Ethiopian migrant killed in Saudi crackdown

  


An Ethiopian migrant has been killed by Saudi police after he tried to flee arrest during a round-up of thousands of foreigners suspected of working illegally in the kingdom.
A statement on Wednesday by Riyadh police chief Nasser el-Qahtani said security forces killed the African migrant worker in el-Manhoufa a day earlier when he and others tried to resist arrest.

Abbay dam will be owned by Egypt and Sudan

November 5, 2013

Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia are all committed to coordinating and cooperating in dealing with Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, said Egypt’s Ministry of Irrigation and WaterResources on Monday.

A picture taken on 28 May 2013 shows the Blue Nile River in Guba, Ethiopia, during its diversion (AFP/File, William Lloyd-George)

Egyptian Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Moteleb said that it was “time to consider a new strategy for the available investment opportunity,” adding that any matter dealing with the dam must be agreed upon by the governments of the three countries.

The countries’ water ministers began meetings in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Monday in order to review recommendations put forth by a report formed by a tripartite committee investigating the impacts of the dam on Ethiopia’s neighbours in the north.

SMNE Calls for Strong Measures from the International Community, Donors and International Investors in Confronting Official Corruption in Ethiopia

November 9, 2013

Press Release
Washington, DC, November 4, 2013

The Government of Ethiopia is broadly soliciting for development aid, foreign-based business partnerships and financial investors; yet, the unpopular ruling party has been accused of abuse of state power, misuse of donor funds, widespread party-run business monopolies, illicit financial practices and endemic corruption. It is time to demand accountability from all involved and concerned

Dr. Wondimu says Semhal Meles deposits $5 billion

July 26, 2013

De Birhan

የመለስ ዜናዊ የመጀመሪያ ልጅ ሰመሃል መለስ ኒው ዮርክ ውስጥ በሚገኝ አንድ ባንክ ውስጥ 5 ቢሊዮን ዶላር በ2011 ኣስገብታለች። ይህን ያሉት እንግሊዝ አገር እሚገኙት ምሁር እና የመንግስት ተቃዋሚ የሆኑት ዶክተር ወንድሙ መኮንን ናቸው። ዶክተር ወንድሙ የቼኩን ኮፒ አያይዘው ለእንግሊዝ ፓርላማ ሃውስ ኦፍ ኮመንስ አቅርበዋል። ሙሉውን እዚህ ያገኛሉ

Semehal Meles Zenawi, the daughter of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, “has deposited $5 billion in one of the banks in New York”, said Dr. Wondimu Mekonnen, an academic and opposition figure, during a recent presentation at the House of Commons in the U.K.

Semehal Meles Zenawi, the daughter of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

የአውሮፓ ኅብረት የፓርላማ ቡድን በኢትዮጵያ የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ጥሰት አሳሳቢ ነው አለ

-    የቃሊቲን እስር ቤት እንዳይጎበኝ መከልከሉን ገለጸ

ለሦስት ቀናት በኢትዮጵያ ጉብኝት ያደረገው የአውሮፓ ኅብረት ፓርላማ የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ንዑስ ኮሚቴ በአገሪቱ ውስጥ የሰብዓዊ መብቶች ጥሰት አሳሳቢ ደረጃ መድረሱን አስታወቀ፡፡ ጋዜጠኞችና የተቃዋሚ ፓርቲ አባላት በአስቸኳይ እንደፈቱም ጠይቋል፡፡

ከሐምሌ 8 እስከ 10 ቀን 2005 ዓ.ም. በኢትዮጵያ ጉብኝት ያደረገው የአውሮፓ ኅብረት የልዑካን ቡድን፣ በኢትዮጵያ የነበረውን ጉብኝት ካጠናቀቀ በኋላ ሰሞኑን በሒልተን ሆቴል በሰጠው ጋዜጣዊ መግለጫ ነበር ይህንን የገለጸው፡፡

እንደ ቡድኑ ድምዳሜ በኢትዮጵያ የሰብዓዊ መብት ኮሚሽንና ዕንባ ጠባቂ ተቋም መቋቋማቸውና በቅርቡ የፀደቀው አገራዊ የሰብዓዊ መብት መርሐ ግብር የሚበረታታ ዕርምጃ መሆኑን ገልጾ፣ መንግሥት ከፍተኛ የሰብዓዊ መብት ጥሰት እየፈጸመ መሆኑን አስረድቷል፡፡ 

Are US and UK ‘turning a blind eye’ as Ethiopia uproots natives?

