Against all odds

The prime minister, in his outspoken speech made at Mesquel square didn't hesitate to send an important message to the opposition. He said, the EPRDF as a party tried to correct what it perceived as its shortcomings from the day the 2005 election ended. He added he expects the opposition to do the same. I tried to think about what the opposition parties may have been doing wrong. Well, there can be a lapse in my judgement for the sole reason that I haven't been in Ethiopia for quite a while to witness the reason behind the overwhelming pro-ruling party vote that has, as Mr. Zenawi himself openly admitted, surprised him when he realized the size of the outcome. What I may guess he was referring to may be that the people have confirmed what the ruling party has been saying all along that the opposition is incapable to the extent that even the voters have changed their mind about the opposition parties, specially when they got the chance to closely monitor who is who in the political arena, thanks to the debates that were promoted in a well intended national media with little or no reservation. This may be opening up a bitter reality for the opposition for the next five years. I ask, what went wrong? Has the opposition weakened since the 2005 election or has there been a social transformation in the last five years, putting in the open how controversial every issue that is affecting the country can be. I have the feeling the latter is the case. The whole scenario confirms the process of democracy has come a long way in Ethiopia, although I can unambiguously say there may be some holes in the procedure. All in all, the election has bygone putting some of us in a limbo. It is something we have to ask ourselves hard enough to come up with some form of direction that won't put the political elites in a position of being outrageously confused.

That said, I can't help but stress the crucial points where the ruling party diverted the already touchy situation to its advantage. I can name several instances where the turning points accumulated to the extent that the people have been left with little to prove otherwise:

-Although it can be controversial, the 10 or so percent annual economic growth for the past several years can be categorized as an unparalleled achievement when Sub Saharan Africa is taken into consideration.

-The idea behind making the country energy independent has become controversial in terms of possible long term environmental damage that the Hydro electric Dams can cause. The speed and the secretiveness of the initial drive for the construction helped to effectively make the possibility of having uninterrupted bright nights and most importantly managing to generate surplus energy that can produce a new export income must be something the people couldn't afford to argue.

_The recent global initiative of the prime Minister in the global political arena propped up by the AU members and major international organs helped improve the country's foreign relation that has otherwise been considered numb for a long time.

Whether those important and decisive factors were actions taken intentionally to make the election a success for the incumbent party could be very easily proven by what it does in the next five years of its ruling. The things that matter to me are whether the opposition is going to use this experience to break itself up or to come back with a better cohesion and clear vision to take advantage of what the ruling party may or may not do during the next five years of its quarter century rule. I will be with all ears and eyes to be at the war front that has allredy began anew.

Tadesse H.

The debates on neo liberalism and revolutionary democracy in Ethiopia

BY Tadesse H.
tadeth@gmail.com

At the height of the 2010 election debates, there is always the big issue that needed to be resolved by the ballot box. It is whether the country is better off with any of the two major political views once known as the leading ideologies that separated the face of the world. The remnants of socialism have developed into a face saving strategy of taking the time to achieve the goals of capitalism by curbing their own theory with a home grown approach. The theme is about adopting a revolutionary form of democracy until the time comes to practice the neo liberal vision of the west. While the ruling party, the EPRDF adheres to the procedural progressive method of developing its own constituents, the opposition parties spearheaded by EDEPA’s Lidetu Ayalew, do not hesitate to openly admire the neo liberal ideals to the extent of crediting even the food stamp system for the unemployed to prove the humanist approach of the neo liberals toward their own poor. It seemed like he knew a lot more about the American dream than most in America; the reason why he, like his peers, thinks neo liberalism can be as good as it gets to any sub Saharan countries.

Comparing Ethiopia to the neighboring countries like Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and even Somalia made it easy for the opposition to prove their points of how giving away what the ruling party thinks a matter of sovereignty, created business opportunities that widely improved the technological aspects of those countries. EPRDF likes to enjoy its own view about the rest of Africa by underscoring the major impediments of the sub Sahara countries that unconditionally adopted the full version of free market economy. It is undeniably true that the ruling party has introduced free market economy not long after it assumed power with the notion that selling away all the major economic sectors of the country to foreign investors should be handled with care. That is why the government is fully engaged in micromanaging the major departments like the electric power, telecommunication, education, and defense technology, among others. It is worried about the profits from the investments going outside rather than being reinvested in the country. Mr Bereket, the EPRDF representative, openly explained the impact that kind of policy by other African countries has had on their economy, which he claims has not showed impressive progress for quite a while. On the other hand, the opposition insists micromanaging the major sectors is a government monopoly that can hinder the economic progress because of lack of involving diversified business prospects to privately support select parts of the huge sectors. That way, it can improve employment and enhance home grown expertise to contribute to the economic growth.

