,” Reeyot wrote in a letter sent from prison. “I knew I would pay the price for my courage and was willing to pay the price.”
Mohammed Ademo, a New York-based freelance journalist, who is the Co-founder and Editor-In-Chief of OPride.com, as well as a graduate student at Columbia University, attended the luncheon and covered the ceremony for the Columbia Journalism Review.
“I thought the event was great. The courageous journalists honored here today inspire all of us who are in the business of storytelling,” Ademo told Tadias Magazine. “These are but few of those brave souls who are committed to exposing corruption, informing the public, and holding autocratic regimes accountable, often at a great personal peril.” Ademo continued: “This award means so much to journalists like Reeyot Alemu, who are silenced for simply speaking truth to power.”
In his widely publicized interview with Voice of America last month, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn took a hardline stance on the subject, strongly defending the continued imprisonment of a number of journalists. “Our national security interest cannot be compromised by somebody having two hats,” PM Hailemariam said, echoing the official claims, which accuses the prisoners of being “double-agents” for terrorist organizations. “We have to tell them they can have only one hat which is legal and the legal way of doing things, be it in journalism or opposition discourse, but if they opt to have two mixed functions, we are clear to differentiate the two,” the PM told VOA’s Peter Heinlein.
“How on earth can we compare a person who criticizes a government’s policy through writing and accuse them of being terrorists?” Elias asked.
Ademo said: “Reeyot’s only crime is carrying out her journalistic responsibility, being a voice for the voiceless. I wish her good health, perseverance, and peace of mind.”
Elias added: “Due to lack of proper training, our journalists are not and can not be perfect, but the way to remedy this should not be criminalizing their perceived mistakes, but to correct and educate them.”
Reeyot’s former colleague, the award-winning exiled journalist Dawit B. Kebede – Managing Editor of Awramba Times, said, for him, the award is personal. “I am very happy for Reeyot and for many reasons,” Dawit said in a phone interview. “But the number one reason is because Reeyot deserves it. This award is an important recognition not only of Reeyot’s personal struggles, but it is also a way to inspire young people to understand the unfairness of silencing those with critical voices.” Dawit added: “It also encourages those that are incarcerated along with her, including my friend Wubishet Taye, Deputy Editor of Awramba Times, and Eskinder Nega.”
Dawit pointed out that Wubishet had applied for pardon at the same time as the recently released two Swedish journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, but was not granted similar clemency. “In my opinion, it was the most discriminatory and shameful pardon process,” Dawit said. “As an Ethiopian it is embarrassing to bypass your own people because they happen not to be backed by powerful Western influence. So the foreigners receive forgiveness, but not the Ethiopians.”
Reeyot Alemu, recipient of the 2012 Courage in Journalism Award. (Photo: International Women’s Media Foundation)
Regarding Reeyot, Mohamed Keita, Africa Advocacy Coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said this Ethiopian is now part of an exclusive club of extraordinary women whose life stories are seen as role models for young people around the world. “With the IWMF award, the world’s leading women journalists are embracing Reeyot Alemu as one of their own,” Keita said. “The Courage in Journalism award validates Reeyot’s legitimate right to write critically about her government and its policies, as she did, and recognizes not only the injustice of her imprisonment but her improbability as a terrorist suspect.”
For former judge Birtukan Midekssa, who is currently the Eleanor Roosevelt Fellow at Harvard University Law School with a joint appointment at W.E.B. Du Bois Institute, Reeyot is both a friend and an inspiration.
“It took me only a short while to get fascinated by her defiant spirit and her determination to be true to herself — both as journalist and as a responsible citizen — after I came to know my good friend Reeyot,” Birtukan said. “It is obvious that she did not commit any offence that could lead to lock her up except saying no to the menace of EPRDF government to silence her journalistic voice while it intensifies its forceful coercion against Ethiopian citizens.” She added: “She fiercely opposed the unacceptable authoritarianism which pervades the political sphere; she criticized the officials for incarcerating political prisoners including myself; she shed light on unaccountable and irresponsible transactions of the government.”
Birtukan said it is particularly striking to her that Reeyot knew in advance what she was getting into. “But she chose to bear the consequence instead of refraining from freely expressing herself,” she said. “Though it is enormously painful for me to see her young life confined by illegitimate use of government power.”
Birtukan added: “Her persistence, strength, courage and the international recognition she earned as a result, lead me to have more faith in Ethiopian youth that they will take charge of the destiny of our nation to eventually lead it to free and prosperous life.”
Government officials maintain all the jailed journalists have broken the law and are guilty of the crimes under which they were convicted.
NEW YORK — A columnist imprisoned under Ethiopia’s controversial anti-terrorism laws, an Azerbaijani investigative radio reporter who had surveillance cameras planted in her apartment and a Palestinian blogger who has been beaten and tortured for reporting on abuses and protests in Gaza each received Courage in Journalism awards Wednesday from a women’s media group.
Alemu, 31, is serving a five-year-prison sentence in Ethiopia for the communication of a terrorist act. The IWMF said the only evidence presented against her at trial were articles she wrote criticizing the government and telephone conversations she had regarding peaceful protests. She was initially sentenced in January to 14 years in prison but the sentence was reduced later this year when most of the terrorism charges against her were dropped.
Elias Wondimu, an exiled Ethiopian journalist, accepted the award on Alemu’s behalf and read a handwritten letter she penned from prison.
“When I became politically aware, I understood that being a supporter or member of the ruling party is a prerequisite to living safely and to get a job,” Alemu wrote in the letter. “I knew I would pay the price for my courage and was willing to pay the price.”
To aim high sometimes pays dividends. Ethiopia were busy planning how to qualify for their first ever World Cup in 2014. Now they are celebrating a return to the Africa Cup of Nations after a wait of three decades.
The Waliya Antelopes are top of Group A in the African zone of World Cup qualifiers, but reaching the 2013 Nations Cup in South Africa marks a new dawn for the country.
The Ethiopians beat Sudan 2-0 in Addis Ababa last Sunday to qualify for their first continental finals since 1982 on the away goals rule, after the tie had ended 5-5 on aggregate.
If the celebrations in Meskel Square in the heart of Addis Ababa were anything to go by, then it is clear that 85 million Ethiopians are ready to reclaim their lost heritage as one of the pioneers of the African game when they play in their 10th finals since 1957.
The Ethiopian Black Lions booked their place at the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 30 years as they earned reward for a patient approach in Addis Ababa.
Sudan won a goal-flush first encounter 5-3 thanks to a late Mohamed Al Tahir brace and were barely troubled during the opening half at the national stadium in the heart of the Ethiopian capital.
But as the hour mark passed without a goal and it was looking good for the visitors, Adane Girma and Saladin Seid scored a goal apiece to turn the match on its head to the delight of a capacity 30,000 crowd.
Fifty years ago Ethiopia won the Nations Cup and now they have won the right to try to do so again.
ADDIS ABABA – When Ethiopia’s leader of 21 years Meles Zenawi died in August, citizens were on edge with memories of violent transfers of power.
“A lot of people expected conflict after his death was announced,” says a top young civil servant about Prime Minister Meles’s secrecy-shrouded death. His mother asked him to remain at home to stay safe as “the head of government had died, and this was Africa – and particularly Ethiopia, which has no history of peaceful transitions.”
Yet the appointment of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn by parliament last month was conducted without arms, marking a democratic milestone and relative stability for a key partner of the West in the volatile Horn of Africa.
A team of international researchers has provided the first comprehensive DNA evidence that the Addis Ababa lion in Ethiopia is genetically unique and is urging immediate conservation action to preserve this vulnerable lion population.
While it has long been noted that some lions in Ethiopia have a large, dark mane, extending from the head, neck and chest to the belly, as well as being smaller and more compact than other lions, it was not known until now if these lions represent a genetically distinct population.
The team of researchers, led by the University of York, UK, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany, has shown that captive lions at the Addis Ababa Zoo in Ethiopia are, in fact, genetically distinct from all lion populations for which comparative data exists, both in Africa and Asia.
The researchers compared DNA samples from 15 Addis Ababa Zoo lions (eight males and seven females) to lion breeds in the wild. The results of the study, which also involved researchers from Leipzig Zoo and the Universities of Durham and Oxford, UK, are published in the European Journal of Wildlife Research.
Principal Investigator Professor Michi Hofreiter, of the Department of Biology at the University of York, said: “To our knowledge, the males at Addis Ababa Zoo are the last existing lions to possess this distinctive mane. Both microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA data suggest the zoo lions are genetically distinct from all existing lion populations for which comparative data exist.
“We therefore believe the Addis Ababa lions should be treated as a distinct conservation management unit and are urging immediate conservation actions, including a captive breeding programme, to preserve this unique lion population.”
DENVER – There is a $10,000 reward and new attention in an unsolved murder case in Denver dating back three years.
Ethiopian immigrant Keyru Lolo was gunned down in the court yard of an apartment complex in East Denver.
“We just want to know who killed him and why,” said Keyru’s sister-in-law Nanise Wako. “Please help us, if anyone knows anything about this.”
Lolo’s family is working with police in a new effort to catch his killer. There is a billboard just a few blocks from the murder scene advertising the reward and asking, “Who Killed Keyru Lolo?”
Friends and family hope the billboard will inspire new tips even if the tipsters want to remain anonymous.
Lolo was gunned down at the Garden Court Apartments in October 2009. He received a phone call, left his cousin’s apartment and was shot multiple times crossing the courtyard.
An honest cab driver in Las Vegas has returned $221,510 that he found in his taxi to its grateful owner.
The cabbie, Adam Woldemariam, 42, was described as a “very nice guy” who is “very humble and religious” by one friend.
“He’s a down to earth guy,” said Alex “Baharu” Alebachew, a limo driver.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal described Woldemariam as a “big and honest teddy bear of an Ethiopian cabdriver,” was cleaning out the back seat of his van on Sept. 2 and found a black laptop case stuffed with $221,510 in cash. Read more.
Watch: Las Vegas Cab Driver Returns $222K to Owner (ABC News)
A Las Vegas cabbie is being heralded as a hero after he valiantly returned a quarter-million dollars to a gambler who absentmindedly left behind his winnings on the way to the airport.
Ethiopian immigrant Adam Woldemarim found the cash stuffed in a black laptop case and quickly returned it to his supervisor, not even once thinking of pocketing the winnings as his own.
The winner was so thrilled to be reunited with his bills he gave Mr Woldemarim a $2,000 tip, no small sum to the struggling driver, and was on his merry way.
WASHINGTON D.C. – Solomon Ayele Dersso Phd, is a senior researcher with Peace and Security Council Report Program at the Addis Ababa Office of the Institute for Security Studies. He has published articles on the ongoing political situation in Ethiopia.
Regarding the newly appointed Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn, Solomon says, it did not come as a surprise. However, to concerns raised by observers that the new Prime Minister might not hold real authority, Solomon asserts that the Prime Minister ship is the highest executive authority in the country, and the person holding the position cannot be said not to have authority, because he/she has the power inherent in the job.
Solomon draws a parallel between former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi and Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn. “Daniel Arap Moi like Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister came from a small ethnic community. When Jommo Kenyatta passed away and Mr.Moi assumed the presidency, he was met with resistance from the group that at that time was dominating the power base in Kenya.”