California think tank issues double-barreled report alleging Washington, London are willfully ignoring gross violations.

The Christian Science Monitor
by Mike Pflanz, Correspondent, Robert Marquand

Charges surfaced yesterday that American and British diplomats responsible for Africa are deliberately ignoring a brutal Ethiopian campaign to relocate local people in order to lease the cleared land to foreign corporations.

The Ethiopian government leased the homelands of these Anuak women to an Indian company, Karuturi Global Ltd, and moved them to a village where there is no land for farming.

An American expert on Ethiopia who translated for US and British staff in the region of South Omo in 2012 released transcripts and audio tapes of conversations in from a joint fact finding mission there. In it, Omo tribals tell officials that girls and women, including their wives, were raped by “men with guns” in order to get them to leave the area.

The expert, Will Hurd, said that continuing denials by State Department officials of evidence of harm and forced evictions from Ethiopian land is “shocking,” in a report by the Oakland Institute, a California think tank.

Heavy police presence during anti-Ethiopian government rally in Canada

A heavy police presence formed outside the Belmead Community league in west Edmonton Saturday afternoon when about 100 protesters gathered to rally against the Ethiopian government.

Protesters told CBC News that representatives from the Ethiopian government were meeting inside the community league's building to discuss selling bonds for a hydroelectric dam project on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia.

Fingerprints of International Aid on Forced Relocation, Repression, and Human Rights Abuse in Ethiopia

OAKLAND, CA—Two new reports from the Oakland Institute, Development Aid to Ethiopia: Overlooking Violence, Marginalization, and Political Repression and Ignoring Abuse in Ethiopia: DFID and USAID in the Lower Omo Valley, show how Western development assistance is supporting forced evictions and massive violations of human rights in Ethiopia.


The Ethiopian government’s controversial “villagization” resettlement program to clear vast areas for large-scale land investments is funded largely by international development organizations

ኢህአዴግ ጣና በለስን ለምን አፈራረሰው? “በሩ ይከፈት፣ በአባይ ጉዳይ አገራዊ አቋም እንያዝ”

Negash | June 7th, 2013

“ጣና በለስን አፈራርሶ ያስዘረፈ ፓርቲና አመራሮቹ አሁን አባይን ለመገደብ የተነሱበት መነሻ ለአብዛኛው የኢህአዴግ አባላት እንቆቅልሽ ነው”

By Goolgule.com
June 7, 2013

በግብጽ ረዳትነት፣ በሱዳን መሪነት መንግስት ለመሆን የበቃው ህወሃት/ኢህአዴግ ግዙፉን የጣና በለስ ፕሮጀክትና ንብረቱ
እንዲዘረፍ ያደረገበትን ምክንያት በማንሳት መከራከር እንደሚያስፈልግ ተጠቆመ። የግብጽ ፕሬዚዳንት ሙርሲ እንዳደረጉት በአገር
ጉዳይ ሁሉንም ያሳተፈ ግልጽ አቋም እንዲያዝና አጋጣሚውን በመጠቀም ብሔራዊ ህብረት እንዲፈጠር ኢህአዴግ በሩን ሊከፍት
እንደሚገባ ተገለጸ።

Ottawa Rally calls on Canada to halt support for dictatorship

OTTAWA – Ethiopian Canadians on June 5 took to the streets of Ottawa and condemned the ongoing human rights violations in the Horn of Africa nation. The protesters were mainly drawn from Toronto and Ottawa.

Ethiopian editor questioned over story on Azeb Mesfin

(CPJ) New York, May 15, 2013–Ethiopian police in Addis Ababa questioned an editor for several hours today in connection with a story published in October about the widow of the late Ethiopian leader Meles Zenawi, according to news reports.

Azeb Mesfin the widow of the late Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi

Officers in the Ethiopian Federal Police Crime Investigation Department interrogated Ferew Abebe, the former editor-in-chief of the private Amharic-language weekly Sendek, about his sources for the October 10, 2012, story that saidAzeb Mesfin, Meles’ widow, had refused to leave the Ethiopian national place nearly two months after the prime minister’s death, local journalists said. The story, which was widely covered in local and international press, cited government sources as saying that Meles’ successor, Hailemarian Desalegn, was unable to live in the palace.