I believe, taking the reality on the ground into consideration, mainly the fact that Ethiopia is 80% rural economy, it is an undeniable fact that the political choices of the country’s visionaries should strive to create a formula where bringing about equality between the rural and urban economies becomes a possibility in a short run. Only then can the country have a good feel for how vibrant its economy can be. The debates are evidently a good way of helping people get a clearer view of what is good for them. It is not only a good start but the tradition should bloom and continue.

ክቡር ሚኒስትር

ክቡር ሚኒስትር

Wednesday, 31 March 2010 10:43
(ክቡር ሚኒስትሩ ለጤናቸው በእጅጉ ይጠነቀቃሉ፡፡ ዘወትር በ"ጂም" ውስጥ ናቸው፡፡ እዚያው ጂም የተዋወቁት ሰውዬም እንደዚሁ ከጂም አይጠፉም፡፡ በጂም ውስጥ እንቅስቃሴያቸውን ሳያቋርጡ ወሬያቸውን ይኮመኩማሉ)

- እኔስ ደከመኝ ክቡር ሚኒስትር፤ እርስዎ ጠንካራ ነዎት፡፡
- በል አታቋርጥ፤ ትናንት ያነበብኩት መጽሐፍ በድንገት አታቋርጥ ይላል፡፡
- አሀ የአካል ብቃትና ጥንካሬ መጽሐፍ ለማንበብም ጊዜ አልዎት ክቡር ሚኒስትር?
- አለኝ፤ እሱ ብቻ አይደለም፤ በጎግል ውስጥ ገብቼም ስለዳይት ብዙ አነባለሁ፡፡ የአመጋገብ ሥርዓቴንም "ዳየት" ማለቴ ነው ለማስተካከል እየሞከርኩ ነኝ፡፡
- ሰዉ ግን "ቪ.ኦ.ኤ" ጃም ይደረጋልን ሲሰማ የዘመናዊ ቴክኖሎጂ ነገር የሚያስጠላችሁ ይመስለዋል፡፡
- ቪ.ኦ.ኤ ምን?
- ጃም መደረጉ፡፡
- መቸ ተደረገ? ለነገሩ ሰምቼው አላውቅም፤ ግን እነዚህ ተቃዋሚዎች የሚያወሩትን አትስማ፡፡
- ተቃዋሚዎች አይደሉም፣ኮ ያሉት፡፡ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትሩ ራሳቸው፣ ፀረ ሕዝብ ሬዲዮ ጣቢያ ስለሆነ እናደርጋለን ብለዋል፡፡
- እናደርጋለን ምን?
- "ጃም እናደርጋለን"
- ትቀልዳለህ?
- እውነቴን ነው ክቡር ሚኒስትር፡፡
- ለነገሩ እኔ አሁን አሁን ሬዲዮና ቴሌቪዥን የሚሉትን ይደብረኛል፡፡ አሁን አሁንማ "ዩ ቲ ዩብ"፣ "ማይ ስፔስ" ስልክ ከሆነም "ስካይፕ" ነው የምጠቀመው፡፡
- እና ይህ የሚባለው ነገርም አልሰሙትም ማለት ነው?
- አልሰማሁም፤ በጉጉት የምጠብቀው ሌላ ነገር እንጂ፤ እንደዚህ ዓይነቱን ወሬ አይደለም፡፡
- ምንድን ነው በጉጉት የሚጠብቁት ክቡር ሚኒስትር?
- "አይፖድ" በሚያዝያ ላይ ይወጣል ተብሎ የለ፤ ጓደኛዬ ወዲያው እንደወጣ ከአሜሪካ ላክልኝ ብዬዋለሁ፡፡
- እህ እኔም ስለ አይፖድ ሰምቻለሁ፡፡ እንዲያውም በቀደም ኢንተርኔት ካፌ ገብቼ ስለሱ ሳነብ አንዱ መጥቶ ብርቱካን ሚደቅሳ ታመመች ብሎ ሲነዘንዘኝ ትቼው ወጣሁ፡፡
- ዘመድህ ሲታመምማ አብረህ ተጨነቅ እንጂ፡፡
- ማን ዘመዴ ክቡር ሚኒስትር?
- ብርቱካን ነው ያልኩት ብርቱካን ሚደቅሳ፡፡
