Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (AFP) – The European Union has given Ethiopia’s dictatorship €251m (US$329 million) in aid to boost development projects across the Horn of Africa nation, the government said on Friday.
The agreement was signed on Thursday by the bloc’s Director of Aid to sub-saharan Africa, Carribean and Pacific regions Gary Quince and Ethiopia’s Finance and Economic Development Minister Sufian Ahmed.
“The grant will be used for development assistance through road sector policy support… forest management and to implement some other development activities,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
The EU is one of the top development contributors to the Woyanne brutal regime in {www:Ethiopia), an impoverished country of 77 million and among the world’s top aid recipients.
11 thoughts on “European Union gives $320 million to Woyanne”
the reason the europeans and the world bank assisting the weyane regime is becuase it is bankrupt and the country is completely out of cash. to avoid chaos leading to civil war since there is no organized group to immediatly take over and keep the peace – a little oxgeon was needed until…..
At a time when the regime in Addis is facing a chorus of condemnation from the international community for the increasingly dictatorial measures it is taking against citizens, civic organisations and communities in Ethiopia, EU’s financial support to Meles Zenawi, shows EU’s total disregard to the concerns of credible human rights agencies, a number of legislators in US and EU and the people of Ethiopia.
The European Union knows well that the surest way to development is enabling citizens to live and work in an atmosphere where their freedom and rights are respected and the rule of law and good governance are established. Seen in this context, what Ethiopians need from the EU is not handout given in the name of the poor that ultimately ends up in the pockets of corrupt officials.
To the frustration of the Ethiopian people, the European Union, a family of nations that are bound together by their faith in the power of human freedom to sustain development, peace and cooperation, has been turning a blind eye to the suppression of freedom in Ethiopia and repeatedly it has shown its willingness to shore up one of Africa’s brutal dictators.
As far AS I concerned this glaring contradiction between what the EU believes to be good for its union members and what it practices in Ethiopia is a sign indicating the existing racial bias within the institution of the European Union that sees the values of freedom and democracy to be less important to Ethiopians than Europeans. This is the only explanation we can think of as to why the EU decides to hand out a grant worth 251 million Euros to the Meles regime without any precondition that demands a halt to political repression, release of all political prisoners, opening up of the political space to the opposition and the establishment of the rule of law in Ethöpia i strongly urges the EU to review its practices and its recent decision to give 251 million Euros to the dictatorial regime of Meles Zenawi. I also calls upon the European Union to stand with the Ethiopian people in their fight for freedom, democracy and the respect of human rights.
Longn live Ethiopia and Ethiopian people.
Metasebia Desta Tekla mariam
Meles and his gangsters must have spent time and money to convince ambassadors of European countries. If Meles were a good-hearted leader it would have been a good thing. But to give money unconditionally, with no over site to a dictator who doesn’t even allow Human Rights Workers and Amnesty International to operate in Ethiopia is despicable. It is obvious that the members of EU do not care about what Ethiopians going through under dictator Meles.
Elias how development aid goes to woyane?you said “The EU is one of the top development contributors to the Woyanne brutal regime in Ethiopia, an impoverished country of 77 million and among the world’s top aid recipients.” This aid helps to build roads,schools and other social services monitored by EU themselves. How come you are unhappy about it?
EU and US are the two political entities that are giving the Woyanne regime the necessary life to prolong the oppression against the Ethiopian majority.
“an impoverished country of 77 million”, what does this labeling mean by these bastard french frogs mean ?
Seems they have no respect, we have not respect for the french either.
Thank You EU. Keep it flowing!!!
How human rights protection,democracy and rule of low? Dont Ethiopians deserve all these?
How about the re-incarceration of Birtukan Mideksa?
The EU should have extended the assistance with the strings attached–human rights protection and the rule of law.Otherwise it’s simply a pomposity and money would enrich Woyanne officials.
The give-away money by the European Union purported to help the needy Ethiopians has put many of us in the diaspora in great suspicions that the money ($329 million) may not rich out to the poor in Ethiopia once it is thrown into Meles’ pockets with many holes in them.
Our suspicions are firmly grounded on the avaricious nature of Meles Seitanawi for hastily grabbing money that comes to him from any quarters of the world.
Recently, he has authorized a new law to curve the flow of foreign money to Ethiopia to help the various organizations that are actively helping the Ethiopian people. He wants to know the sources of the money and whether the money is used for political purposes that, he thinks, undermine his evil ambition to stay in power for a long time until he is ousted by the people of Ethiopia.