Breaking Political Barriers and Political Taboos

I. IntroductionI watched on ETV with great fascination the recent presentations by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to the Ethiopian House of Representatives, especially the question and answer session wherein a representative asked the Prime Minister to expound on the hot issue of ethnic cleansing against the Amhara in the Benshangul Killil. I also read snippets of the report on that same subject by the lucid Redwan Hussien of the EPRDF‘s Secretariat. What both leaders stated without any equivocation was that removing Ethiopian “peoples” from an area based on their ethnic identity is an act by anti-people groups; the phrase they used was ጸረ-ሕዝብ, and they emphasized the fact that every Ethiopian has a Constitutional right to work freely anywhere in Ethiopia. Both political leaders are from SEPDM (Southern Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Movement) the Former is its Chairman and the latter Member of its Central Committee.* In referring to the citizens of Ethiopia, I reject the pseudo Leninist-Stalinist designation “peoples” that the EPRDF and its constitutive members use as their political mantra. The term “peoples” is passé and anachronistic.

"So that I may do the deed
That my soul has to itself decreed." - Keates

Individuals can be penalized, made to suffer (oh, how I miss my child) and even killed. But democracy is a destiny of humanity which cannot be averted. It can be delayed but not defeated.

No less significant, absent trials and tribulations, democracy would be devoid of the soul that endows it with character and vitality. I accept my fate, even embrace it as serendipitous. I sleep in peace, even if only in the company of lice, behind bars. The same could not be said of my incarcerator though they sleep in warm beds, next to their wives, in their home

A Call for Action: The OAU & Emperor Haile Selassie’s Rightful Place in History

by Nebyat Aklilu

As Addis Ababa prepares for grand festivities, galas and events in celebration of the 50^thAnniversary of the establishment of the African Union (AU), formerly known as the Organization of African Unity (OAU), on May 25, 2013, we, Africans, and peoples of African descent, pay homage to the visionary leader of the OAU, His Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie. We honor the “Father of Africa,” Emperor Haile Selassie, for his visionary leadership and everlasting contributions to the freedom and independence of Africa and African peoples, and for the key role he played in establishing the OAU/AU.

Woubshet Taye and Reeyot Alemu behind bars as terrorists


Eleven journalists have been convicted and sentenced since 2011 under Ethiopia’s repressive anti-terrorism law, including six in absentia. Three of the eleven are currently in prison. Two other journalists are currently on trial under the anti-terrorism law. Another journalist, Temesgen Desalegn, the editor of the now defunct independent magazine Feteh, is on trial for three offenses under the criminal code.

Ethiopia: Shadowboxing Smoke and Mirrors By Alemayehu G Mariam

Meles Zenawi when he was alive and his apostles today (“Melesistas”) keep playing us in the Diaspora like a cheap fiddle. They make us screech, shriek, scream and shout by simply showing their mugs in our cities. How do they do it? Every now and then, the Melesistas suit up a few of their bumbling and bungling zombies from central casting and unleash them into the Ethiopian Diaspora to “sell bonds” for the “Grand Meles Dam” to be built over the Blue Nile. Anytime these zombies show up to panhandle chump change from their supporters, a welcoming committee of defiant and patriotic Ethiopian activists show up to chase them out of town like campers at a national park chasing coyotes scrounging at the trash bin. For the past several weeks, Diaspora activists have been routing these imposters across European and American cities; but incredibly, these brazen con artists show up in the next city like snake oil salesmen at a carnival. That really piqued my curiosity. Why do these scammers show up in city after city knowing that they will be confronted and chased out by young patriotic Ethiopians? Are they really fundraising by "selling bonds" in the Diaspora or are they using “fundraising” as a cover for something altogether different? Ummm!!!  

A letter from Eskinder – Girma Kassa

May 1, 2013

His name is Nafkot. He is a non-ordinary boy, which I believe will be remembered in history. His mother, Serkalem Fassil, was arrested and placed in rat-infested notorious Kaliti Prison for about two years since November 2005. She was then pregnant and endured heavy pains in prison, for 9 months. No mercy and compassion was she shown by authorities, since cruelty and lack of compassion has been their trade marks.