- ኧረ እስቲ አንድ ነገር ልጠይቅህ እነዚህ ኢንተርኔት ካፌዎች "ፋስት" ናቸው፡፡
- አንዳንዶቹ ብሮድባንድ ናቸው፡፡ ዋየርለስ ኮኔክሽን ያላቸው አሉ፡፡ አንዳንዶቹ ተራ "ዲያልአፕ" ናቸው፡፡
- እኔ ኢቪዶ (EVDO) ነው የምወደው፡፡
- እርስዎ እንዴት ስለዘመናዊ ነገሮች እንዳወቁ ገርሞኛል፡፡
- አያመልጠኝም፡፡ ጓደኞቼም አዳዲስ ነገር ሲኖር "ፎርዎርድ" ያደርጉልኛል፡፡
- የኔ ጓደኞቼም ፎርዎርድ ያደርጉልኛል ብዙ ነገር". እንዲያውም ትናንት ማታ ጋዜጠኞች ሊከተሉት ስለሚገባ የምርጫ ሥነ ምግባር ደንብ ልከውልኛል፡፡
- የሥነ ምግባር ኮሚሽን ያወጣው ነው?
- ማን ነው የሥነ ምግባር ኮሚሽን፤ ክቡር ሚኒስትር?
- ይቅርታ፤ ይቅርታ የሥነ ምግባርና ፀረ ሙስና ኮሚሽን ማለቴ ነው፡፡
- የምርጫ ቦርድ ያወጣው እንጂ፡፡
- የምርጫ ኮሚሽን ምን አወጣ?
- የምርጫ ኮሚሽን ሳይሆን የምርጫ ቦርድ
- ዋት ኤቨር
- ክቡር ሚኒስትር "ቢዚ" ስለሆኑ ነው መሰለኝ፤ አንዳንድ የአገራችን ሁኔታ የማይከታተሉት?
- በጣም፣ በጣም ቢዝ ነኝ፡፡ እውነቴን ነው፤ የማርፈው እዚህ ጂም ስመጣ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ይገርምሃል ባለፈው ለስብሰባ ለንደን ሄጀ ያየሁት ጂም ዋው ጂም ብሎ ዝም ነው፡፡
- አንድ ጓደኛዬ ትልቅ ጂም ሊገነባ ሥራውን ጀምሮ የሲሚንቶ ዋጋ በመናሩ ተወው፡፡
- አትስነፍ፤ በአሉሚኒየም ብቻ ሥራው፤ በሲሚንቶ አታማሀኝ በለው፡፡
- ለአሉሚንየም የሚሆን የውጭ ምንዛሪ የት አለና ክቡር ሚኒስትር?
- ባንክ መጠየቅ ነዋ!
- ባንኩስ የት አለውና ክቡር ሚኒስትር?
- እንዴ ከቡናውና ከቆዳው ሌላ አሁንማ የአበባ ኤክስፖርት ጨምረንበት የለ እንዴ፤ እንዲያውም አበባ ስል አንድ ነገር አስታወስኩ፡፡ በ"ቫላንታይን ዴይ" ለባለቤቴ አበባ ልገዛላት ከአበባ ሱቅ ውስጥ ገብቼ ያየሁት የአበባ ዓይነት፣ ኢትዮጵያ እንዴት ተለውጣለች አሰኝቶኛል፡፡ እንዲያውም አበባ ብሎ ዝም ነው፡፡
- ርስዎ በሌላ ዓለም ውስጥ ነው የሚኖሩት፣ ክቡር ሚኒስትር፡፡
- እንዴት?
- ሌላው ስለ ከሰል፣ ቆሎና ጎመን ሲጨነቅ ይውላል ርስዎ ስለ ሌላ ሌላ ነው፡፡
- ሞደርን መሆንማ አለብን፡፡
- ሁሉም እንደዚያ ቢያስብ ጥሩ ነዋ ክቡር ሚኒስትር፡፡
- ሁሉም ስትል?
- ሁሉም ባለሥልጣን ማለቴ ነው፡፡
- አያስብም ብለህ ነው? የቀለበት መንገድ መሥራት፣ኮ ዘመናዊነትን የመፈለግ ምልክት ነው፡፡
- ነው፤ ግን በቀለበት መንገድ ብቻ ሳይሆን በሁሉም ይሁን ማለቴ ነው፡፡
- ብቻ ውሎዬ ከሥራ-ጂም-ቤት ". ከቤት--ሥራ-ጂም ነው፤ ኑሮዬ ከሰዎች ጋር ብዙ አላቀላቀለኝም፡፡
- የጋራ ስብሰባ አላችሁ አይደል?
- አዎን አለን፡፡
- እኮ እዚያ ሐሳብ ለሃሳብ ስትለዋወጡ ስለዘመናዊነት ታነሳላችሁ ወይ ማለቴ ነው?
- ውይ ውይ አሁንስ ደከመኝ፤ ትንሽ ልረፍ፤ እንዲያውም "ሻወር" ልውሰድ፡፡
- እኔም በቃኝ ክቡር ሚኒስትር፤ ነገ አገር ውስጥ ገቢ እየተጣለሁ ስለምውል፣ በጊዜ ሄጄ ልተኛ፡፡
- ለምን ትጣላለህ?
- በታክስ ነዋ፡፡
- እንዲያውም ካናዳ፣ኮ ታክስ ራሱ "ሃራሞኒ ታክስ" ይሉታል እንጂ እንደኛ "ቫት" አይሉትም፡፡ "ሃርሞኒ ታክስ" ስሙ ደስ አይልም?
- ስሙማ ደስ ይላል፡፡
- በል በል ሻወር ልውሰድ ቻው፤ በዚያው ቤቴ መሄዴ ነው፡፡
- ቻው ክቡር ሚኒስትር፡፡




