The Reporter in its latest edition reports that Sheraton Addis, which is owned by Ethiopia’s billionaire businessman [and drunkard womanizer] Ato Mohammed Al Amoudi may be put on the auction block to pay for 170 million birr debt that the parent company, Midrock, owes to the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
The Reporter’s editor, Amare Aregawi, who almost died after he was savagely attacked last month by three thugs who were suspected of being hired by Al Amoudi, is going after the billionaire with a vengeance. Both Al Amoudi and Amare are registered and high-profile members of the ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne). So this is nothing more than a feud among a family of thieves.
ሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን ብድሩን ባለመክፈሉ ዋስትናው ሸራተን በሐራጅ አደጋ ላይ ነው
ሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን ከኢትዮጵያ ንግድ ባንክ ከ170 ሚሊዮን ብር በላይ ብድር ወስዶ ባለመመለሱ በዋስትና በተያዘው ንብረት ላይ የሐራጅ ጨረታ ለማውጣት ባንኩ መቸገሩን፣ ችግሩን ለመፍታት የመንግሥት ጣልቃ ገብነት እንደሚያስፈልግ ተጠቆመ፡፡
ለጉዳዩ ቅርበት ያላቸው የባንኩ አንድ የሥራ ኀላፊ ለሪፖርተር ጋዜጣ እንዳረጋገጡት ሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን ብድሩን ሲወስድ በዋስትና ያስያዘው ሸራተን ሆቴልን ነው፡፡ ሚድሮክ ከባንኩ ወስዶ ያልመለሰው ብድር እስከ ሰኔ 30 ቀን 2000 ዓ.ም ድረስ ከ170 ሚሊዮን ብር በላይ መሆኑን ያረጋገጠው ምንጫችን ስለብድሩ አከፋፈል ጉዳይ በተደጋጋሚ ባንኩ ለሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን ደብዳቤ ቢፅፍም አንድም ጊዜ ምላሽ ማግኘት አልቻለም፡፡ለሌሎች ባለሀብቶች በማይደረግ መልኩ ሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን ብድሩን እንዲከፍል የማስታመም ያህል ባንኩ በተደጋጋሚ ደብዳቤ ቢፅፍም ብድሩ የማይመለስበት ምክንያት እንኳን ተጠቅሶ መልስ ማግኘት አለመቻሉ ትልቁ ችግር መሆኑን ምንጫችን ገልፀዋል፡፡
አንድ ተበዳሪ ብድሩን መመለስ ካልቻለ በሕጉ መሠረት የ30 ቀናት ማስጠንቀቂያ ተሰጥቶት ማስከፈል ካልሆነም በዋስትና ያስያዘውን ንብረት በሐራጅ ለጨረታ እንደሚቀርብ ኀላፊው ጠቁመው በሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን ጉዳይ ባንኩ በዋስትና የያዘውን ሸራተን ሆቴል ላይ የሐራጅ ጨረታ አውጥቶ መሸጥ የነበረበት ቢሆንም ይህንን ለመወሰን ድፍረት ማጣቱን ጠቁመዋል፡፡ በመሆኑም መንግሥት በጉዳዩ ጣልቃ ገብቶ አንድ ውሣኔ ይሰጣል ተብሎ እየተጠበቀ መሆኑን ተናግረዋል፡፡
ሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን 107 ሚሊዮን ብር የሚደርስ የኪራይና የብረት ዋጋ ዕዳ አለመክፈሉን እንዲሁም በአዲስ አበባ ከመገናኛ እስከ ሐያት የወሰደውን የ190 ሚሊዮን ብር የመንገድ ሥራ ፕሮጀክት በወቅቱ ማጠናቀቅ ባመቻሉ ፕሮጀክቱን መነጠቁን በተለያየ ጊዜ መዘገባችን ይታወሳል፡፡
ሸራተን አዲስ ሆቴል ከሚድሮክ ኮንስትራክሽን በእጥፍ የሚበልጥ ገንዘብ ከኢትዮጵያ ንግድ ባንክ ብድር መውሰዱም የሚታወስ ነው፡፡
MOGADISHU (AFP) — On Monday, witnesses in Mogadishu said they saw AU peacekeepers (troops from Uganda) replacing some Ethiopian Woyanne troops in southern Mogadishu.
“I saw a convoy of AU peacekeepers entering the former military academy of Jalle Siad where Ethiopians are usually stationed and they seemed to be replacing the Ethiopian forces,” local resident Abdulahi Mohamed said.