የሕዳሴው” ግድብና ደሞዜ

 

በፍቃዱ ዘ ኃይሉ

ከስድሰት ወር በፊት እሠራበት የነበረው የግል ከፍተኛ የትምህርት ተቋም ለግድቡ መዋጮ የፈለግነውን ያክል ገንዘብ የምናዋጣበት ባዶ ቅጽ ላከልን። ብዙዎቻችን የወሩን ሦስት አራተኛ በጥልፍልፍ ብድር የምናሳልፍ በመሆኑ ገሚሶቻችን በትሕትና ማዋጣት እንደማንችል ስንገልጽ ቀሪዎቹ ደግሞ “መቶም፣ ሁለት መቶም በዓመት ክፍያ ይቆረጥብን” ብለው ፈረሙ።

On Ethiopian embassies 
By Teklu Abate
May 1, 2013


The website of the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains that Ethiopia has 39 missions (embassies and consular offices) in Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. These missions officially represent Ethiopia and poise to serve the Ethiopian Diaspora and Ethiopian-origin nationals. They also intend to encourage and facilitate the transfer of capital, technology, and science to Ethiopia. Since recent times, missions seem to aggressively work on 1) winning the hearts and minds of foreign investors particularly from the Arab world, India, and China, and 2) collecting funds for the construction of the “Grand Renaissance Dam”.

Mengistu Hailemariam and our moral compass

by Yilma Bekele

Today I felt like crawling under the blanket and just hide. I know that is what children do. They think hiding under the blanket makes them invisible. It give them a feeling of security and that what I was looking for. Some place to hide and feel secure from my clueless people. Clueless is what we are and I guess I just have to live with it. Predictable like the season is how we function and I have to accept it.

Watching American Diplocrisy in Ethiopia

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

America is Watching!?

Diplomacy by hypocrisy is “diplocrisy”.

Edmund Burke, the British statesman and philosopher, said “Hypocrisy can afford to be magnificent in its promises, for never intending to go beyond promise, it costs nothing.” We’ve heard many promises on human rights in Africa from President Obama and his Administration over the past four years.  “We will work diligently with Ethiopia to ensure that strengthened democratic institutions and open political dialogue become a reality for the Ethiopian people…

Generational Shift May Shake Up Ethiopian Politics After Meles Zenawi

Generational Shift May Shake Up Ethiopian Politics After Meles Zenawi

I'm an Amara (እኔ አማራ ነኝ)  By Yilma Bekele April 25, 2013

"Ich bin ein Berliner."  - "I am a Berliner" Those words were spoken by President John F. Kennedy on June 26, 1963 in West Berlin. He said that to show solidarity with the people of Berlin after the East Germans with the approval of the Soviet Union erected the Berlin Wall to prevent their captive citizens from fleeing to the west.

The passage I like the most is when he said “Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was civis romanus sum ["I am a Roman citizen"]. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner!"... All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7ve9TJTx9Q&feature=player_embedded#t=8s

Malawi Police arrest six illegal immigrants from Ethiopia in Karonga

Six illegal immigrants from Ethiopia are under police custody in Malawi’s northern border district of Karonga following their arrest on Friday.

Chief Immigration Officer Hudson Mankhwala

The arrest comes few days after the police in the district nabbed 35 illegal immigrants from the same country.
Karonga Police Officer In-Charge Forster Mangani blames the influx of the illegal immigrants into Malawi on porous borders which the country has.

Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia: Letter to Ban Ki-moon

April 19, 2013
His Excellency, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
Dear Your Excellency,
Subject:  Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopia

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon

First, we, the leadership team of the undersigned Ethiopian civic and political organizations, present our compliments to Your Excellency. It is with deep anguish and regret that we should like to alert you and appeal to your office, and through your office, to the Security Council of the United Nations concerning the unprecedented level of human displacement and ethnic cleansing that is currently taking place in Ethiopia. You will agree with us that ethnic cleansing is an affront to human worth and dignity and endangers peace and stability in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. It must be halted without any delay. These recurring and well documented violations of fundamental human rights are perpetrated by the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) the ethnic-elite coalition government that has been ruling Ethiopia for the past 21 years.

ሽንፈት፤… ድል፤ ሽንፈት… (ተመስገን ደሳለኝ)

ከምሽቱ አንድ ሰአት አልፏል፤ የእጅ ስልኬ ደጋግሞ ቢጮኽም ትኩረት አልሰጠሁትም፡፡ ከጥቂት ሰከንዶች ፋታ በኋላ የቢሮዬ ስልክ ጮኸ፤ አነሳሁት፡፡ ለካስ እንዲህ በአንዱ አልመልስ ስላት፣ በሌላው እያፈራረቀች የምትደውለው ዕድሜዋ ወደ ሰባ እየተጠጋ ያለው አሮጊቷ እናቴ ኖራለች፡-