(ክቡር ሚኒስትር ቤት ደረሱ፤ ባለቤታቸው በሳሎን ተቀምጠው ቴሌቪዥን ይከታተላሉ)


- ላኩልን እንዴ?
- ምንድን ነው የሚልኩልን?
- የሠርጋቸውን ቪዲዮ ነዋ፡፡
- ለምን ጠየቅክ?
- በጥሞና ስትከታተይ ነዋ ቴሌቪዥን እንደዚህ ስትከታተይ አይቼሽ አላውቅም፡፡ ያውም የእኛ ቴሌቪዥን፡፡
- የናንተውን ጣጣ እየሰማሁ ነዋ፡፡
- ምን የእኛ ጣጣ?
- የፓርቲዎች የክርክር መድረክ ነው የምትሉት?
- እ" እሱ ነው እንደዚህ ያሳሰበሽ?
- የአገሬ ጉዳይ እያሳሰበኝ ስለመጣ ነው፡፡
- ምንም የሚያሳስብ የለም፡፡
- አንተ አታስብም፤ እኔ ግን አስባለሁ፡፡
- ሚኒስትር ስለ አገሩ አያስብም?
- አንተ አታስብም፤ አንዳንዴ፣ኮ ግርም ይለኛል፡፡
- ለምንድን ነው የሚገርምሽ?
- ምን አይተው አንተን ሚኒስትር እንዳደረጉህ አይገባኝም፡፡
- የማልሆንበት አንድ ምክንያት አቅርቢ?
- በየዕለቱ በአገር ውስጥ ስለሚደረገውና ስለሚነገረው ነገር እንኳ አታውቅም፡፡
- እኔ ጋዜጠኛ አይደለሁ፣ ቃል አቀባይ አይደለሁ፡፡
- ቃል ባታቀብልም፣ኮ ቃል መቀበል አለብህ፡፡
- ቃል የምቀበል ወሬኛ አይደለሁማ፡፡
- ፓርቲህ ምን እያለ እንደሆነም ማወቅ አትፈልግማ፡፡
- ፓርቲዬ ምን እንደሚልማ ከፕሮግራሙ አውቀዋለሁ፡፡
- ከጂም ፕሮግራም በላይ የፓርቲህ ፕሮግራም የምታውቅ አይመስለኝም፡፡
- የማላውቀው ነገረኛነትን መጀመርሽ ነው፡፡
- እሺ በቃ፡፡
- ምነው ተናደድሽ?
- ይኸውልህ፣ ሁሉም አሁን በኢትዮጵያ ላይ ተረባርቧል፡፡
- ምን እያለ?
- ሰብዓዊ መብት ተጣሰ፤ ተቃዋሚዎች ታፈኑ፤ መገናኛ ብዙኀን ተሸማቀቀ፤ ታፈነ፤ ርዳታ የመሣርያ መግዣ ሆነ፤ ወዘተ. ምን የማይሉት አለ፡፡
- ለሁሉም መልስ የሚሰጥ አለ፤ አትጨነቂ፡፡
- መልስ አሰጣጡም፣ኮ ቅጥ የሌለው ሆነ፡፡
- ውድ ባለቤቴ እንዴት ነው ቅጥ የሌለው የሆነው?