Despite the initial resistance from ‘real power holders’, Mr Moi managed to very successfully make himself an influential president and ruler of Kenya,” states Solomon.
When critics point to the fact that the Prime Minister is a political novice and might be overshadowed by his subordinates with longer experience in politics Solomon says, “he is not new to politics.”
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has been around, particularly in the seat of power in Addis Ababa following the 2005 elections as well as serving as an advisor to the late Prime Minister. After the 2010 election he was appointed deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.”
Dr.Solomon Deresso Ayele. (VOA photo)
However Solomon admits that the new Prime Minister might have limited experience when compared to those who have been in power for the past two decades in the ruling party. Although that could be construed as a disadvantage, the Prime Minister, according to Solomon, has to reconcile with the situation. Ultimately, Solomon says, “what matters is the team of people the prime minister is going to surround himself with. If he has a very good team of people to provide him with the necessary historical memory and insights on various aspects of leading the country, then surely he can compensate for the shorter period of political experience and be able to exert and assert his full authority.”
Drawing a parallel with Meles Zenawi, Solomon states, “we need to understand how long it took for the late Prime Minister to become as influential as he was at the time of his death. It took quite a lot of time in terms of asserting his full authority within the government as well as in the country as a whole”.
According to Solomon the rise to power of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is a continuation rather than a start of the succession plan by the EPRDF. It is a process of replacing the old guard with, ‘the new generation leadership’. According to Solomon the fact that Hailemariam is now appointed as Prime Minister after Meles Zenawi, is surely an indication of the commitment by the EPRDF to continue the succession plan that began earlier. On the issue of whether or not we will see a complete withdrawal of the old guards by 2015, Solomon says it could be a phased process.”
In his acceptance speech the newly appointed Prime Minister expressed his willingness to work with various sectors of society including the opposition. According to Solomon the Prime Minister’s speech emphasized more continuity rather than change. He seems reluctant to reverse the direction set by the late Prime Minster. However, Solomon points out that the Prime Minister needs to be flexible and needs to adjust to emerging circumstances as events warrant.
Solomon also highlighted a number of areas that require a very serious consideration. “The new leadership should show a high level of willingness to listen to the concerns of all sectors of society,” Solomon asserts. He further noted the need to abrogate laws that proved to be inimical to individual freedoms and liberties adopted since 2005 , as well as tackle inflation to address the economic challenges that some sectors of the Ethiopian society is facing .
Solomon also talked about the needed interventions in the area of major development projects. For a successful implementation of this development projects he says it is important to engage sections of the society that are directly affected by the projects. In this effort he points out mobilizing the support of sectors outside the power base is paramount.
On the challenges of building a multi- party democracy with some opposition parties not committed to working together, Solomon said, “strengthening the legal, political and social environment of the country will allow different political ideologies and political movements to triumph in the society. Working together is always good for the society and the country but is not necessarily a sign that multi-party democracy does not work.” He further states that freedom of association and expression are strongly entrenched in the constitution but they are not fullfilled in practice.
To the concerns raised by some that due to his rather strict religious orientation that the Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn might be too soft to resolve pending issues such as the Ethio-Eritrean question and EPRDF’s relation with opposition parties Solomon said,“the Prime Minister’s religious conviction will not have so much influence on his exercise of power rather the central background for his action seems to be the conviction surrounding the ideological orientation of his political party.”
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Two weekly newspapers that have been critical of Ethiopia’s ruling party have stopped publication because of government obstruction, the papers’ publishers said Monday.
The publishers are appealing to the country’s newly appointed Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to intervene. A government spokesman said the Ethiopian government is not telling printers not to print the papers.
CHICAGO — Tsegaye Kebede crossed the finish line at Grant Park on Sunday with his country on his mind. He raised his arms, gave thumbs-up to the crowd and took in the applause as he became the first Ethiopian man to win the Chicago Marathon, setting a course record in the process.
“It was a great day for us, for Ethiopia especially,” Kebede said. “It’s very important for us.”
Tsegaye Kebede, runner-up in epic battle with Wanjiru of Kenya in 2010, could become first Ethiopian man to win Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. (Photo: Nancy Stone/Tribune )
By Philip Hersh, Chicago Tribune reporter
Tsegaye Kebede has some big marathon wins: London, Paris, two in Fukuoka, Japan. The 25-year-old Ethiopian also has won bronze medals at the Olympics and world championships. But the races Kebede considers the best of his career were two he lost in foot-to-foot, heart-to-heart combat over the last six miles against the late Sammy Wanjiru of Kenya. The first was in London in 2009, when Wanjiru won by 10 seconds. The second was in Chicago in 2010, when the margin was 19 seconds but the competition even fiercer.
Kebede, among the favorites in Sunday’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon, enjoyed the thrill of battle more than the joy of winning in a rout, as he had three times.
ADDIS ABABA — Young members of the Ethiopian diaspora are returning in large numbers to their country of birth. The Ethiopian government welcomes the impact these returnees could have on the economy.
There are about 3 million Ethiopians living abroad – mostly in North America and Europe. But in recent years, thousands of young professionals have come back to Ethiopia to look for business opportunities.
The government is well aware of the trend. The director of the Diaspora Office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Feisel Aliyi Abrahim, says that investment by the returnees is very important.
“They are our development partners, we need them and also they need us because of they do business here they also benefit, the return is very high. And we need them because they bring us knowledge, they bring us technology, they bring us foreign direct investment, they create jobs, so this overall has very significant role in reducing poverty,” he said.
Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Most cafes in the capital of Addis Ababa that offer free Internet connections are filled with young returnees working on their laptops. Samuel is one of them. He is a 32-year-old graphic designer who spent most of his life abroad before coming back to Ethiopia seven months ago to see if he could start a career.
“It was a struggle at first, but now its been picking up a few plans here and there. And it’s ok, its ok, it’s getting better, there’s enough opportunity. I haven’t decided if I’m planning to stay yet, but I’m optimistic so far,” he said.
Nardi is another Ethiopian who just moved back from the U.S. state of Texas. The 27-year-old pharmacist hopes that her skills will benefit her country.
“I’m not sure exactly how I can apply my professional experience in the country because its very different from what I’m used to. The field is different here, the setup is different, even the degree is different. I would like to start a business where I can help my country as well as myself grow. But I want to do something in pharmacy,” she said.
Many returnees have already started new businesses. Lily Kassahun, who lived in Canada for the last 20 years, is opening a restaurant with Canadian dishes this month in Addis Ababa. She says her decision to return was not just about economic opportunities.
“I always wanted to come back to Ethiopia to learn more about my culture since I left when I was younger. Also to be with my family, it was the biggest goal for me. More so than the money I think it’s more about feeling good and giving back to the community, and bring what I learned in Canada here,” she said.
The total investment capital of the returnees is an estimated $1.1 billion. That’s almost as much as the $1.4 billion Ethiopia received last year in remittances. But investment is more important in the long run says Feisel.
“Both is important but we need investment, that is more important because its increases the development,” said Feisel.
The most popular industries among the returnees are real estate development, manufacturing, construction, and the tourism and hotel industry. About 3,000 members of Ethiopia’s diaspora have returned for investment purposes. Feisel says that nowadays they are involved in every sector.
“There is not any field that they haven’t been involved in so far. And from the Ethiopian government side, because they are originally Ethiopians, we make legal arrangements that enables them to invest to do business in every sector they are interested in,” he said.
Mikhayel Tesfaye is a 36-year-old designer and CEO of a California-based company called Passport ADV. He started manufacturing his shoes in Ethiopia last year.
“My business was doing quite well, and I was at point where I just said that this was my one opportunity to stop what I was doing outside, for one year I will take the risk for just trying, with no expectations, no demands,” he said.
Mikhayel will export 900 shoes in the coming months, mainly to North America, Europe and Japan. His shoes are produced in a factory in Addis Ababa with new and modern machinery, mainly from Italy.
Exchanging knowledge, ideas and skills is important for Mikhayel as he feels it could have a long lasting impact.
“I didn’t come here to create a charity project for one. Two, not only do I want to design a good product, but I want to raise the bar. Not only for what is capable here but for the outside world, what they believe is capable. I’ll be producing $1,000 pairs of crocodile sneakers here. I think because of the level of distribution that I already have, that I’ll really be able to put made in Ethiopia products on the map,” he said.
Feisel says that the government is actively working on making life easier for returning diaspora.
“What we are doing now is we are drafting Ethiopian diaspora policy. We try to create awareness to all government structures who has direct relation with the diaspora engagement,” he said.
The first draft of Ethiopian diaspora policy will be sent to the federal government in the coming weeks for approval.
— Read more news at VOA.
New York (TADIAS) – The recent hardline stand by Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn regarding the fate of several jailed journalists in Ethiopia, including the award-winning blogger Eskinder Nega, has generated a timely discussion on various Ethiopian Diaspora websites on how to best promote civil political discourse.
Meanwhile press advocates say the PM’s early words do not inspire confidence for progressive change. “We are disappointed by the contemptuous statements that Prime Minister Hailemariam directed at the journalists languishing in prison in Ethiopia on vague and trumped-up terrorism charges, particularly Eskinder Nega,” said Mohamed Keita, Africa Advocacy Coordinator for the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. “The government of Ethiopia, like all governments, wants the press to limit itself to cover what it’s doing. Well, for the last 21 years, Eskinder Nega has used his pen, not a gun, to cover the promises that the government has failed to deliver while articulating a hopeful vision of what Ethiopia should be.”
In his interview with VOA’s Peter Heinlein last week, Hailemariam defended the continued imprisonment of Eskinder Nega on the basis of national security, repeating the state’s claims that the writer had been living a “double life,” or as he called it, “wearing two hats.”
Mr. Keita said “calling him a terrorist is absurd,” pointing out that Eskinder “has paid a very high price” for his profession, including having a son born in prison and refusing exile while under intense police pressure. “Terrorism is a very serious crime but the Ethiopian government has turned trivial acts like writing about opposition groups or calling for political reform acts of terrorism,” Mr. Keita said.
Regarding the case of Eskinder Nega, Mr. Keita pointed out that “the assault on Eskinder’s right to freedom of expression is an assault on the Ethiopian constitution, the fundamental freedoms guaranteed to all Ethiopians and the dreams that all Ethiopians have for a better country.” He noted that “it is not too late for PM Hailemariam to restore the public’s confidence in Ethiopia’s judiciary system by ordering the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, including Eskinder Nega, Reeyot Alemu, and Woubshet Taye.”
“The value of a press free of state control is that it serves as an open marketplace of ideas, reflecting the natural diversity of opinions,” Keita added. “It is not to echo what the government wants to hear, but to echo what it should hear so that it can adjust its policies and attain the development goals.”
— Related: Ethiopia’s New PM Says Policies Will Remain Constant (VOA News)
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This month, Molla toured New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago under the sponsorship of the America Israel Friendship League (AIFL), in a trip aimed at strengthening U.S.-Israel ties. The deputy speaker delivered the message of his transformative Israeli experience at meetings with African-American leaders, Christian and Jewish clergy, jurists, students, and a wide spectrum of Americans.
Molla’s Kadima party currently classifies itself as “the opposition.” Although it recently joined the Likud government, it almost as quickly withdrew from the coalition.