For Meles Seitanawi money is everything: power, fame, pleasure, wine, women, propagation, and strong friendships with the West.
Who can argue money is bad to posses especially at this frightening time when the world economy is vibrating from its main foundation – capitalism. In fact, some people in Ethiopia say: “genzeb kalle, besemy minged alle.” If there is money, there is a way to heaven. On the other hand, Saint Paul says: “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1st Timothy 6:10).
This is the whole point that Meles and his wife Azeb Mesfin love money too much, and this kind of love of money is indeed the root of all evil: hidden and open murder, bribery, nepotism, adultery, and larceny.
Almost all countries love Ethiopia and its people, and its ancient history; especially the Americans and the Europeans always want to help Ethiopia, economically, educationally, religiously, and, to some extent, politically.
Economically, they have sent millions of money to Ethiopia during the time of Emperor Haile Selassie, in the event of that disastrous famine of 1980s, and even now in our time in the Meles regime. However, with all the help they get from the West, the Ethiopian leaders have lacked transparency how they have used all the money they have received from the western nations; particularly, Meles Seitanawi deserves to be reprimanded, persecuted, and sent to jail for openly bankrupting the country and putting the entire Ethiopian nation into poverty where there is no return to prosperity as far as the current corrupt Woyanne regime remains in power.
Educationally, the West has helped many young Ethiopian boys and girls in bringing them to the West and educating them so that when they return to their country they can serve their people in various levels of their trainings: in leadership, in healthcare, in education, in engineering, in planning, and in advocating democracy and the rule of law. That was the goal of most of us – to go back to our country and serve our people after we got our education here in the West, but it didn’t work out that way. Most of us preferred to stay in the West and save our lives to going to Ethiopia and end up in Kaliti jail.
Religiously, the West has been sending its missionaries to Ethiopia and those missionaries have helped many Ethiopian children by offering them free education, free healthcare, and free scholarship to the West for higher education.
When I was learning church education, particularly Zema, at Wahir Stephanos, Debre-tabor, my clothes worn out, so I went to Belesa, north of Debre-tabor, a two-day journey, to pick up some cottons and by selling those cottons to buy sheep skins for my clothes (debelo). Unfortunately while I was at Belesa, I contracted a very contagious disease called in Amharic “telalafie beshita.” Immediately I went to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital at Debre-tabor, and a Norwegian Doctor confirmed that I had contracted a telalafie beshita, so he treated me freely, and within a week, I was cured from my telalafie beshita or thelolta in Tigrigna, and I went back to continue my church education.
If those Western missionaries, in this case, the Adventist Hospital, had not been there, I wouldn’t be here today and write this short comment in the well-respected ER Magazine.
Politically, the west has failed, if not totally, to help Ethiopia to have a democratically elected president to lead the Ethiopian people into the 21st century. In this area, the West has in fact exacerbated the doubts the Ethiopian people have about the western donation that has benefited the Woyanne regime instead of the needy Ethiopians.
I hope in the coming election, next year, the West would donate millions of money to the Ethiopian opposition party, help that party win the election in a land slide, free all the political prisoners, and deny political asylum to Meles Seitanawi and his political gangs.
if you accusing the Ethiopian officials taking money from the people, come up with some kind of tangable evidence. otherwise just watch when the developments are going.
What else is new? For several years now Ethiopians have implored and pleaded with the EU, the World Bank and the IMF and drawn their attention to what the Meles rule is doing to our country, Ethiopia and to its people. We only asked – nothing more or nothing less – other than their consideration to re-think objectively the financial support they have so generously provided for several years to the government of Meles Zenawi. They have however chosen to block their ears and treat the people of Ethiopia with contempt.
They are immune to the Ethiopian people’s sufferings under Meles’ cruel and despotic rule. This leads to the assumption that there is more to their relationship with the Meles government. Otherwise why is Meles being given a blank check without any accountability? During previous Ethiopian governments, every penny had to be accounted for! It is assumed that all they are concerned with is rubbing each others’ backs. It is no secret that the Meles government is one of the most corrupt in the African continent: Ethiopia ranks no. 134 out of 163 countries (check out Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index 2006). Could there be some mutual dispensation of “sweeteners” to bolster partnerships. It is time for Ethiopians to smell the coffee! It seems nowadays that no one is immune to such practices and the sad part of it is that it is the poor people who suffer all along. Haven’t we recently been made aware that the crisis in the banking industry bears testimony that greed does not discriminate? The saddest aspect to this travesty is who will bear the responsibility for the debt – the children, the grandchildren etc. etc……..?