- "ክቡር ሚኒስትር"፣ መልሳችሁ እኮ አዎን ጂም እናደርጋለን የሚል ሆነ፡፡ መልስ ሰጠን ብላችሁ ላልሰማው ታሰማላችሁ፡፡ እነሱ ስለ ሰብዓዊ መብት በኢንተርኔት ያሰራጩትን እናንተ በቴሌቪዥን ታስተጋባላችሁ፡፡
- አትጨነቂ፡፡
- በቃ አንተ ኃላፊነት ተሰጥቶህም ትንሽ አይከብድህም?
- አይከብደኝም፡፡
- እንዴት አይከብድህም? አገር ሲወቀስ ሲወነጀል?
- "ግመሉ ይጓዛል፤ ውሾቹ ይጮሃሉ" ይባል የለ፡፡
- ነገ፣ "ግመሉ ይጓዝ ነበር፤ ውሾቹ ግን ነክሰው አቆሰሉት" ቢባልስ?
- ለማቁሰል ጥርስ ያስፈልጋል፡፡
- ሊያቆስሉ አስበው ነበር፤ ብላችሁ ስትከሱ አልነበረም ወይ?
- "ነበር" ሌላ፣ "ነው" ሌላ፡፡
- እሺ ካላችሁ እሺ፡፡
- ለመሆኑ ክርክራቸው ጥሩ ነበር?
- ጥሩ ቢሆን ኖሮማ ባልተጨነቅኩ ነበር፡፡
- የማትጨነቂበት ዘዴን አስቢ፤ ፍጠሪ፡፡
- መከተሉን ስለማልፈልግ እንጂ፤ ዘዴው፣ኮ ቀላል ነው፡፡
- ምን የሚሉት ዘዴ ነው?
- "ገደል ግቡ" የሚል ዘዴ፡፡
- ለምን ገደል ግቡ ትይናለሽ?
- ገደል ግቡ ስለምትሉን ነዋ!


(ነገሩ ደስ አላላቸውም፤ ከመኝታ ቤት ገቡ፡፡ ጥዋት ተነሥተው ቢሮ ሲገቡ አስቸኳይ መልዕክት ከፀሐፊያቸው ተሰጣቸው)


- እስቲ ስጪኝ የምን አስቸኳይ መልዕክት ነው፡፡
- ይኸው (ፀሐፊዋ የታሸገው ፖስታ ሰጠቻቸውና ወጣች)
- እ... እንዴ... እ... እንዴ... እኔ እንደዚህ አልኩ እንዴ... እ... ኧረ እኔ እንደዚህ አላደረግኩም". እ (ክቡር ሚኒስትሩ አነበቡ አነበቡና ወደ ላከላቸው አካል ስልክ ደወሉ)
- ሀሎ፡፡
- አቤት ክቡር ሚኒስትር፡፡
- አንድ አስቸኳይ መልዕክት ደርሶኝ እያነበብኩት ነው፤ እንዲያውም ጨርሸዋለሁ፡፡
- እንግዳውስ መልሱን በአስቸኳይ ያዘጋጁና መጥተው ማብራርያ ይሰጣሉ፡፡
- እ...
- ይኸውልዎት ክቡር ሚኒስትር፤ ይህ የእኛ ወይም የእኔ መመርያ ወይም ትዕዛዝ አይደለም፡፡ ጥብቅ ትዕዛዝ ተብሎ ከበላይ የመጣልዎት ነው፡፡ ነገ ጥዋት ለጽሑፍም ሆነ ለቃል ማብራርያም ተዘጋጅተው ይምጡ፡፡
- እሺ፡፡