New York (TADIAS) – In his first interview with Voice of America since he was sworn into office, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn suggested that he will be doubling down on the government’s controversial policy of jailing journalists and opposition leaders.
In a wide-ranging 30-minute discussion with Peter Heinlein conducted in New York, where the PM was attending the U.N.’s General Assembly meeting last week, Hailemariam defended the continued imprisonment of several journalists, including Eskinder Nega, on the basis of national security, repeating the state’s claims that the journalist had been living a “double life,” or as he called it, “wearing two hats.”
“Our national security interest cannot be compromised by somebody having two hats. We have to tell them they can have only one hat which is legal and the legal way of doing things, be it in journalism or opposition discourse, but if they opt to have two mixed functions, we are clear to differentiate the two,” he said.
It is disingenuous to silence critique by journalists and opposition members while maintaining that the nation exercises a “multi-party system.” The PM’s comments remind us of a poster by the provocative Chinese artist Ai Weiwei responding to a similar accusation by the Chinese Communist Party authorities who called him a dissident artist. Weiwei retorted back: “I call them a dissident government.”
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — Almost 300 stranded Ethiopian migrants returned on Tuesday from Yemen. Thousands more remain stuck in nearby countries, though, after they went abroad illegally for economic reasons.
A charter flight by IOM, the International Organization for Migration, carried 275 Ethiopian migrants back to Addis Ababa on Tuesday morning. These migrants had crossed the borders illegally and were stranded in Yemen.
IOM assists with the return and reintegration of migrants worldwide, and has helped more than 2,000 Ethiopians to return voluntarily from Yemen since March.
Yemen itself was not the destination for most. Demissew Bizuwork of the IOM said most were trying to reach Saudi Arabia.
“Many would like to travel to the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, and other Middle East countries. Most people, when we interview them, they would like to cross, because Yemen is very close to the Horn of Africa, so they would like to cross through Yemen to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries,” said Bizuwork.
Addis Ababa shelter
The returnees on the charter flight on Tuesday were brought to a shelter close to the airport in Addis Ababa upon arrival. Women, children, elderly and vulnerable migrants are accommodated in the shelter for a day or two. Demissew said it’s better for the returnees to rest in the shelter for a couple of days, before going back home.
“When we bring people directly from the airport, we bring them here so that they can settle here. These people lost everything. We provide them with accommodation, food, medical assistance as well,” said Demissew. “We provide them some reintegration assistance, some money so that they at least when they come to their families they can do something. And we also provide them with transportation up to their destination.”
Hopes for a better economic future lead many Ethiopians to leave their country. But for most migrants, the reality in Yemen is opposite from what they were told before departure. Smugglers and human traffickers convince Ethiopians that life in the Middle East is much better, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Dina Mufti.
“There are some push factors and one of the major push factors is actually the people who are involved in the illegal human trafficking,” said Mufti. “They deceive the minors. They have targeted the rural areas, where people are not familiar with what is happening in the rest of the world. The deal with the minors and the youngsters, they target them, they promise them something that is not there.”
Returness discuss experiences
Yohannes is one of the returnees at the shelter. He is in his twenties and comes from the Tigray region in the north of Ethiopia. He left his job as a merchant six months ago in hopes of making more money. But the trip ended badly, as he was detained in Yemen.
“Its a very difficult journey. They beat you and they don’t take care of you,” he said.
Gobeze is another of the migrants at the shelter. He is in his twenties, has a wife and three kids in the Wollo province, but decided to leave Ethiopia in December. Although he already had a job as a weaver, he hoped to make more money in the Middle East. But the journey only cost him money, said Gobeze.
“Initially I paid 4,000 birr. But they were hanging me by my arms and I was suffering so I had to ask my family for another 15,000 to save my life,” he said.
Rising tide of migrant Ethiopians
Yohannes and Gobeze are just two of the thousands of Ethiopians experiencing the hardship of illegal migration. But the number of Ethiopians crossing over to Yemen has been rising in recent years. Statistics of the United Nations refugee agency show that more than 103,000 Ethiopian and Somali migrants arrived in Yemen in 2011, up from 53,000 in 2010.
The Ethiopian government has formed task forces and is working with various organizations to inform people about the dangers of illegal migration, said Mufti.
“The government has recently been aware of the fact that the gravity of the illegal immigration, the human trafficking is felt. Because it has a social consequence, and economic consequence, and psychological consequence as well. Now what is happening is to try things from the grass root, to go to the grass root level and create an awareness on the part of the citizen that these human traffickers are doing damage to the country.”
The IOM charter flight on Tuesday was the third and last flight in September. Many more Ethiopians in Yemen are waiting to go home, said Demissew.
“There are thousands of people stranded, there are about 4,000 people in the border town. Our center accommodates about 350 people. It was initially built to accommodate maybe 150, 200 people. But there are many more people,” said Demissew.
The next flight returning illegal migrants to Ethiopia is expected in October.
— Read more news at VOA.
— Text of full remarks by President Obama to the Clinton Global Initiative
Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
New York, New York
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Thank you. Appreciate it. Please, please, everybody have a seat.
Well, good afternoon, everybody. And, President Clinton, thank you for your very kind introduction. Although I have to admit, I really did like the speech a few weeks ago a little bit better. (Laughter.) Afterwards, somebody tweeted that somebody needs to make him “Secretary of Explaining Things.” (Laughter.) Although they didn’t use the word, “things.” (Laughter.)
President Clinton, you are a tireless, passionate advocate on behalf of what’s best in our country. You have helped to improve and save the lives of millions of people around the world. I am grateful for your friendship and your extraordinary leadership. And I think I speak for the entire country when we say that you continue to be a great treasure for all of us. (Applause.)
As always, I also have to thank President Clinton for being so understanding with the record-breaking number of countries visited by our Secretary of State. (Laughter and applause.) As we’ve seen again in recent days, Hillary Clinton is a leader of grace and grit — and I believe she will go down as one of the finest Secretaries of State in American history. So we are grateful to her. (Applause.)
To the dedicated CGI staff and every organization that’s made commitments and touched the lives of hundreds of millions of people, thank you for being an example of what we need more of in the world, especially in Washington — working together to actually solve problems.
And that’s why I’m here. As Bill mentioned, I’ve come to CGI every year that I’ve been President, and I’ve talked with you about how we need to sustain the economic recovery, how we need to create more jobs. I’ve talked about the importance of development — from global health to our fight against HIV/AIDS to the growth that lifts nations to prosperity. We’ve talked about development and how it has to include women and girls — because by every benchmark, nations that educate their women and girls end up being more successful. (Applause.)
And today, I want to discuss an issue that relates to each of these challenges. It ought to concern every person, because it is a debasement of our common humanity. It ought to concern every community, because it tears at our social fabric. It ought to concern every business, because it distorts markets. It ought to concern every nation, because it endangers public health and fuels violence and organized crime. I’m talking about the injustice, the outrage, of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name — modern slavery. (Applause.)
Now, I do not use that word, “slavery” lightly. It evokes obviously one of the most painful chapters in our nation’s history. But around the world, there’s no denying the awful reality. When a man, desperate for work, finds himself in a factory or on a fishing boat or in a field, working, toiling, for little or no pay, and beaten if he tries to escape — that is slavery. When a woman is locked in a sweatshop, or trapped in a home as a domestic servant, alone and abused and incapable of leaving — that’s slavery.
When a little boy is kidnapped, turned into a child soldier, forced to kill or be killed — that’s slavery. When a little girl is sold by her impoverished family — girls my daughters’ age — runs away from home, or is lured by the false promises of a better life, and then imprisoned in a brothel and tortured if she resists — that’s slavery. It is barbaric, and it is evil, and it has no place in a civilized world. (Applause.)
Now, as a nation, we’ve long rejected such cruelty. Just a few days ago, we marked the 150th anniversary of a document that I have hanging in the Oval Office — the Emancipation Proclamation. With the advance of Union forces, it brought a new day — that “all persons held as slaves” would thenceforth be forever free. We wrote that promise into our Constitution. We spent decades struggling to make it real. We joined with other nations, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, so that “slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.”
A global movement was sparked, with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act — signed by President Clinton and carried on by President Bush.
And here at CGI, you’ve made impressive commitments in this fight. We are especially honored to be joined today by advocates who dedicate their lives — and, at times, risk their lives — to liberate victims and help them recover. This includes men and women of faith, who, like the great abolitionists before them, are truly doing the Lord’s work — evangelicals, the Catholic Church, International Justice Mission and World Relief, even individual congregations, like Passion City Church in Atlanta, and so many young people of faith who’ve decided that their conscience compels them to act in the face of injustice. Groups like these are answering the Bible’s call — to “seek justice” and “rescue the oppressed.” Some of them join us today, and we are grateful for your leadership.
Now, as President, I’ve made it clear that the United States will continue to be a leader in this global movement. We’ve got a comprehensive strategy. We’re shining a spotlight on the dark corners where it persists. Under Hillary’s leadership, we’re doing more than ever — with our annual trafficking report, with new outreach and partnerships — to give countries incentives to meet their responsibilities and calling them out when they don’t.
I recently renewed sanctions on some of the worst abusers, including North Korea and Eritrea. We’re partnering with groups that help women and children escape from the grip of their abusers. We’re helping other countries step up their own efforts. And we’re seeing results. More nations have passed and more are enforcing modern anti-trafficking laws.
Last week I was proud to welcome to the Oval Office not only a great champion of democracy but a fierce advocate against the use of forced labor and child soldiers — Aung San Suu Kyi. (Applause.) And as part of our engagement, we’ll encourage Burma to keep taking steps to reform — because nations must speak with one voice: Our people and our children are not for sale.
But for all the progress that we’ve made, the bitter truth is that trafficking also goes on right here, in the United States. It’s the migrant worker unable to pay off the debt to his trafficker. The man, lured here with the promise of a job, his documents then taken, and forced to work endless hours in a kitchen. The teenage girl, beaten, forced to walk the streets. This should not be happening in the United States of America.
As President, I directed my administration to step up our efforts — and we have. For the first time, at Hillary’s direction, our annual trafficking report now includes the United States, because we can’t ask other nations to do what we are not doing ourselves. (Applause.) We’ve expanded our interagency task force to include more federal partners, including the FBI. The intelligence community is devoting more resources to identifying trafficking networks. We’ve strengthened protections so that foreign-born workers know their rights.
And most of all, we’re going after the traffickers. New anti-trafficking teams are dismantling their networks. Last year, we charged a record number of these predators with human trafficking. We’re putting them where they belong — behind bars. (Applause.)
But with more than 20 million victims of human trafficking around the world — think about that, more than 20 million — they’ve got a lot more to do. And that’s why, earlier this year, I directed my administration to increase our efforts. And today, I can announce a series of additional steps that we’re going to take.
First, we’re going to do more to spot it and stop it. We’ll prepare a new assessment of human trafficking in the United States so we better understand the scope and scale of the problem. We’ll strengthen training, so investigators and law enforcement are even better equipped to take action — and treat victims as victims, not as criminals. (Applause.) We’re going to work with Amtrak, and bus and truck inspectors, so that they’re on the lookout. We’ll help teachers and educators spot the signs as well, and better serve those who are vulnerable, especially our young people.