An AMISOM spokesman confirmed that a rotation was underway but refused to provide further details.
“It’s something we had planned because AU peacekeepers have to make sure that the Djibouti peace deal is implemented and that is why we deployed our forces around new locations in the capital,” he said.
The new AMISOM positions are manned by members of the Burundian contingent, which was completed last month and brought to 3,400 the total number of AU peacekeepers in Somalia.
One faction of the ARS has signed up to the Djibouti process but some elements have aligned themselves on the hardline position of the Shebab insurgents, who are opposed to any talks before a full Ethiopian Woyanne pullout.
A day after Somalia Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein blamed President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed for sabotaging efforts to create a new cabinet, UN envoy Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah scolded the Horn of Africa country’s bickering leaders.
“I appeal to all Somalis within the government, the opposition, the diaspora, the business community and other interested parties, especially as we are coming close to Eid al-Adha (the festival of sacrifice), to think of their country’s dignity and its future and end their disagreements,” he said in a statement.
Ould-Abdallah urged the pair “to agree on a new cabinet quickly because a continuing power struggle did not serve Somalia’s interests, particularly as there was now an agreement to establish a broad-based unity government.”
The Somali leaders failed to form the new government by November 12, a deadline set by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) — a regional body — during its October summit in Nairobi.
Hussein has also accused Yusuf of failing to support October power-sharing and truce deals reached between the government and the Islamist-led political opposition, the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), at UN-mediated talks in Djibouti.
The Djibouti deal also provides for a gradual handover of security responsibilities from the Ethiopian troops to the peacekeepers of the African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
On Sunday, clashes at a checkpoint near Elashabiyaha town, 18 kilometres (11 miles) south of the capital Mogadishu, killed two, witnesses said.
The fighting was between rival factions of the Islamic Courts Union, the main group in the ARS.
Source: Sudan Tribune
MEKELE, ETHIOPIA – An Eritrean rebel group, the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization [armed and trained by the Meles regime in Ethiopia] claimed killing over two hundred Eritrean government troops during an attack carried last week against a military training center inside Eritrea.
The Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) on Sunday said that its fighters have killed at least 285 Eritrean military officers including top military leaders in what it called was the most devastating assault taken earlier this week at a military training base in the remote central Denkelliya region of Afambo local area.
The attack comes after 200 Eritrean Afar-ethnic government Militias willingly surrender to the Afar rebel group two weeks ago, according to RSADO.
RSADO’s Executive committee member and head of information and communication, Yasin Mohamed, back from the borders to coordinate the mission and now in Mekele (capital of Tigray Region, the base of the ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front), says the accomplished mission is well prepared and the most successful and the biggest attack ever attempted by any other Eritrean resistance groups.
“In an unusual attack our gallant fighters on Monday at around 8:30 local time have sneaked a big military training center based at Afambo area and bombarded a hall packed with over 450 Eritrean military officers who were celebrating the end of higher military training,” he said.
The rebel official added they also hit a truck carrying gas tanker and a generator outside which completely turned the whole area into massive fire and end up the fun and laughter into shouts, crying and dead bodies.
The Afambo military training base is the biggest training center next to Sawa, an area where tens of thousands of Eritreans from all wakes of life take mandatory military training.
The group explained the success of the attack saying it was taken along with the 200 deserted government militias who had every inside information needed to accomplish the attack.
“We have confirmed the death of at least 285 Eritrean military officers” Yasin said adding “we believe hundreds of others are also wounded or dead then after”
He also said during the occasion, Eritrean military officials who were engaged in training Ethiopian rebels for cross border attacks and also Ethiopia rebel leaders from OLF, ONLF, Tigray rebels who are based In Eritrea were invited .
“We believe Ethiopian former Derg regime’s commander, colonel Selhadin Ali, currently coordinator of cross-border attacks against Ethiopia is killed during the attack” Yasin alleged, adding “ colonel Birhanu head of the attacked military center and top military leader of Eritrean forces is also dead or seriously wounded.”
Yasin said, the sudden and massive attack taken has created frustration and resentment to Eritrean authorities, higher military officials and to Eritrean troops in general
“Eritrean president Isayas Afeworki had to postpone his scheduled visit to neighboring Sudan for at least one day after he heard the shocking news” He claimed.