(በተባለው ሰዓት በተባለው ቦታ መልሳቸውን በጽሑፍ አዘጋጅተው ከሰጡ በኋላ የቃል ማጣርያና ማብራርያ፣ ጥያቄና መልስ ለበላይ አካል መስጠት ጀመሩ)


- ስለተሰጠህ ሥልጣን ኃላፊነት በዝርዝር ተሰጥቶህ ነበር?
- አዎን፡፡
- በዚያው መሰረት እየፈጸምክ ነውን?
- እ... በተቻለኝ መጠን እየሞከርኩ ነኝ፡፡
- ለሥራህ የሚጠቅምህ አስፈላጊ እውቀት እንድትቀስም አሜሪካ ለሁለት ሳምንታት ተልከህ ነበር፡፡
- አዎን፡፡
- የሚጠበቅብህን ፈጸምክ? እንድትሄድ የተፈለገው ቦስተን፣ ኒውዮርክና ዋሽንግተን ነበር፤ አንተ ግን ሆሊውድ ማለት፣ ሎስ አንጀለስ፣ ከዚያም ላስ ቬጋስ ሄድክ በሕዝብ ገንዘብ በሕዝብ ጊዜ ቀለድክ፡፡
- መልስ አለህ?
- የለኝም፡፡
- ለንደን ሄደህ ምን እንደምታደርግና ስብሰባም የት እንደምታደርግም በግልጽ ተነግሮህ ነበር፡፡
- አዎን፡፡
- አንተ ግን ስታንፎርድ ብሪጅ ስታዲየም ገብተህ፣ የኢንተር ሚላንና የቸልሲን የእግር ኳስ ጨዋታ ታይ ነበር፡፡
- ሰውዬው ትኬት ሲገዙልኝ ገባሁ፤ አዎን ስህተት ነው፡፡
- የውጭ ድርጅቶችን ስታገኝ ማቅረብ የሚገባህ መከራከርያ ነጥብና መጠበቅ ያለብህ ምስጢርም በግልጽ መመርያ ተነግሮህ ነበር
- አዎን
- በመጨረሻው ግን እንኳን አገርህን ወክለህ ልትከራከርና ምስጢር ልትጠብቅ ጭራሹንም የአገርን ምስጢራዊ ሰነድ አሳልፈህ ሰጠህ፤ ሽጠህም መጣህ፡፡
- እንመልስልሃለን ብለው ነበር የወሰዱት፤ ኦርጂናል ሳይሆን ፎቶ ኮፒውን ነበር የሰጠኋቸው፡፡
- ቁም ነገሩ ወረቀቱ የያዘው ምስጢር እንጂ፤ ፎቶ ኮፒ መሆኑ አይደለም፡፡ የተባልከው የአገር ይዘትና ምስጢር ሸጠሃል ነው፡፡
- እ...
- እንደሸጥክ ማስረጃ ትፈልጋለህ? ወይስ ማስረጃ እንዳለ አንተም ታውቀዋለህ?
- ይቅርታ አጥፍቻለሁ፤ እንዲያውም እኔም ከነሱ ሊስት ውስጥ መግባት እንዳለብኝ አምናለሁ፡፡
- የምን ሊስት?
- ከምርጫ በኋላ ከስልጣን ከሚነሡት ሚኒስትሮች ሊስት፡፡
- ከሊስት ውስጥ ገብተሃል... ግን ከሚነሡት ሊስት አይደለም፡፡
- ከምን ሊስት ነው ታዲያ?
- ከሚታሰሩት

ሪፖርተር

Berhanu Nega becomes Shaebia’s agent in America

        Berhanu Nega becomes Shaebia’s agent in America PDF Print E-mail

Written by Administrator
Wednesday, 06 January 2010 12:53

Issaya Aferworki intended to use Berhanu Nega to help him in realizing his dream of disturbing the upcoming Ethiopian National Election, according to officials closed to Issayas.
The plan includes using few disenchanted Diasporas and the likes from within and abroad for other terrorist activities.