Second, we’re turning the tables on the traffickers. Just as they are now using technology and the Internet to exploit their victims, we’re going to harness technology to stop them. We’re encouraging tech companies and advocates and law enforcement — and we’re also challenging college students — to develop tools that our young people can use to stay safe online and on their smart phones.
Third, we’ll do even more to help victims recover and rebuild their lives. We’ll develop a new action plan to improve coordination across the federal government. We’re increasing access to services to help survivors become self-sufficient. We’re working to simplify visa procedures for “T” visas so that innocent victims from other countries can stay here as they help us prosecute their traffickers.
This coming year, my Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships will make the fight against human trafficking a focus of its work. (Applause.) They’re doing great work. And I’m also proud to announce a new partnership with Humanity United, which is a leader in anti-trafficking — a multi-million dollar challenge to local communities to find new ways to care for trafficking victims. And I want to thank Johns Hopkins University, which will be focusing on how to best care for child victims. (Applause.)
Now, finally, as one of the largest purchasers of goods and services in the world, the United States government will lead by example. We’ve already taken steps to make sure our contractors do not engage in forced labor. And today we’re going to go further. I’ve signed a new executive order that raises the bar. It’s specific about the prohibitions. It does more to protect workers. It ensures stronger compliance. In short, we’re making clear that American tax dollars must never, ever be used to support the trafficking of human beings. We will have zero tolerance. We mean what we say. We will enforce it. (Applause.)
Of course, no government, no nation, can meet this challenge alone. Everybody has a responsibility. Every nation can take action. Modern anti-trafficking laws must be passed and enforced and justice systems must be strengthened. Victims must be cared for. So here in the United States, Congress should renew the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Whether you are a conservative or a liberal, Democrat or Republican, this is a no-brainer. This is something we should all agree on. We need to get that done.
And more broadly, as nations, let’s recommit to addressing the underlying forces that push so many into bondage in the first place. With development and economic growth that creates legitimate jobs, there’s less likelihood of indentured servitude around the globe. A sense of justice that says no child should ever be exploited, that has to be burned into the cultures of every country. A commitment to equality — as in the Equal Futures Partnership that we launched with other nations yesterday so societies empower our sisters and our daughters just as much as our brothers and sons. (Applause.)
And every business can take action. All the business leaders who are here and our global economy companies have a responsibility to make sure that their supply chains, stretching into the far corners of the globe, are free of forced labor. (Applause.) The good news is more and more responsible companies are holding themselves to higher standards. And today, I want to salute the new commitments that are being made. That includes the new Global Business Coalition Against Trafficking — companies that are sending a message: Human trafficking is not a business model, it is a crime, and we are going to stop it. We’re proud of them. (Applause.)
Every faith community can take action as well, by educating their congregations, by joining in coalitions that are bound by a love of God and a concern for the oppressed. And like that Good Samaritan on the road to Jericho, we can’t just pass by, indifferent. We’ve got to be moved by compassion. We’ve got to bind up the wounds. Let’s come together around a simple truth — that we are our brother’s keepers and we are our sister’s keepers.
And finally, every citizen can take action: by learning more; by going to the website that we helped create — SlaveryFootprint.org; by speaking up and insisting that the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the products we buy are made free of forced labor; by standing up against the degradation and abuse of women.
That’s how real change happens — from the bottom up. And if you doubt that, ask Marie Godet Niyonyota, from the Congo. Think about Marie’s story. She was kidnapped by rebels, turned into a slave. She was abused — physically and sexually. They got her pregnant five times. In one awful battle, her children were killed — all five of them. Miraculously, she survived and escaped. And with care and support, she began to heal. And she learned to read and write and sew, and today Marie is back home, working toward a new future.
Or ask Ima Matul. She grew up in Indonesia, and at 17 was given the opportunity to work as a nanny here in the United States. But when she arrived, it turned out to be a nightmare. Cooking, cleaning — 18-hour days, seven days a week. One beating was so bad it sent her to the emergency room. And finally, she escaped. And with the help from a group that cared, today Ima has a stable job. She’s an advocate — she’s even testified before Congress.
Or ask Sheila White, who grew up in the Bronx. Fleeing an abusive home, she fell in with a guy who said he’d protect her. Instead, he sold her — just 15 years old — 15 — to men who raped her and beat her, and burned her with irons. And finally, after years — with the help of a non-profit led by other survivors — she found the courage to break free and get the services she needed. Sheila earned her GED. Today she is a powerful, fierce advocate who helped to pass a new anti-trafficking law right here in New York. (Applause.)
These women endured unspeakable horror. But in their unbreakable will, in their courage, in their resilience, they remind us that this cycle can be broken; victims can become not only survivors, they can become leaders and advocates, and bring about change.
And I just met Ima and Sheila and several of their fellow advocates, and I have to tell you they are an incredible inspiration. They are here — they’ve chosen to tell their stories. I want them to stand and be recognized because they are inspiring all of us. Please — Sheila, Ima. (Applause.)
To Ima and Sheila, and each of you — in the darkest hours of your lives, you may have felt utterly alone, and it seemed like nobody cared. And the important thing for us to understand is there are millions around the world who are feeling that same way at this very moment.
Right now, there is a man on a boat, casting the net with his bleeding hands, knowing he deserves a better life, a life of dignity, but doesn’t know if anybody is paying attention. Right now, there’s a woman, hunched over a sewing machine, glancing beyond the bars on the window, knowing if just given the chance, she might some day sell her own wares, but she doesn’t think anybody is paying attention. Right now, there’s a young boy, in a brick factory, covered in dust, hauling his heavy load under a blazing sun, thinking if he could just go to school, he might know a different future, but he doesn’t think anybody is paying attention. Right now, there is a girl, somewhere trapped in a brothel, crying herself to sleep again, and maybe daring to imagine that some day, just maybe, she might be treated not like a piece of property, but as a human being.
And so our message today, to them, is — to the millions around the world — we see you. We hear you. We insist on your dignity. And we share your belief that if just given the chance, you will forge a life equal to your talents and worthy of your dreams. (Applause.)
Our fight against human trafficking is one of the great human rights causes of our time, and the United States will continue to lead it — in partnership with you. The change we seek will not come easy, but we can draw strength from the movements of the past. For we know that every life saved — in the words of that great Proclamation — is “an act of justice,” worthy of “the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”
That’s what we believe. That’s what we’re fighting for. And I’m so proud to be in partnership with CGI to make this happen.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)
Ethiopia’s parliament has sworn in Hailemariam Desalegn as the country’s new leader.
Mr. Hailemariam replaces longtime Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died of an undisclosed illness last month at the age of 57.
The French News Agency quotes Mr. Hailemariam as pledging to continue Mr. Meles’ legacy without any changes.
Mr. Hailemariam was a close ally of the former leader and has previously served as minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister. Many say the 47-year-old prime minister was handpicked for the position by Mr. Meles who was planning to step down after the 2015 election.
Mr. Hailemariam will be Ethiopia’s first new leader since 1991, when the guerilla movement TPLF overthrew the military junta of Mengistu Hailemariam.
Ethiopia’s ruling party confirmed acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as the successor to the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. (Photo: World Economic Forum on Africa / WEF)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia’s ruling party on Saturday named as its leader acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, who took over after the death last month of longtime leader Meles Zenawi, an official said at the end of a congress of party bosses.
As chairman of the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, Hailemariam, 47, will almost certainly be confirmed as the country’s prime minister in an upcoming official ceremony. Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s communications minister, said Hailemariam would be sworn in soon. It remains unclear exactly when, but Bereket said this might happen early next month. “Since the party holds an overwhelming majority the party’s chair is automatically the country’s prime minister,” Bereket said. “So Hailemariam will be the country’s new prime minister.”
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopians will soon learn the identity of their new prime minister. The ruling party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), is having a council meeting on Friday and Saturday in Addis Ababa.
The council, the highest organ of the EPRDF after the general assembly, will decide who the new chairperson of the party will be. The chairperson will most likely become the new leader of the East African country.
Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was supposed to be sworn in right after the death of former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi last month. It is still believed that the council will choose Hailemariam as the chairperson, but local newspapers report that that the EPRDF will appoint three deputy prime ministers.
Dr. Negaso Gidada, the former Ethiopian president who was part of drafting the Ethiopian constitution, is currently an opposition leader and says that having three deputies would be unconstitutional.
“You can refer to article 75 of the constitution which speaks about DPM. Whatever the case, the constitution speaks of only one DPM, not two or three more. If it is true, it means the EPRDF is continuing its violation of the constitution and that it’s not leading the country according to the constitution,” he said.
Negaso feels the EPRDF was already in violation of the constitution by delaying the appointment of the deputy prime minister.
But the delay might also explain Ethiopia’s changing power politics says veteran political scientist Medhane Tadesse.
“There will be a return to a collective kind of leadership. Which means that decision making in Ethiopia is probably now back to the collective mode,” said Medhane. “Another major change in Ethiopia after Meles will be the distribution of power so probably also to compensate for the lost of Meles. I think its imperative that they distribute power and delegate it to as many people as possible. In a way this is more useful and visible in the Ethiopian context and probably also the right thing to do.”
New York (TADIAS) – As Ethiopians welcome a new era of political leadership with the swearing in of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, 47, who took office on Friday, we urge opposition members, for the sake of the country, to show goodwill towards the new leader.
We also remind the new Prime Minister that the respect and trust of the public is for him to earn. Hailemariam comes into office at a precarious period for the country where the time requires for wise leadership and collective responsibility. The new PM may be the chair of the majority party, but as prime minister he is ultimately the leader of all Ethiopians. And, as such, should be open, from day one, to entertain not only the concerns of his supporters but also those of his critics.
Although Hailemariam must eventfully rise to the occasion, we are mindful that he is embarking on a job that was suddenly entrusted to him and he deserves time and benefit of the doubt to prove himself.
If the new Prime Minister is bold enough, he could possibly carve a legacy of his own worth remembering by future generations. There is a very short window of opportunity for him not only to continue and promote the historic economic achievements of his predecessor, but also to seize upon the missed opportunities of the past twenty years in advancing human rights, government transparency, free press, and other democratic principles that are the building blocks of a fair and open society.
Even though we are encouraged, for example, by the recent release of the two Swedish journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, we remain disappointed that several of our Ethiopian journalist colleagues, including Eskinder Nega, remain in prison awaiting justice. And we hope it bothers the conscience of the new Prime Minister that Ethiopia is considered one of the biggest jailers of journalists in Africa.
Moving forward, positive measures of genuine national reconciliation could inspire confidence, both at home and abroad, in helping to build a nation that is governed communally with the consent of all Ethiopian citizens. The tasks are challenging and we encourage PM Hailemariam to lead Ethiopia into a new era of respect for human rights as we continue the country’s strong economic progress.
— Related: Hailemariam Desalegn Sworn in as PM (AP)
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Writer, journalist, blogger, and free speech activist Eskinder Nega, the 2012 recipient of PEN American Center’s Freedom to Write Award, lived in Washington, D.C., before returning to his native Ethiopia to start one of the country’s first-ever independent newspapers. On Friday, Eskinder was back in D.C.–not physically, but as the subject of a candlelight vigil at the African American Civil War Memorial that commemorated the first anniversary of the blogger’s arrest and sent the message that those jailed for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of speech are never forgotten.
