Today is the 39th day since head of the ruling tribal junta, Meles Zenawi, has disappeared from the public view. The TPLF leadership is expected to make a major announcement regarding the dictator’s disappearance in the next few days, Ethiopian Review sources in Addis Ababa said today. Until then, his condition remains top secret. Very few individuals even among the TPLF Central Committee know where Meles is and whether he is dead or alive.

The Ethiopian Heritage Society in North America (EHSNA) held its 2nd annual festival in Washington DC at Georgetown University from June 27 – 29. The festival drew thousands of Ethiopians, American-Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia. Some came from as far as Seattle, Atlanta, and Canada.

The program was opened on Friday, June 27, by EHSNA President Dr Shakespeare Feyissa, and brief remarks by Prof. Maurice Jackson, Department of History, Georgetown University.

Friday’s program included reception, an art show and discussion on Ethiopian culture.

On Saturday, the main part of the Festival started with cultural shows at the Georgetown University Stadium. Families with their children came in thousands to enjoy the festival, educate their children about Ethiopian culture, meet old friends, sample Ethiopian food, and buy books and Ethiopian cultural items.

On Sunday, the main event was the cultural shows by various artists who performed songs from several Ethiopian ethnic groups, and introducing the guest of honor.

This year’s EHSNA Guest of Honor was His Grace Abune Meletsedik. EHSNA honored him for his life-time achievement, for his contribution to the preservation of Ethiopian heritage, and for strongly speaking out in defense of the human rights of all Ethiopians. His recent call on all Christians to come to the defense of Ethiopian Muslims who are being brutalized by the ruling Woyanne junta is a demonstration of his greatness as a religious father and an elder statesman.

Abune Melketsedik was received with a standing ovation and cheers when he entered the stadium accompanied by several priests and EHSNA officials. Secretary General of EHSNA, Ato Yeshitila Araya, read a brief biography of Abune Melketsedik, and Dr Shakespear Feyissa presented him with a plaque.

With highly successful events for the second year in a row, EHSNA has established itself as a great Ethiopian cultural institution that promotes Ethiopia’s 3000 years old heritage.

Ethiopian National Transitional Council officials Dr Fisseha Eshetu, Wz. Fifi Derso, Ato Dereje Demissie, and Ato Abebayehu Alula were present in person at the festival to explain the Council’s mission and answer questions.

Representatives of Ethiopian Review, ESAT and Addis Dimts Radio were also present to meet their audiences and readers in person, get feedback, and answer questions.

Congratulations for a job well done to EHSNA’s executive committee, board members, and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make the event successful. Special thanks to Georgetown University for making its facility available to the festival, and to the United States of America and the City of Washington DC for making Ethiopians feel welcomed.

Today is the 38th day since Meles Zenawi, head of the ruling junta in Ethiopia disappeared from public view. The regime says he is taking break on doctors advise in an unnamed country after getting treatment for an unspecified illness, but many believe he is either dead or incapacitated. The central committee of the ruling party, Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF), has been holding secretive meetings for the past 10 days. It is not clear who is currently running the government, but definitely it is not the deputy prime minister Hailemariam Desallegn, who is a puppet figure for this masters, Woyannes.

Today is the 37th day since Ethiopia’s brutal dictator Meles Zenawi disappeared. Only the top echelon of the ruling TPLF junta and some foreign governments know what happened to him. The people of Ethiopia, and even rank-and-file members of the ruling party, are in the dark.

To make matters worse for the regime, the ruling party, Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF), broke up its 8-day long meeting Friday because it is unable to come to an agreement on the future of the party.

[High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. UN Photo/JC McIlwaine]

(UN News Center) — The top United Nations human rights official today said she is “seriously alarmed” by the current climate of intimidation against journalists and human rights defenders in Ethiopia due to an overly broad interpretation of laws concerning terrorism and civil society in the country.“The recent sentencing of 20 Ethiopians, including prominent blogger Eskinder Nega, journalists and opposition figures, under the vague anti-terrorism law has brought into stark focus the precarious situation of journalists, human rights defenders and Government critics in the country,” the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said in a news release.Charging journalists and political opposition members with terrorism and treason charges is seriously limiting their legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association, Ms. Pillay noted, and urged the Government to review its legislation, as well as its interpretation and application by the courts.

“The overly broad definitions in the July 2009 anti-terrorism law of Ethiopia result in criminalizing the exercise of fundamental human rights,” Ms. Pillay said. “Taken together, such laws have created a climate of intimidation.”

The human rights chief emphasized that the harsh sentences handed down to journalists and the excessive restrictions placed on human rights and non-governmental organizations are stifling dissent and undermining the freedom of opinion in Ethiopia.

She also noted that, since 2009, there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of organizations working on human rights issues, particularly on civil and political rights, which she referred to as “deeply disturbing.”

“Laws to combat terrorism must be consistent with the Government’s human rights obligations under international conventions as well as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and other regional instruments to which Ethiopia is party,” Pillay said, reiterating that the United Nations is ready to help Ethiopia review its legislation.

Today is the 36th day since Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi has disappeared from the public view. The ruling Woyanne tribal junta says Meles is recovering from a minor illness, but there is a growing belief that he is dead.

A pilot who was flying top officials of a certain African country has informed Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit today that the officials have told him Meles Zenawi is dead. (Names are withheld for the pilot’s safety.)

Also today, one foreign journalist who is based in Addis Ababa told Ethiopian Review that she has received warning from Woyanne propaganda chief Bereket Simon not to write any thing about Meles Zenawi’s condition, or else face expulsion from the country.

The highly secretive TPLF meeting is continuing for the 8th day today. A major announcement is expected by early next week, according to Ethiopian Review sources.