The sources disclosed that Isayas wants Berhanu Nega to act as his agent with regard to mobilizing few disenchanted Diasporas and to recruit few others from within the country in order to conduct terrorism, chaos and anarchy within the country with the intention of disrupting, upsetting and baffling the upcoming national election, according to sources from close security officials of Isayas.

According to the source, a confidential letter has personally been handed over to Berhanu Nega who is now residing in the USA by a top Eritrean security personally.

Some political analysts said that Isayas has decorated Berhanu Nega as his personal agent for conducting his order on his behalf that will add up to his wanted warrant and will be another higher belt of terrorism and anarchy...More Story

British, Ethiopian PMs, UN meet over $100 billion ’climate fund’

       British, Ethiopian PMs, UN meet over $100 billion ’climate fund’ PDF Print E-mail

Written by Administrator
Thursday, 01 April 2010 13:29

London (United Kingdom) The first meeting of the UN-instituted ’climate fund group’, kicked off in London with Britain offering to sign a new Kyoto Treaty as developing countries’ demand ; urging those nations to play their parts by enshrining their commitments to tackling global warming in international law.

The move came as the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his visiting Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi, held prolonged talks, on Wednesday, with billionaire financier George Soros, United States president Obama’s economic adviser Larry Summers ; as well as other renown economists and finance ministers ; aimed at finding ways to raise £20bn a year immediately to enable developing countries to adapt to climate change...

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The high-level advisory group on climate change financing, convened by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and chaired by Prime Ministers Brown Meles Zenawi, will consider at least six ways of raising $100 billion a year by 2020 ; and $1trilion for climate change adaptation.

BBC News - Ethiopia launches electric car despite power shortages

Ethiopia has launched an electric car, despite suffering from power shortages. It is only the second African country to do so, after South Africa.

Two versions of the Solaris Elettra will be manufactured in Addis Ababa, costing around $12,000 and $15,000.

The cars will be sold in Ethiopia and exported to Africa and Europe.

But some doubt if Africa, where erratic power supplies, low levels of personal wealth and poor infrastructure are common, is ready for electric cars.

Carlo Pironti, general manager of Freestyle PLC, the company producing the Solaris, told the BBC's Uduak Amimo in Addis Ababa that Ethiopia's electricity shortages were not a...

The Force of Water, the Power of Words

By CHARLES ISHERWOOD
Published: March 29, 2010

If words were water, the drought problems so lengthily discussed in the new play by Kia Corthron, “A Cool Dip in the Barren Saharan Crick,” would evaporate pretty quickly. The title alone would suffice for a sponge bath. The subject of water actually consumes a large portion of the dialogue in this venturesome but disjointed drama about a young African man studying theology and ecology, and the American family that harbors him during his college years...
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Ethiopia blasts US for report on rights record - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

Ethiopia reacts fierce to US report on rights abuse

Mar 27, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Ethiopian government on Saturday blasted the 2009 US State Department Human Rights Report downplaying it as a smear campaign compiled in collaboration with destructive forces and terrorist-designated groups.

In a statement released today, the Ethiopian government said that the report is groundless based on false allegations aimed to blow-out the image of the country.

The 2009 human rights report by the U.S. state department, accuses Prime minister Meles Zenawi-led government of illegal detention, killings, arrests, torture, violation of press and religious freedom, intermediating and restricting rights of opposition members.

The Ethiopian government in a statement put out today however said that, despite issued as a new report, majority of the contents in the report were copied from the previous reports which the Ethiopian government already gave detailed evidence to the contrary.

"Some 76 percent of the 2009 report is carbon copy of 2008 similar report while 21 percent of it is slightly modified newly fabricated allegations. Some 14 percent of the report is seemingly new issues," The statement said. The US department report has accused Ethiopia of detaining hundreds of political prisoners, which Ethiopia instead says are terrorists.

"The report is naming the Oromo National Liberation Front (ONLF) members who killed 65 Ethiopians and eight Chinese innocent civilians at Ogaden area as political prisoners," it said, adding "the report dares to undermine the peace and security issues in Ethiopia."