This is Eskinder’s ninth imprisonment in 21 years while reporting the news in Ethiopia, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. The most recent charges against him include involvement in “terrorism”–a grave charge that prosecutors backed with a YouTube video of a public meeting where he had discussed the implications of the Arab Spring in Ethiopia. The government charged him under the country’s anti-terrorism law–the same legislation he had criticized in a column five days before his arrest. In the column, Eskinder had expressed his indignation at the imprisonment of 73-year-old actor Debebe Eshetu on terrorism charges and noted that dozens of political dissidents and a handful of independent journalists jailed with him did not fit the profile of terrorists.
Blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega, who was given Pen America’s prestigious “Freedom to Write”
award this year, is among several journalists still serving lengthy sentences on terrorism charges.
On 13 July, 2012, Ethiopia’s federal court sentenced a prominent Ethiopian blogger Eskinder Nega and 23 other opposition activists to 18 years in jail for allegedly participating in terrorist activities.
Eskinder Nega is a journalist, who turned to blogging to find a breathing space online for his dissenting views, has been in a prison for a year now. 14 September, 2012 [marked] the first anniversary of his arrest. The Ethiopian online community remembers him on Facebook:
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Back home after being imprisoned in Ethiopia for more than a year, two Swedish journalists on Friday dismissed their trial on terror charges as a “sham,” saying they accepted 11-year prison terms to improve their chances of being released.
Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson also said in a news conference that their apology on Ethiopian TV in connection with their release last week was not sincere. Continue reading at AP.
Nairobi — The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on the Ethiopian government to set free six journalists in prison for their work, a day after Swedish journalists Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye were pardoned and released from Kality Prison in the capital Addis Ababa. Continue reading at CPJ.
Ethiopia Pardons 1900 Prisoners Including Swedish Journalists
The two Swedish journalists, photographer Johan Persson and reporter Martin Schibbye, were serving 11-year sentences in Ethiopia. (Photo: AFP)
The Ethiopian government will release two imprisoned Swedish journalists, as part of an annual mass amnesty to mark Ethiopia’s New Year. Some 1900 prisoners are part of an official pardon granted by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The journalists, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, were convicted of supporting an illegal terrorist group and crossing the border without proper documentation. They were sentenced to 11 years in prison.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, welcomed the decision.
“We still believe that they should never have been jailed, because they were carrying out legitimate news-gathering activities,” Mohamed Keita, the group’s Africa Advocacy Coordinator said on Monday.
He added that the journalists were forced to admit to guilt in order to receive the pardon, though the terrorism charges were “a crime they did not commit.”
“They [the journalists] took the risk of entering the country illegally only because of the Ethiopian government’s restrictions and censorship banning independent media access to the Ogaden, and these are practices that reporters and news organizations the world over engage in to cover both sides of the story.
There are serious allegations of abuses in the Ogaden that the Ethiopian government denies, but it is not providing an opportunity for international or local media to independently report or investigate,” he said.
Keita said CPJ hopes the country will use the opportunity of Mr. Meles’ death to loosen what he says are restrictions on journalists operating in Ethiopia.
“We believe they have an opportunity to usher in national reconciliation,” he said, “and to turn the page. And they have an opportunity to do so by releasing the six other journalists behind bars.”
In July, prominent journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega was jailed for 18 years for what the government said was breaching anti-terror laws, while Andualem Arage, a member of the Unity for Democracy and Justice Party, was given a life term in prison.
— Related News from VOA: Swedish FM: Ethiopia Promised Journalists’ Pardon in May (Voice of America)
— Tadias Magazine
News Update
Published: Monday, September 10, 2012
Ethiopia has granted clemency to two Swedish journalists convicted last year under the country’s anti-terrorism law.
“Some 1,900 prisoners have been pardoned and are scheduled to be released in the coming days. The Swedish journalists are part of the group,” a source told Reuters.
Reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were accused of supporting a terrorist group and also charged with immigration violations. They were arrested in July 2011 after being caught with fighters from an Ogaden National Liberation Front. They had pleaded not guilty to the terror charges, but admitted entering the country illegally from Somalia.
The reporters maintain their investigation was focused on Sweden’s Lundin Petroleum and an oil company in Ethiopia that bought licences from Lundin in 2009 to operate in Ethiopia’s rebellious Ogaden region.
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia is starting to look to the future, following the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who was buried after a state funeral on Sunday.
Life is returning to normal in Ethiopia’s capital after more than two weeks of mourning for longtime ruler, Meles Zenawi.
Abi Hailemichael works in a barbershop in the Bole neighborhood of Addis Ababa. Like many Ethiopians, he says Meles’ work for the country must not be forgotten. “While we reflect on the diligent and tireless work he did for the nation, we have a responsibility to carry out his good plans,” he said.
Meles sparked rapid economic development during more than 20 years in power.
Many wonder what will become of the country now that he’s gone.
Meles’ deputy Hailemariam Desalegn is due to replace the prime minister, but has yet to take the oath of office.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Dina Mufti says Hailemariam is officially in control. “The council has already decided that the deputy prime minister will take charge immediately because this is provided in the constitution. In the absence of the prime minister, he is the acting prime minister. He is now in charge of all national affairs,” he said.
The question is whether Hailemariam can garner the kind of broad support that made Mr. Meles an icon.
Hailemariam is not Tigray, another challenge he faces. That ethnic group controls most of the country’s institutions, including the military.
Rumors in the capital say the ruling party is considering sidelining him. Dina Mufti says this is not true. “So-called internal squabbles or rivalries within the party, no. This is a non-starter, there is not. This is a very solid party,” he said.
Meles’ had little tolerance for the opposition. His government frequently jailed journalists and activists who voiced dissent.
Medhane Tadesse, an independent anayst, said Ethiopia’s leaders are unlikely to change that anytime soon. “In the long-term, gradually, yes. In the short-term, no, because the government might behave more like the same, if not very repressive, because of the lack of confidence. They do not know the waters they are entering now,” he said.
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia has laid to rest Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who led the country for more than 20 years before his death, announced last month. Heads of state from around the continent praised Meles’ intellect and his vision for his country and Africa.
Ethiopian soldiers stood in formation as the flag-draped casket carrying the body of Meles was carried into Meskel Square in downtown Addis Ababa.
Thousands of Ethiopians gathered to pay their respects to the late prime minister, who was credited with bringing economic development to the country during his many years in power. Foreign dignitaries, including heads of state from across Africa also attended the ceremony.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki praised Meles for his commitment to his country and the continent.
“We too, your fellow Africans, are here to join you to pay tribute to Meles Zenawi and to convey to you our sincere condolences of the loss to you of a great architect of a new Ethiopia, and to us who come from outside the borders of this country, the loss of a great architect of a new Africa of which a billion Africans dream,” said Mbeki.
While many African leaders credited Meles for his single-minded dedication to development, he was often criticized in the West for stifling the opposition and putting economic success ahead of human rights.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame said the prime minister was misunderstood by critics because he was ahead of his time.
“Where some would have been compromised for short-term profit or gains, or easily succumbed to pressures, he was steadfast and always took a definite stand on issues of right and wrong and more often than not, he was on the side of right,” he said.
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said she enjoyed a close relationship with Meles. Rice praised him for what she called his “world-class mind,” but said they sometimes “profoundly disagreed” on issues including human rights and foreign policy.
She said as the United States will continue to work with Ethiopia to help develop the country’s institutions.
“As always, we will encourage peaceful political dialogue, civil society development and protection of human rights, including freedom of the press,” said Rice.
Meles’ deputy, Hailemariam Desalegn has taken over the powers of the prime minister’s office and is due to be sworn in after the funeral. He says he plans to continue on the path of development started by his predecessor.
“Today we are prospering because of the vision and guidance of Meles Zenawi,” he said. “He paved the road for prosperity and peace that we are committed to follow.”
After the ceremony, Meles’ casket was carried to the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where he was buried next to other prominent leaders of Ethiopia, including former Emperor Haile Selassie.
The state funeral on Sunday in Addis Ababa for the late PM Meles Zenawi was attended by hundreds of dignitaries from around the world, including several African leaders. (Photo by Marie Claire Andrea for TADIAS)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Thousands of mourners gathered near a public square in Ethiopia’s capital on Sunday to pay their final respects to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who was praised for lifting many out of poverty but vilified by some for restricting freedoms.
Meles, who ruled for 21 years, died Aug. 20 of an undisclosed illness in a Belgian hospital. He was 57. During his rule Ethiopia was a strong U.S. ally on counter-terrorism issues, particularly in Somalia, and some saw him as Africa’s intellectual leader in efforts to fight poverty.
Ethiopian officials said the state funeral in Addis Ababa was attended by hundreds of dignitaries from around the world, including several African leaders.
ADDIS ABABA — ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s longtime leader Meles Zenawi will be buried Sunday in a state funeral in Addis Ababa, nearly two weeks after the government announced he had died from an undisclosed illness. Gabe Joselow reports from the capital, Ethiopians have traveled from across the country in a show of national mourning for the influential and divisive prime minister.
The men and women standing in line take turns have been expressing their grief at the passing of Meles who led the country for the past two decades.
Addis Ababa is decorated with posters, banners and t-shirts bearing the late prime minister’s image. State television stations have been running programs honoring Meles non-stop since his death was announced, while bars and restaurants have been asked not to play any music during this period of mourning.
Ethiopian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Dina Mufti says the outpouring of grief shows how deeply the nation has been affected.
“Everybody in the nation, every national, every Ethiopian, rich, poor, women, men, young, old – everybody’s grieving, everybody’s mourning,” said Mufti.
Dina says in addition to the official ceremony, which begins Sunday at downtown Meskel Square, there will be eight other events around the capital, and at least as many in other parts of the country.
Dignitaries including Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and former South African President Thabo Mbeki are expected to speak at the funeral.
Meles’s casket will be taken to the Trinity Orthodox Church, where it will be buried alongside other prominent Ethiopian leaders, including former emperor Haile Selassie.
Independent analyst Medhane Tadesse told said many people did not expect such a large ceremony, but says it fits his political stature.
“I think they want to give him the necessary tribute that really is at par with his role internationally and on the African stage,” said Tadesse. “Probably this is the grandest funeral politically in Africa so I think they want to make that point.”
Tadesse says the country’s leaders may also have a political incentive.
“Beyond that there could be issues of legitimacy of continuity and cementing his legacy and his name would also help the ruling party and Ethiopia’s newly emerging leaders to use it as a launching pad for whatever political projects,” Tadesse added.
Meles is to be succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn who has yet to be sworn in.
Rights groups have urged the country’s next leader to do more to improve the country’s human rights record, such as lifting harsh restrictions on freedom of expression put in place during the former prime minister’s time in office.
——— In Ethiopia, a nation comes to bury Meles – and to praise him (CSM)
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, in doorway, walks past a portrait of late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a gift from another delegation, as he arrives to pay his respects to Meles’ body lying in state at the national palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (AP)
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
Over the past week, in near silence, two endless columns of Ethiopians draped in black have shuffled through the grounds of the national palace before pausing beneath a coffin covered by the flag and breaking into wails and sobs.
The masses in Africa’s second-most populous nation are coming to mourn and pay respect to former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the nation’s formidable leader of 21 years who died of illness on Aug. 20.
