In this 5-page report, Gebretsadik Aberra brings to light the circumstances surrounding the charge against popular singer Teddy Afro who is accused of killing a homeless man in a car crash. Teddy is currently detained without bail in Kaliti prison at the outskirt of Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. Click here to read [Amharic, pdf]

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) – A little-known Somali Islamist group claimed responsibility on Thursday for a bomb attack that killed three people in Ethiopia on the eve of national celebrations to mark the 17th anniversary of the current government’s ascent to power.

“We will keep on fighting until we liberate our country from the Ethiopian invaders,”
said Haji Abukar, a spokesman for the Islamic Guerrillas, after claiming responsibility for Tuesday’s bombing in Nagele, 560 kilometers (347 miles) south of the capital, Addis Ababa. “Our fighters will continue their holy war against the enemy of Somalia and we will target them everywhere.”

The Guerillas are a relatively little known group in Somalia and Ethiopia, and only began making public statements three months ago.

It was not possible to independently verify their claim.

“We are an Islamic group that stands for the liberation of Somalia and have a good relationship with the rest of the insurgents in Somalia,” Abukar said.

Ethiopian troops have been supporting the shaky Somali government since December 2006, when they helped drive out an Islamic group from Mogadishu, the capital, and much of the rest of southern Somalia. The Islamists vowed to fight an Iraq-style insurgency and thousands of Somalis have been killed in the subsequent fighting.

Ethiopian government spokesman Zemedkun Tekle previously said the bombings were probably the work of the rebel Oromo Liberation Front group.

“We suspect that those attacks were aimed to disrupt the public, to horrify the people,” says Zemedkun. “They were ordinary people enjoying themselves.”

Ethiopia’s vast military is currently battling several rebellions in different parts of the country, including one by ethnic Somalis in the country’s Ogaden region that borders Somalia. Those rebels accuse the government of atrocities against civilians and withholding food aid, charges the government denies.
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Associated Press Writer Anita Powell contributed to this report from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

EDITOR’S NOTE: All these explosions are being orchestrated by Woyanne. The speed with which suspects are rounded up is just one indication.

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ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Ethiopian Woyanne police said Thursday they had arrested suspects linked to this week’s hotel bomb blasts that killed three people in the south of the country.

“So far, we have captured a few suspects but the case is still under investigation,” said Terefe Disassa, deputy police inspector for the town of Negelle Borena where two bombs exploded in two hotels late Tuesday.

“We are pretty much in the preliminary stages of the investigation at the moment,” he added.

Negelle Borena is a small town located 595 kilometres (320 miles) south of the capital Addis Ababa, in the Oromo region, where rebels have fought for years over claims of marginalisation by the government.

No group has yet claimed responsibility.

The twin bomb attack came on 17th anniversary of former president Mengistu Haile Mariam’s ouster.

On May 20, a bomb went off on a minibus near the foreign ministry in Addis Ababa, killing six people, including a US national.

The authorities, who made several arrests, blamed last week’s explosion on Eritrea and the Oromo Liberation Front. They announced making arrests but did not specify the number of arrests.

Three people were also killed and 18 wounded in bomb blasts at petrol stations in Addis Ababa on April 14.

Ethiopian Television Network interviews Ethiopian Review publisher Elias Kifle. This is Part 2 of a 4-part video. Click here for Part I. The rest of the interview is available at ETN, or will be posted here shortly.

John McCain’s campaign sent out a fundraising e-mail a few hours ago, soliciting supporters to drop $250 for a personalized McCain logo banner. The subject of the e-mail, Frank Donatelli, says he and his wife have “been proud to work for and support” John McCain since his first presidential bid, and are proud to publicly showcase their support for the presumptive GOP nominee.

Frank Donatelli, however, is a longtime lobbyist:

McCain Tapped Lobbyist Frank Donatelli To Run His Efforts At RNC. McCain tapped lobbyist Frank Donatelli to become deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee. The New York Times reported Donatelli will “act as the main liaison between the committee and the McCain campaign.” Donatelli is a lobbyist at McGuire Woods and previously served as a lobbyist at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. His clients have included AT&T, Exxon Mobil, PhRMA, Blue Cross Blue Shield and Verizon. [New York Times, 3/7/08; McGuire Woods, accessed 5/12/08; Senate Lobbying Disclosure Records, accessed 5/12/08]

Donatelli Enlisted to Improve Ethiopia’s Relationship with U.S. In a September 2005 letter sent to Ambassador Kassahun Ayele of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Donatelli set forth his obligations under their contract, namely to provide “government relations and related public communications services to assist and work with Ethiopia in Washington, D.C., in promoting and strengthening Ethiopia’s relations with the United States and, in general, providing such other appropriate advice and assistance as will serve to achieve these purposes.” [FARA Database, accessed 3/18/08, Letter signed by Frank Donatelli on 9/6/05]

Human Rights Watch:

“The Ethiopian Government’s Human Rights Record Remains Poor.” According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2008, “The Ethiopian government’s human rights record remains poor, both within the country and in neighboring Somalia, where since early 2007 thousands of Ethiopian troops have been fighting an insurgency alongside the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. Government forces committed serious human rights violations, including rape, torture, and village burnings, during a campaign against Ethiopian rebels in eastern Somalia Region (Region 5). Abuses took place in other parts of the country, notably in Oromia State where local officials carried out mass arrests, extra-judicial killings and economic sanctions.” [Human Rights Watch, accessed 5/12/08, emphasis added]

You would think John McCain could find at least one supporter who isn’t a lobbyist, right?
For all those lobbyists staffing John McCain’s campaign, here’s a banner for all of them to share. In fact, I won’t even charge $250 for it.

Source: democrats.org

Security forces of Meles Zenawi’s dictatorship have forced vendors and shopkeepers to close down their stores in Merkato, Bole and through out Addis Ababa today to celebrate Woyanne’s 17th anniversary in power. Most shopkeepers ignored the regime’s orders and opened their stores for business on their regular schedules, but Kuma Demeksa (Taye Teklemikael), Meles Zenawi’s donkey who is now in charge of Ethiopia’s capital, sent the city’s police officers, backed by the federal police, to roam around and force each store closed. Restaurants, coffee shops, and private offices were exempted.

Later in the evening, ER has learned that Addis Ababa University students had clashed with the police. The source of the disturbance is not clear yet. ER is gathering more information.