The Ethiopian government statement noted that the detained ONLF members were put under custody due court process unlike detentions of the US government to terrorists in Guantanamo which it said lucks court process.

"In paradox, the US government has not named as political prisoners the suspects who engaged in the terrorist attack on Sept. 11 detained at Guantanamo without due court process."

"However, the report narrated to the contrary which clearly depicted that the US government is using double standard. It added the US government is trying to disguise the reality deliberately."

The report was based on claims from groups Ethiopia considers as terrorist groups, some legal opposition parties and other indigenous and international organizations, Addis Ababa said.

"The Ethiopian government realized that the relations of the US government and these organizations is an ordinary plot for their shared benefits as the proverb runs scratch mine I scratch yours."...Full story

Stable Ethiopia now needs international and local support - Scotsman.com News

Published Date: 29 March 2010

By Charles Tannock
TWO decades ago, Ethiopia was a Cold War battlefield. On the ideological map of the world, it was Soviet territory, a land of famine, dictatorship and civil war. But, with the overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam's Marxist-Leninist dictatorship in 1991, Ethiopia began to transform itself. Today, it ranks among the five fastest-growing economies in the world and is a bastion of regional stability.
That stability matters, because the Horn of Africa is becoming a security headache once again. If the region is to be stabilised, Ethiopia will need to play a key part.

Besides the never-ending anarchy of neighbouring Somalia, the regional challen
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ges facing Ethiopia and its long-serving prime minister, Meles Zenawi, are daunting. The country remains on a war footing with Eritrea over the disputed border village of Badme. The peace deal between the government and the former rebel SPLM is unravelling fast in neighbouring Sudan, where a scheduled referendum in the south in January 2011 on secession and independence – part of the 2005 peace deal – may provoke a return to all-out war.

Further south, Kenya remains scarred by the aftermath of post-election violence, and its constitutional review process could lead to yet more bloodshed. Moreover, Ethiopia's proximity to strife-torn Yemen just across the Red Sea is complicating the country's foreign policy because of its role in working to keep Somalia out of Islamist control.

Despite these myriad problems – or perhaps because of them – Ethiopia has an opportunity to emerge as the undisputed regional leader. Though landlocked, Ethiopia is comparatively well endowed with natural resources, not least its fertile farmland. A final settlement of the lengthy dispute with Egypt over the waters of the Blue Nile appears to be in sight, and could have a powerful impact on economic growth.

But, despite Ethiopia's progress, the international community has been reluctant to view the country as a strategic partner. Of course, Ethiopia has its problems, but these should be seen in an African context. The human-rights situation could undoubtedly be improved – in particular, the treatment of the political opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa – but Isaias Afwerki's regime in Eritrea is far worse....Read full story

U.S. lawmakers concerned over political conditions

Jim Fisher-Thompson I March 28, 2010

Key U.S. lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, have expressed concern for political conditions in Ethiopia, citing authoritarian tendencies by its government as well as human rights abuses such as the continued detention of a prominent opposition leader.

Leading off a March 24 hearing on U.S. policy toward Africa, Representative Donald Payne (Democrat, New Jersey), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, said of the ruling party, "I am deeply concerned and troubled about the deteriorating [political] conditions in Ethiopia. The EPRDF [Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front] is becoming increasingly totalitarian."

The chairman said he was particularly bothered by the Ethiopian government's recent jamming of Voice of America (VOA) broadcasts after the government unjustly compared the official U.S. broadcasting agency to the Rwandan hate radio station Milles Collines. Payne said the Rwandan station was "used by those who committed the Rwandan genocide" in 1994.

The panel's highest-ranking Republican, Representative Chris Smith (New Jersey), added, "Unfortunately, Prime Minister Meles [Zenawi] shows deteriorating signs of human rights practices."

Payne expressed special concern for Birtukan Mideksa, a former Ethiopian judge and opposition leader convicted in 2005 of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order and sentenced to life in prison. She was pardoned in 2007, but rearrested and her sentence reinstated in December 2008.

According to the recently released State Department 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Birtukan, who led the opposition UDJ (Unity for Democracy and Justice) party, was "held in solitary confinement until June, despite a court ruling that indicated it was a violation of her constitutional rights. She was also denied access to visitors except for a few close family members, despite a court order granting visitor access without restrictions.".......................Read More