President Barack Obama today announced the designation of a Presidential Delegation to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to attend the State Funeral of His Excellency Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The Honorable Susan E. Rice, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, will lead the delegation on September 2, 2012.
Members of the Presidential Delegation:
The Honorable Donald Booth, United States Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
The Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
PM Meles died last month of an unknown illness after a mysterious, two month
disappearance from public view (AFP)
ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia has had a long line of leaders dying in secret, hidden behind closed doors, but not a long history of funerals.
In 1913, one of Ethiopia’s most renowned emperors, Menelik II, died. His death remained a secret until 1916 when officials finally announced that he had succumbed to a stroke years earlier.
Haile Selassie, Ethiopia’s last emperor, officially died of natural causes in 1975, but is widely believed to have been murdered by the brutal regime of Mengistu Hailemariam, suffocated and buried under a toilet.
Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died of an unknown illness after a mysterious, two month-long disappearance from public view, and will be buried on Sunday in the first state funeral for a leader in over 80 years.
Meles Zenawi always said he didn’t intend to die in office. Speaking to TIME as long ago as 2007, the Ethiopian Prime Minister was talking about moving on: “I have been around for quite a long time,” he said. “Time to start thinking about doing new things.” In the event, Meles did not do anything else but stayed through another election in 2010 – rigged, said the U.S., E.U and human rights groups – in which his Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allies won 545 of the 547 seats in parliament and 1,903 of the 1,904 on nine regional councils. The result was not surprising but was at least less bloody than the previous poll in 2005 when Ethiopian security services shot dead 200 protesters – more like 1,000, said the opposition – who were demonstrating against the ERPDF’s victory in the streets of the capital Addis Ababa. Meles’s version of events was that the opposition, having lost a free and fair vote, were trying to win power by other means. “We felt we had to clamp down,” he said. “In the process, many people died. Many of our friends feel we overreacted. We feel we did not.” Still, though rights groups, opposition politicos and journalists he persecuted are understandably loathe to admit it, there was more to Meles Zenawi than a stereotypical African strongman.
Thousands of people have been to view Meles’s casket, draped in the Ethiopian flag
(Getty Images)
By Associated Press
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who died of an unknown illness earlier this week, will be buried on Sept. 2, the government spokesman said Thursday.
The government had postponed an emergency session of parliament to swear in a new prime minister as many leaders attended the funeral of a church leader.
Acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was to be sworn in Thursday following Zenawi’s death on Monday.
Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s communications minister said the country had “ample time” to swear in the new prime minister. He said Meles will be buried in the capital Addis Ababa
“There is no need to rush into it when the nation is grieving,” Bereket said. “What all the lawmakers and their constituencies and the nation at large want to do at this time is mourn the great loss and honor the late prime minister. We want to first honor this and handle the prime minister’s funeral with due diligence.”
“The succession is already completed, and Hailemariam will take over as a prime minister,” Bereket said.
Bereket also said the death of Abune Paulos, the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, was another reason for the delay. Hailemariam attended and spoke at the Thursday funeral.
Leaders from around the world are expected to attend Meles’s funeral. Meles who ruled Ethiopia for 21 year, died in a Belgium hospital late Monday from an illness that Ethiopian officials have not revealed.
Hailemariam is a relatively young figure on Ethiopia’s political scene and it’s not clear if old guard leaders will allow him to hold onto the prime minister’s seat until 2015 elections.
Ethiopia is a strong U.S. ally on counter-terrorism issues, particularly in Somalia. Meles was hailed for advancing Ethiopia’s economic progress but was denounced by human rights groups for a heavy handed approach to political dissent.
— Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
— Related: Life in pictures: Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi (BBC)
—-
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died at the age of 57, after months of speculation about his health.
State television announced his death Tuesday, saying he died from a sudden infection late Monday at a hospital abroad.
Speaking with VOA Somali Service, government spokesman Bereket Simon would not say where Meles died, or disclose the illness that led to his hospitalization.
“The prime minister had been sick for quite a while,” he said. “And he was attending medical support in, somewhere in, ah, abroad. And he had some chance in recuperating. But ultimately some infection happened to him and doctors couldn’t control that infection.”
Meles had not been seen in public for nearly two months before his death.
Spokesman Bereket said Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will serve as acting prime minister.
He said Meles’ body will arrive Tuesday in Ethiopia, and officials are making plans for the funeral.
Meles earned praise abroad for improvements in the economy, education and health care. But human rights groups sharply criticized him for various abuses, including restrictions on independent media.
Under Meles, Ethiopia fought a border war with Eritrea and sent troops to Somalia to fight Islamist militants.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought from 1998 to 2000 in a conflict that killed more than 70,000 people. Tension between the two countries remained high.
Meles was also known as an ally to the United States against terrorism.
In 2006, Ethiopian troops entered Somalia to fight Islamist militants allegedly armed and trained by the Eritrean government. Ethiopian forces returned to Somalia last year in a multi-nation offensive against militant group al-Shabab.
Meles’ most serious political challenge came in the 2005 elections, when opposition parties said the government rigged to results to cheat them of victory. Nearly 200 people died in post-election violence and protests.
In the most recent elections in 2010, the EPRDF and its allies took all but one seat in parliament, sparking new accusations of fraud.
The criticism increased in recent years as Ethiopian courts jailed journalists and political activists under an anti-terrorism law that rights groups said was overly vague and broad.
Meles was born in the northern Ethiopian town of Adwa in 1955. He attended Addis Ababa University for two years before joining the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front, or TPLF, one of several groups that was fighting the government of Mengistu Hailemariam. The TPLF later became the core group within the EPRDF.
Addis Ababa (TADIAS) – Thousands of mourners made their way to Meskel Square in Addis Ababa on Sunday to pay their final respects to late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The state funeral was attended by several African heads of state and hundreds of diplomats from around the world. The U.S. delegation was led by Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
The official ceremony mourning the death of a sitting head of government was the first for the country in more than 80 years.
The PM’s body was laid to rest at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, where other prominent Ethiopian political and cultural figures are buried, including former Emperor Haile Selassie. A 21-gun salute marked the end of the official ceremony for Meles’ funeral.
Below are photos by Marie Claire Andrea for Tadias Magazine.
In Pictures: Nation pays final respect to late PM Meles Zenawi (TADIAS)
Oakland, California – On a table by the door in Addis Restaurant on Oakland’s Telegraph Avenue, a tall stack of solemn invitations sits amid piles of business cards advertising nearby Ethiopian-owned beauty salons, photography studios and computer repair services.
“All Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopians who live in the Bay Area are invited to join us for the memorial service in Honor of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi,” the invitations read.
Meles (Ethiopians are formally referred to by their first names) died August 20, at the age of 57, of an undisclosed illness. The Bay Area will host two memorial services on Sunday – in Oakland at the Jack London Aquatic Center, and in San Jose at the Masonic Temple.
Nunu Kidane, Director of Priority Africa Network, a Bay Area-focused organization that serves those of African decent, estimates that between 20-25,000 Ethiopians live in the Bay Area.
“Most Ethiopians in the Bay Area would have heard about Meles’ death by text message,” she says. “I received seven texts about it myself.”
Biniam Girma, a volunteer at the Ethiopian Community and Cultural Center, said he first heard of Meles’ death online.
“I was following the announcements on the Voice of America Amharic website and also on ETV,’’ he said, referring to Ethiopian Television, Ethiopia’s state broadcaster.
Many in the Ethiopian diaspora are likely to watch ETV’s live coverage of Meles’ funeral online and via satellite, broadcast from Addis Ababa on Sunday.
New York (TADIAS) – The Ethiopian Ministry of Justice said it will not file criminal charges against Temesghen Desalegn, the editor of the Amharic weekly newspaper Feteh.
“After further investigation the prosecutors have decided to drop the charges,” Desalegn Teressa, a ministry spokesman, told Bloomberg News.
The authorities stopped the paper’s distribution in July after it reported on the illness of the late PM Meles Zenawi. The editor was arrested last week for his writings that are critical of government policies.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said it welcomes the news, adding: “CPJ also calls for the release of eight other journalists now imprisoned in Ethiopia for their work.”
Ethiopia has just taken delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, said to be the world’s most advanced passenger plane. Another nine aircraft are on order.
It is perhaps a symbol that Ethiopia is on the up, shedding its old image as a land of poverty, famine and suffering.
Yet step outside Addis Ababa’s Bole Airport onto the streets of the Ethiopian capital, and you can see immediate signs that the country still has a long way to go.
Beggars crowd around the cars stopped at city intersections. Goats are herded down the main thoroughfares, jostling for space with the traffic.
In the smaller backstreets of Addis Ababa, vehicles weave erratically to avoid the huge potholes made worse by the winter rains.
Now that Meles is gone, the weaknesses of the regime that he built are more likely to be exposed and the repercussions could be felt across the region”
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister who died earlier this week, had made economic growth and development his number one priority.
During the last eight years of his premiership, there was record growth, as high as 11%. It has been driven primarily by agriculture, including the development of the flower export market.
Building on this economic success will be the challenge for Mr Meles’s successor, Hailemariam Desalegn.
However, Ethiopia’s acting prime minister will also have to manage a tricky political transition.
Looking Ahead in Ethiopia: Spotlight on Acting PM Hailemariam Desalegn
Hailemariam Desalegn, left, pictured in this photo last Friday, Aug.17, 2012, was first appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2010, became acting Prime Minister and will be sworn in as prime minister after an emergency meeting of parliament, said Bereket Simon, the communications minister. (AP)
By KIRUBEL TADESSE, Associated Press –
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The death of Ethiopia’s prime minister pushed his relatively unknown successor, Hailemariam Desalegn, into the spotlight on Tuesday, and he may be merely a placeholder or might hang on to become Ethiopia’s next long-time leader.
The leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos, has died at the age of 76. No details of his death were made available. He had been receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness.
Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said a new leader will come into office based on what he called “the bylaws and canons of the Coptic Church.”
Abune Paulos studied at Princeton’s Theological Seminary in the US after receiving a degree in theology from Addis Ababa University. He was arrested in 1974 by Ethiopia’s military dictatorship. Upon his release, Abune Paulos fled to the US, where he spent several years in exile.
He returned to Ethiopia in 1991 when Mengisu Hailemariam’s government collapsed and Meles Zenawi assumed power. Shortly after, the Patriarch, Abuna Merkorios, was dethroned under disputed circumstances. The controversial process led to the election of Abune Paulos as head of the Coptic Church in 1992. Abune Merkorios and his supporters went into exile, establishing a rival synod in the United States.
Many credit the Patriarch for championing the cause of the victims of the military regime. He presided over the funerals of Emperor Haile Selsassie in 2000, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen in 1997 and Princess Tenagnework in 2004. He also officiated at the funerals of the 60 former civilian and military leaders of the Imperial government in 1993, and the burial of Professor Asrat Woldeyes, the leading opposition leader, in 1998.
Detractors accuse Abune Paulos of being too close to the Meles government, and for failing to speak out when security forces storm churches and brutalize peaceful demonstrators. He has also been accused of vanity in overseeing the construction of his own statue in Addis Ababa in 2010.
The office of the patriarch is expected to hold an emergency meeting Friday to finalize funeral arrangements. It is not clear whether Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi — who has not been seen in public since June — will attend the funeral.