The rebel RSADO is a member of the Eritrean democratic Alliance, umbrella opposition of 13 Eritrean political parties. The group which is led by Amin Ahmad, seeks to separate the Afar tribe from Eritrea and unite it with Djibouti.
In a separate incident the rebel group has also destroyed a radar station in the southern Red sea zone same day same time.
“In parallel to the above raid a different force of RSADO has smashed radar stationed at the mountainous area of Ramllo area” He added.
– By By Tesfa-Alem Tekle | ST
EDITOR’S NOTE: U.S. Africa policy under Jendayi Frazer has been a disaster. She has been directly or indirectly responsible for the Somalia horror, the Ogaden genocide in Ethiopia, Ethiopia’s stolen election in 2005, the Zimbabwe hypocrisy, the Darfur holocaust… just to name a few. From her past record, Susan Rice, who is expected to hold a more powerful post under Obama, is not expected to fair better. The following is an informative profile of Dr Susan Rice, head of President- Elect Obama’s foreign policy transition team:
A Window Into Obama’s Foreign Policy
Susan Rice (flickr)
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By Spencer Ackerman
The Washington Independent
In April 2007, as the United States was enmeshed in two wars, a Brookings Institution scholar and Clinton-era State Dept. official testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in favor of taking military action as a last resort to stop the genocide in Darfur.
“A collective shame” was what Susan Rice, now one of President-elect Barack Obama’s closest foreign-policy advisers, called the international community’s failure to act. Rice was hardly sanguine about what it would take to stem the genocide, nor did she exhibit a preference for taking military action.
“The U.S. should press for a Chapter 7 U.N. resolution that issues Sudan an ultimatum,” Rice told the committee, chaired by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), now the vice president-elect. “Accept the unconditional deployment of the U.N. force or face military consequences. The resolution would authorize enforcement by U.N. member states collectively or individually.”
As for the potential consequences and risks, Rice added, “We have to acknowledge that they can’t be eliminated. Yet we also have to acknowledge the daily cost of the status quo of a feckless policy characterized by bluster and retreat. … I would submit, Mr. Chairman, Sen. Lugar, that that cost is too high.”
Rice’s testimony could offer a window into the next four years of U.S. foreign policy. According to interviews with longtime associates, the woman who was just named to head the foreign-policy transition team for an Obama administration — and herself a likely candidate for deputy national security adviser or other top position — is a rigorous thinker and thorough pragmatist, impatient with ideology and incompetence.
Over the past year and a half, Rice has become increasingly close to Obama, owing in large part to their mutual frustration with conventional foreign-policy thinking. Unlike many seasoned foreign-policy hands, Rice’s focuses less on traditional state-to-state relationships and more on transnational threats, challenges and opportunities — befitting the emphasis of a new generation of global strategists. With Rice at the helm, former colleagues said, an Obama foreign policy would likely be bold but not dogmatic.
Rice, who turns 44 Monday, is the youngest person ever to become an assistant secretary of state, a position she attained at age 33. A protege of Madeleine K. Albright, the former secretary of state, Rice joined the Clinton administration in 1993 as an staffer on the National Security Council, after a stint at the McKinsey & Company business-consulting firm.
On the NSC, Rice earned a reputation for pragmatism, which she carried over to the State Dept. as assistant secretary for African affairs, a post she held from 1997 to 2001. But her record was not without its blemishes.
According to human-rights expert Samantha Power’s study of the U.S. reaction to genocide, “A Problem From Hell,” Rice didn’t distinguish herself in the Clinton administration’s lax response to the Rwandan genocide of 1994. As an Africa expert on the NSC, she shocked an interagency conference call by interjecting domestic politics into the discussion of the administration’s policy options.
“If we use the word ‘genocide,’” Rice allegedly asked her colleagues, “and are seen as doing nothing, what will be the effect on the November [congressional] election?” Rice later told Power — who herself became a trusted foreign-policy adviser to Obama before leaving the campaign during the Democratic primaries — that while she didn’t remember saying that, “If I said it, it was completely inappropriate.”
Her colleagues said that Rice’s willingness to subject herself to the scrutiny she expects of others is a characteristic trait. “She’s always examining not just what she thinks but why she thinks the way she does,” said Jane Holl Lute, the assistant secretary general of the United Nations for peace-building and a friend of Rice’s. “She’s one of the most honest thinkers I know.”
About Rwanda, Rice later told Power, “I swore to myself that if I ever faced such a crisis again, I would come down on the side of dramatic action, going down in flames if that was required,” which might explain Rice’s passion about Darfur.