‹‹አቤት! እናቴ›› ‹‹ለምንድነው የዚህን ያህል ስልኩ ሲጮኽ የማትመልሰው?›› ቆጣ ብላ ጠየቀችኝ፡፡

‹‹አስቸኳይ ስራ ላይ ስለነበርኩ ነው›› ‹‹ኤዲያ! አንተ ደግሞ ሁል ጊዜ ጠብ ለማይል ነገር፣ ችክ ማለት ትወዳለህ›› …በእርግጥ እናቴ እውነቷን ነው! ችክ ያልኩ ቸካካ ነገር ሳልሆን አልቀርም ፡፡ ‹‹ልዕልና›› ጋዜጣ ታግዳለች፤ እንደ‹‹ፍትህ›› እና ‹‹አዲስ ታይምስ›› ሁሉ የስርዓቱ የአፈና ሰለባ ሆናለች፤ የሚገርመው ግን መታገዷ አይደለም፣ የታገደችበት መንገድ እንጂ፡፡ ከዚህ ቀደም ደጋግሜ እንደገለፅኩት አቶ መለስን የተኩት ሰዎች ከእረሱም የባሱ ጭፍን አምባገነኖች ናቸው፡፡ ማንንም አይፈሩም፡፡ እግዚአብሄርንም ቢሆን ‹‹በአብዮታዊ ዲሞክራሲ ካልተጠመቅህ አምላክ ሆነ እንድትቀጥል አንፈቅድልህም›› ከማለት አይመለሱም፡፡

........እኔ የምለው ከክልል ወደ ክልል እየተንቀሳቀሱ ለመስራት እና ለመኖር ፓስ ፖርት እና ቪዛ ማስመታት ያስፈልገናል እንዴ ? By ብሩክ ሲሳይ

እንደሚታወቀው ኢህአዴግ የሚባለው ገዢ ቡድን መንበረ ስልጣኑ ላይ ከወጣ ጀምሮ ብዙ አሳዛኝ ነገሮችን በህዝባችን እና በሀገራችን ላይ ሲፈፅም ቆይቷል አሁንም እየፈፀመ ይገኛል። ከነዚህ አሳዛኝ ነገሮች አንዱ እንደ አንድ ሀገር በአንድነት ለዘመናት ብዙ ርቀት የተጓዘን ህዝብ ወደ ኋላ በመመለስ የዘር እና ጎሳ ልዩነትን በሚያጎላ አካሄድ፤ ቋንቋን እና ዘርን መሰረት ያደረገ የከሸፈ የፌድራሊዝም አወቃቀር ስርዓት በመከተል እንደ ሀገር ብሄራዊ ስሜት እንዳይኖረን የክልል መንግስት የሚባል መዋቅር መፈጠሩ ነው። ሲመስለኝ ፌድራሊዝም በራሱ አስፈላጊ የሚሆነው እንደ ሀገር ተበታትነው በተለያየ አገዛዝ የነበሩ አካባቢወች ልዩነታቸውን በማቻቻል ወደ አንድነት መንግስት ለመምጣት ሲያስቡ እንደ መሸጋገሪያ ራስገዝ የሆነ የፌድራል ስርዓት ይመሰርታሉ፤ እነዚህን ራስ ገዝ ክልሎችም በበላይነት የሚመራና የሚቆጣጠር ከሁሉም አካባቢ የሚወከሉ አካላትን ያካተተ ማዕከላዊ መንግስት ይመሰረታል። 

የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት እስክንድር ነጋ የታሰረው በአሸባሪነቱ እንጅ በጋዜጠኝነቱ አይደለም ሲል ለአውሮፓ ህብረት መልስ ሰጠ

ኢሳት ዜና:-የኢህአዴግ አገዛዝ በእስር ላይ የሚገኘውን እውቁን ጋዜጠኛ እስክንድር ነጋን በተመለከተ  ከአውሮፓ ህብረት የፓርላማ አባላት ለቀረበት ጥያቄ በጽሁፍ በሰጠው መልስ ” እስክንድር ነጋ የጋዜጠኛነት ስራውን በመስራቱ ሳይሆን አሸባሪ ድርጅቶችን ሲረዳ በመገኘቱ ነው” የተፈረደበት ብሎአል። 

እስክንድር ነጋ በህቡእ ከሚንቀሳቀሰው ግንቦት7 ከተባለው ድርጅት ጋር ግንኙነት እንደነበረው፣  ከኤርትራ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ እየሰረጉ ለሚገቡ አሸባሪዎች ስልጠና ይሰጥ እንደነበርና ከኤርትራና ከግንቦት7 መሪዎችንም በስውር ያገኛቸው እንደነበር” ገልጿል።