— Related: Ethiopian Church Patriarch Abune Paulos Dies (BBC)
Nairobi, August 9, 2012- Ethiopian authorities must release a journalist who has been detained for almost three weeks, and allow three Muslim news outlets to resume publishing immediately, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Local journalists believe the Muslim press in Ethiopia is being targeted for its coverage of protests by the Muslim community.
Read more.
—– Related: Video: Friday,July 27,2012 Grand Anwar Mosque Symbolic Silent Protest
New York (TADIAS) – Since the Ethiopian Ministry of Information had announced weeks ago that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been prescribed “sick leave” the public has not been informed of much else. Today BBC Focus on Africa Program reported that it had been told by government spokesman, Bereket Simon, that the PM was “in a good condition and recuperating,” but that “it was ‘not useful’ to provide more details.”
As the news embargo continues, so does the speculation of whether the PM is alive or not. Without access to free media and government transparency in the country, the public is enduring endless rumors and counter rumors emanating from competing political interest groups.
What is known for certain is that Meles Zenawi has been incapacitated from carrying out his official duties for more than a month, and he may or he may not return to office. But at this point the issue is neither about a single individual or a single party, nor even about political differences. It is disconcerting that 40 days after the head of the nation’s government vanished from public view, Ethiopians still have no answers as to how long he will remain absent. Why do officials find it acceptable to continue to keep the public in perpetual darkness?
If the country is governed by its constitution, the current secrecy makes no sense. Most importantly, if it is not known when the Prime Minister will be able to resume his duties, an official announcement must be made as to who will replace the disabled PM and under what legal authority? What comes next should not be handled behind closed doors. The government is obligated to answer these questions: Where is PM Meles Zenawi? What is the nature of his illness? When should the public expect him back at work? And who will assume responsibility for leading the nation in the event that he is incapacitated? The public deserves to know.
— Related: Listen: VOA Amharic – Legal Scholar on the PM’s Absence & Succession Plan (Audio)
New York (TADIAS) – Investigators in Florida are looking into whether an Ethiopian woman may have been a victim of human trafficking. The 36-year-old woman, who was carrying an Ethiopian passport, was found taking refuge at a local church, claiming that she escaped abuse from her employers. She told police that she was brought to the United States about 3 months ago by a Kuwaiti family that she worked for.
According to Florida Today, the woman said she worked for a different family in Ethiopia, who brought her to Kuwait and introduced her to the Kuwaitis, who then brought her to London and then on to the United States to work as a maid. “In my experience, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an instance of human trafficking locally,” Sgt. Sheridan Shelley of Melbourne Police Department told the newspaper.
“Police said she told them, through an interpreter that she was treated badly and was not fed or paid as promised,” the report said. “Police said she told them she had been abused and forbidden from leaving the home.”
According to police records, she escaped last Wednesday, when no one was at the residence, and managed to make her way to another house in the neighborhood, where she was taken in and brought to the church and fed.
Authorities said they aren’t sure where the woman was being held. But the case has been transferred to agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The Feds are also talking to her employers. No arrests have been made.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi did not attend scheduled meetings with other African leaders in Addis Ababa on Saturday and Sunday, fueling speculation about his health.
The government confirmed the prime minister was ill but gave no details.
Mr. Meles had been scheduled to chair a meeting of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, or NEPAD, on Saturday, and an African Union government leaders’ summit on Sunday. Ethiopia’s foreign minister attended in his place.
The foreign minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, told Bloomberg news Monday that Mr. Meles was receiving treatment.
The agency quotes him as saying, “There is no serious illness at all. It’s minor only.” He said the prime minister would be “back soon” after receiving medication.
Mr. Meles has not been seen in public for at least two weeks. He is 57 years old and has ruled Ethiopia since 1991.
Senegalese President Macky Sall told the NEPAD meeting Saturday that Prime Minister Meles was not attending “for health reasons” and expressed wishes that he “recover soon.”
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Twenty Ethiopians, including a prominent blogger, journalists and opposition figures were jailed for between eight years to life on Friday on charges of conspiring with rebels to topple the government.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was “seriously concerned” by the severity of the sentences, which were also condemned by Amnesty International and other rights groups.
The Horn of Africa nation, a major recipient of Western aid, is fighting separatist rebel movements and armed groups it says are backed by arch-foe Eritrea.
But rights groups say Ethiopia, sandwiched between volatile Somalia and Sudan, regularly uses security concerns as an excuse to crack down on dissent and media freedoms.
The Addis Ababa government, a key ally in Washington’s campaign against Islamist militants in Somalia, denies the charge. No one was immediately available to comment on Friday.
Blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega, who was arrested last year and accused of trying to incite violence with a series of online articles, was jailed for 18 years.
Five other exiled journalists were sentenced in absentia to between 15 years to life.
Andualem Arage, from the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, was jailed for life. Two other prominent opposition figures, Berhanu Nega and Andargachew Tsige, both out of the country, also received life sentences.
“The court has given due considerations to the charges and the sentences are appropriate,” Judge Endeshaw Adane said in court.
The 20 were charged last year, most of them in absentia, with counts including conspiracy to dismantle the constitutional order, recruitment and training for terror acts and aiding Eritrea and a rebel group to disrupt security.
They were also accused of belonging to Ginbot 7, a group branded a “terrorist” organization by the government.
“FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS”
Eskinder Nega’s lawyer Abebe Guta told Reuters his client would appeal against the sentence. Nega wrote for a number of diaspora-based blogs.
“We can’t even express our fundamental rights anymore,” UDJ member Temesgen Zewdie told Reuters after the sentencing.
Critics point to an anti-terrorism law passed after several explosions in 2009 which says anyone caught publishing information that could incite readers to commit acts of terrorism could be jailed for up to 20 years.
More than 10 journalists have been charged under the law, according to the Committee to Protest Journalists. The group says Ethiopia is close to replacing Eritrea as the African country with the highest number of journalists behind bars.
Two journalists were each jailed for 14 years on similar charges in February, two months after two Swedish newsmen were sent to prison for 11 years on charges of entering the country illegally and aiding a rebel group.
The EU’s Ashton was concerned about the sentences and that “a lack of clarity with regard to what constitutes a terrorism offence … can affect the freedom of expression … enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution,” a statement from her office said.
Amnesty International said: “The Ethiopian government is treating calls for peaceful protest as a terrorist act and is outlawing the legitimate activity of journalists and opposition members.”
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(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott in Brussels; Editing by Duncan Miriri and Andrew Heavens)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Congressional Black Caucus today released this statement on the Ethiopian government’s ongoing imprisonment of journalists in violation of their human rights and in disregard for freedom of the press.
Eskinder Nega is a prominent Ethiopian journalist who was arrested and imprisoned in September 2011 under Ethiopia’s Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009. Eskinder was arrested after publishing an online column that criticized the government’s use of anti-terrorism laws to silence opposition figures. Nega urged the Ethiopian government to respect freedom of expression and end prison torture.
“The Congressional Black Caucus condemns the Ethiopian government for using laws presumably intended to criminalize acts of terrorism as a sword to take down journalists who have spoken out against the government. Not only does the Ethiopian government misuse national security laws, but its actions devalue its standing in the international community. Just prior to Nega’s arrest, an Ethiopian judge publicly accused Nega of intending to initiate a popular revolt in Ethiopia via his online journalism. The Ethiopian law enforcement and judicial regime has by its own actions brought to light the very real injustices occurring in that country that Nega and other Ethiopian journalists were trying to expose.”
A black pickup truck slowly circled RFK Stadium. Its sole cargo was a billboard bearing the images of a starving child, a man with a swastika on his forehead, piles of money and a soccer ball.
Just inside the stadium, the All Ethiopian Sports Association’s first annual soccer tournament, a six-day extravaganza promoting oneness among Ethiopians in America, was getting underway.
The description of the event on the billboard was slightly different. It read, “Blood Money Festival.”
Unity can be so divisive sometimes.
Ethiopians living in the United States are used to navigating political differences that stem from power struggles in their native country. But for decades, amateur soccer leagues were immune. Now, the controversy surrounding the tournament, which began Sunday and ends this weekend, has injected political overtones into a beloved sport.
Having risen to glory with their entrepreneurship skills in very less time, these women have proven their mettle and talent to the world. From being featured on Forbes Top List, to receiving global honor for their enterprise and their work, these women entrepreneurs are going places. Here’s a closer look at the five leading women entrepreneurs of Africa.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
When she started in 2004 with the name soleRebels, Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu exactly knew where her enterprise of making hand-crafted shoes would take not only her but also her local community in Addis Ababa. According to her, the fine and skilled artisans employed from her local community (in Ethiopia) form the backbone of the company and the essentials of the company’s ethics. With the joy of spreading a bit of their cultural heritage with every shoe crafted, Alemu has emerged as a commendable entrepreneur consolidating her business in less than a decade with her gumption. Owing to Alemu’s grits and dedication towards soleRebels today, the company is the only achiever of WFTO fair Trade Certified Footwear Company title worldwide. Following the success of her business, Alemu was invited by Bill Clinton for addressing as a speaker by The Clinton Global Initiative’s panel. Subsequently in the year 2011, Alemu was again given the distinct honor by the World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, she was the first African woman entrepreneur to get the invitation ever. In the same year, she received global recognition for entrepreneurship by different institutions. soleRebels was among the top 5 finalists of the 2011 Legatum Africa Awards For Entrepreneurship. Alemu gives workshops & mentorship to young rural girls for their economic empowerment and to equip them with self-reliance. Alemu envisages coming 3 years as the period of expansion of her business beyond Ethiopia in more than 10 locations with annual revenues topping $10 million.
Natneal Yemane, 15, an Ethiopian, carried the torch as part of the International Inspiration programme, a games sponsored initiative to encourage children at home and abroad to do more physical exercise.
But shortly after completing his section of the relay in Nottinghamshire, he has disappeared and police have launched a search.
It is not believed any foul play has taken place and officials believe he has family in London.
Officers said he left the hotel where he was staying, the Jurys Inn, Waterfront Plaza, Nottingham, at around 9.15pm yesterday and did not return.
“The Ethiopian Government’s use of vague anti-terrorism laws to silence the press has been widely and rightly condemned. The conviction of Eskinder Nega and other journalists, who are accused of nothing more than the peaceful exercise of rights clearly recognized under international law, is the work of a regime that fears the democratic aspirations of its own people. Over the years, United States administrations have provided Prime Minister Meles a veneer of legitimacy due to our shared interest in countering real terrorist threats, but he has exploited the relationship for his own political ends. It is time to put the values and principles that distinguish us from terrorists, above aid to a government that misuses its institutions to silence its critics.”
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Opinion
The Conviction of Eskinder Nega: Press Freedom Advocates Condemn ‘Politicized Trial’
June 27, 2012
The undersigned organizations strongly condemned the conviction of blogger and journalist Eskinder Nega on terrorism charges earlier today.
The conviction represents the criminalization of peaceful dissent in Ethiopia and is a clear violation of the rights to freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
Nega was found guilty of “participation in a terrorist organization” and “planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt of (a) terrorist act” and is facing life in prison.