Something that also might explain it is Rice’s facility with nontraditional foreign-policy issues. Former Sen. Tim Wirth, the Clinton administration’s undersecretary of state for global affairs from 1993 to 1997, said Rice saw connectivity in the world’s problems, instead of viewing them through the traditional prism of individual state power.
“She was one of the few people to live in the foreign-policy world who understood global issues, transnational issues like human rights, climate change and terrorism,” said Wirth, who worked with Rice when she was at the NSC and who now heads the United Nations Foundation. “The foreign-policy community is largely about political relationships. That’s what drives the [typical] foreign-policy world. But the new one is transnational problems, problems that don’t have passports.”
What position Rice could receive in an Obama administration is a guessing game. She has been mentioned for everything from deputy national-security adviser to U.N. ambassador to even secretary of state — all a function of her bond with the president-elect.
The only knock against Rice is a reputation for abrasiveness. A rumor circulating in foreign-policy circles this month is that she and a top Obama defense adviser, Richard Danzig, have developed a frosty relationship, though it is hard to get Obama aides to explain the source of any turbulence.
Wirth said Rice’s sense of dedication is occasionally misunderstood as harshness. “She’s very calm, very careful, but once she determines where to go, she’s very firm about that,” said Wirth, “and that’s where that comes from — people saying she’s abrasive. She’s very firm when a decision gets made.”
Rice herself declined to comment for this article. But in February, she indicated to me that an Obama administration would need to be bold in differentiating itself from the Bush administration to restore American global standing.
“After eight years of George Bush,” Rice told me for an American Prospect cover story, “when the next president puts his or her hand on the Bible to be sworn in, the U.S. is going to get one brief second look [from the world] about whether the U.S. truly learned to change from its past mistakes, recent and historic, and whether we’re again the kind of America people look to lead in a constructive fashion, or whether we’re hopeless.”
What that means exactly is hard to say. But Rice challenged the idea that Obama’s more controversial foreign-policy proposals — setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, negotiating with foreign adversaries, bolstering the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan and renewing the hunt for Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan — were, as his critics maintained, imprudent. “I don’t see it as radical at all,” she told me in February. “I see it as rational, wise and long overdue.”
Obama-watchers have seen Rice quickly build a rapport with the president-elect, something that will aid Rice in staffing the foreign-policy team. “It indicates they’ll be very pragmatic,” Wirth said, “and focused on strengthening the international machinery, to regain America’s reputation around the world. And she’ll just be reflecting what Obama has said.”
Another colleague, John Prendergast, an Africa aide on the NSC after Rice moved to the State Dept., was similarly impressed. “She was a brilliant strategist with a big vision, who was relentless in pursuing the president’s objectives,” remembered Prendergast, who now runs the Enough Project, an anti-genocide activist group. “She had a firm command of all of the relevant issues, and a keen insight into how to move decisions through the system so that the U.S. could act in a relevant and decisive manner.”
Rice was one of the few Democratic foreign-policy luminaries to oppose the 2002 invasion of Iraq. Prendergast said he was not surprised by her position. “Susan has an uncanny ability to weigh all sides to a situation and see through rhetoric and diversion,” he said.
Anne-Marie Slaughter, the dean of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson Center, came to know Rice when they worked on the Phoenix Initiative over the last four years, an attempt by progressive foreign-policy thinkers to craft a post-Bush grand strategy.
Slaughter’s assessment of Rice echoed Wirth’s. “She has a very holistic vision of national security,” Slaughter said, “one that includes the problems of weak and failing states and the overall imperative of standing for increased prosperity and justice for all people around the world.
“That doesn’t make her a starry-eyed one-worlder,” Slaughter continued, “although Obama may soon be giving that term a different and far stronger connotation, but it means that her experience with Africa has sensitized her to the many ways people can die violently — not just in conventional war.”
Wirth and others said Rice would be “very loyal to Obama,” to use Wirth’s words. Another former colleague, who requested anonymity, added that Rice doesn’t have an agenda separate from Obama’s.
Slaughter added that Rice’s potential ascendancy represented a milestone in gender equity for the foreign-policy community. “It is very important to women in foreign policy that Susan is not married to her job,” Slaughter said. “She has a great husband and two young kids, and she managed to balance it. After Madeleine Albright, whose kids were grown, and Condi Rice, who does not have a family, that’s a very important message to send. After all, most men in foreign policy manage to have families, too.”