Nega is the fifth journalist in Ethiopia to be jailed for terrorism-related crimes in the past six months. In April, he was awarded the prestigious 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, which honours writers that have been persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Eskinder Nega has long been a thorn in the side of the Ethiopian government. He was jailed along with his wife and fellow journalist Serkalem Fasil for 17 months in the aftermath of Ethiopia’s disputed 2005 elections. Their son was born in prison. Their publishing house was closed and Nega has since been banned from journalism, but continued to write for online media and speak critically about the ruling party in Ethiopia.
Nega has been in jail since September 2011. He was arrested shortly after he criticized the government’s use of anti-terrorism laws to jail opposition figures and other journalists, including Woubshet Taye of the now-closed Awramba Times, Reyot Alemu of Feteh newspaper, and Swedish journalists Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, who were arrested while reporting on rebel activity in the Ogaden region. Schibbye, Persson, Alemu and Taye all received years-long prison sentences at the end of 2011 and in early 2012.
The United States says it is “deeply concerned” about the Ethiopian government’s conviction of 24 people, including several journalists and opposition members, on terrorism related charges.
Journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition member Andualem Arage were among those found guilty Wednesday of charges including the encouragement of terrorism and high treason.
The men, 16 of whom were convicted in absentia, could face life in prison under Ethiopia’s harsh anti-terror legislation. But prosecutors on Wednesday suggested jail terms of five years to life when they are sentenced next month.
State Department Victoria Nuland says such convictions raise “serious questions” about the intent of Ethiopia’s anti-terror laws, which critics say are used to stifle dissent.
Rights group Amnesty International also condemned the conviction, saying the men were found guilty on “trumped up” charges.” The group says freedom of expression is being “systematically destroyed by a government targeting any dissenting voice.”
The defendants were accused of having ties to an outlawed political party called Ginbot Seven, which the government has labelled a terrorist group. Some were also accused of trying to incite unrest by writing about the anti-government protests that swept North Africa last year.
Ethiopia’s government denies using anti-terror laws passed in 2009 to clamp down on opposition figures and journalists, saying their arrests have nothing to do with their reporting or political affiliations.
Addis Ababa — The Ethiopian government has dismissed allegations that it has banned Skype and other use of Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) services that offer audio and video related communications over the internet.
Reporters Without Borders last week alleged that Ethiopia has endorsed a new law that bans the internet based services.
The group accused the East African country of trying to “attack every means of information exchange” and criticised it of a new crackdown on Internet users.
However, Ethiopia government spokesperson, Shimeles Kemal, said the draft proclamation presented to the parliament last week does not restrict users access to Skype or IP-related internet activities.
According to Kemal the draft law intends to control the growing number of telecom related offences.
FAIRFIELD — Tesfaye Girma and Ketema Niguesse ran neck and neck for 13 miles. That’s routine for them.
The two Ethiopians train together, and they shared strides, cups of water and the lead through a hot and hilly half-marathon course Sunday, waiting for the final one-tenth of a mile to make their moves.
Girma’s finishing kick was better.
Girma hit the tape one second ahead of Niguesse to win the 32nd-annual Stratton Faxon Fairfield Half Marathon with a time of 1:05.37.
“This is good for me,” the 29-year-old Girma said.
New York (TADIAS) – Do you skype? If you reside in Ethiopia you could do some serious jail time for using the popular online phone service. According to a new telecommunications law that criminalizes VoIP, violators could face up to 15 years in prison. The rule, which appears to be intended to control the press, now extends to all Ethiopian citizens. Not surprisingly, the legislation is raising eyebrows around the world.
In an article entitled Using Skype in Ethiopia Could Land You in Jail, PC Magazine noted that only 360,000 people, or 0.4% of the nation’s 82 million citizens, had online access in June 2009 and that internet even in Addis Ababa is often slow and unreliable. Yet the country has one of the harshest anti-Internet laws in the world.
In another story, The Los Angles Times offered advice for those traveling to Ethiopia, alerting potential tourists to watch out for the online cops. “If you use Skype, you could be there 15 years,” the newspaper wrote.
And given Ethiopia’s recent efforts to project the country as an attractive investment destination, the The Atlantic Magazine mused: “Why Does Ethiopia Want to Give People 15 Years in Jail for Using Skype?” The magazine noted that one of Africa’s biggest economic success stories, Ethiopia is also one of its least wired. “This new law and other, increasingly draconian restrictions are a sign of how far it still has to go,” the publication observed.
The BBC was more succinct “Ethiopia clamps down on Skype and other internet use,” the broadcaster declared.
In a recent post on the Global Voices website, Ethiopian tech blogger Markos Lemma, features an interview with Geraldine de Bastion, a Berlin-based international consultant on information and communication technology discussing the state of social media in Ethiopia. “From what I experienced during my first visit to Ethiopia is that there is a big demand for information and communication in general and social media are being discovered as one means for people to have their say,” Bastion said. “Because of the low internet penetration, social media at present is reserved for the few who do have access — but this small social media community is using social media platforms such as Facebook and twitter in creative ways to further information exchange.” She added: “However, the influence of citizen media on political decision making is not yet visible — mainly because of the lack of Internet penetration and lack of ability to reach a broad audience within in the country. Also, there is a sense of fear of repression against critical voices although many bloggers are still navigating under the radar of those in power.”
According to Bastion, the Ethiopian government is also now undertaking deep packet inspection of all Internet traffic. “They compare this kind of action to the censorship and spying on private communication conducted by China, Iran, and Kazakhstan,” she said. “With the Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation still being the sole telecommunication service provider in Ethiopia, there is no way to escape the eye of the state for Ethiopians online.”
Authorities justify the new measure on the basis of national security, but considering that less than 1% of Ethiopia’s citizens have internet access this law seems an overreach.
New York (TADIAS) – Senator Patrick Leahy, a long-term and influential member of the United States Senate, has taken the cause of imprisoned Ethiopian Journalist and Blogger Eskinder Nega (recipient of the 2012 Pen America’s prestigious “Freedom to Write” award). Senator Leahy of Vermont, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, submitted a statement to the Congressional Record on Thursday, highlighting the upcoming verdict for Eskinder, which is expected to come later this month.
“I and other Members of Congress will be watching what happens in a courtroom 7,000 miles from Washington, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,” Senator Leahy said in the statement. “That is where a journalist named Eskinder Nega stands accused of supporting terrorism simply for refusing to remain silent about the Ethiopian government’s increasingly authoritarian drift.”
Senator Leahy added: “The trial is finished, and a verdict is expected on June 21. Eskinder Nega is not alone. Since 2011, the Ethiopian government has charged 10 other journalists with terrorism or threatening national security for questioning government actions and policies –- activities that you and I and people around the world would recognize as fundamental to any free press. Ironically, by trying to silence those who do not toe the official line, the government is only helping to underscore the concerns that many inside and outside of Ethiopia share about the deterioration of democracy and human rights in that country.”
David Carle, Communications Director and Press Secretary to Senator Leahy, told TADIAS that his boss has been concerned about the political situation in Ethiopia for a long time. “Senator Leahy has added conditions for several years and these are the latest,” he said referring to a pending bill for fiscal year 2013, which puts a number of restrictions on funds allocated to assist the Ethiopian military and police force. “His budget bill for FY2013 was approved a couple of weeks ago by the full Appropriations Committee and goes next to the Senate Floor,” the press secretary said.
The legislation requires the State Department to certify to the U.S. Senate that the “Government of Ethiopia is implementing policies to publicly disclose the military and police budget; protect judicial independence, freedom of expression, association, assembly, and religion; the right of political opposition parties, civil society organizations, journalists to operate without harassment or interference; and due process of law.”
Eskinder spent his younger years in the United States, attending high school and college in the Washington, D.C. area, and returned to Ethiopia 1991. Mr. Carle said the Ethiopian Diaspora has been instrumental in educating lawmakers about developments in Ethiopia. “Ethiopian-Americans have done a superb job in bringing these types of issue to the attention of Congress,” he told TADIAS. “Senator Patrick Leahy hopes that Ethiopians in the United States will continue to play a role.”
Nola Kianza makes a business trip to Ethiopia every other month, spending up to 48 gruelling hours in-transit each time.
But starting July 17, the Toronto investor will cut his trip to 14 hours as a new Ethiopian Airlines route is set to make Africa just a flight away from Toronto.
The first regular, non-stop flight between Toronto and Addis Ababa boosts trade ties between Canada and Ethiopia, one of Africa’s largest markets with a population of over 80 million.
JERUSALEM — Yetmwork Makurya, 35, had tears in her eyes as she spoke of her attachment to Israel. When she arrived as a teenager in 1991 on a secret overnight airlift from Ethiopia, she said, “Jerusalem and the land of Israel was my dream.”
Yet over the past three months Ms. Makurya has spent much of her time with an angry new generation of Ethiopian-Israeli activists on the sidewalk near the prime minister’s residence in central Jerusalem, protesting against unofficial but hurtful racism and discrimination.
One of the most anticipated entrants at this year’s Adidas Grand Prix track meet in New York on Saturday is Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, the defending women’s Olympic champion at 5,000 and 10,000 meters and quite possibly the fastest finisher in the history of women’s distance running.
Dibaba, 27, is recovering from shin splints so severe they kept her out of competition every day of 2011 except the last, when she won the San Silvestre Vallecana 10-kilometer road race on New Year’s Eve, in Madrid. Last week, at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore., she continued her comeback, running — and winning — her first outdoor track race in almost two years, at 10,000 meters, and she did it in dramatic fashion.
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Kan. – Police in Lawrence, Kansas confirm that a body found in rural Douglas County is that of Yelekal Alemu – the missing 23-year-old former University of Kansas student, who was last seen on the morning of Saturday, May 12.
“The 2007 graduate of Olathe South High School was in his fourth year at KU. He lived with his parents and commuted to Lawrence until this past August,” kSHB reports. “Since then, he lived in Lawrence with friends and came home almost every weekend.” According to the local TV station: “His mother reported him missing after he missed a family event, which she said was unlike him. His body was found in a wooded area on Thursday. An autopsy confirmed it was Alemu. Police say they do not suspect foul play.”
Watch:
MEMORIAL SERVICE
Saturday June 2, 2012
4:30 pm — 8:00 pm
Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church
14345 w 119th St
Olathe, KS 66062
913-271-1645
913-706-6043
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CHURCH SERVICE
Sunday June 3, 2012
10:00 am — 12:30 pm
Ethiopian Christian Fellowship Church
14345 w 119th St
Olathe, KS 66062
913-271-1645
913-706-6043
_____________________________________
BURIAL SERVICE
Sunday June 3, 2012
1:00 pm — 2:00 pm
Olathe Memorial Cemetery (119th and Harold)
738 N. Chestnut St.
Olathe KS 66061
913.971.5226 or 913.971.8626
New York (TADIAS) – During a ceremony held at the White House on Tuesday awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to several American political and cultural icons including Madeleine Albright (the 64th U.S. Secretary of State and the first woman to hold that position) President Obama related an anecdote from the remarkable and inspiring story of a child refugee from Czechoslovakia who lost her grandparents in the Holocaust, but rose to become America’s top diplomat.
“This is one of my favorite stories,” Obama said. “Once, at a naturalization ceremony, an Ethiopian man came up to her and said, ‘Only in America can a refugee meet the Secretary of State.’ And she replied, ‘Only in America can a refugee become the Secretary of State.'”
Albright currently serves as a Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Watch as Secretary Albright talks about her proudest accomplishments in the service of her adopted country:
