A court in Arba Minch, Ethiopia, sentenced Ato Assefa Chabo, former head of the Pubic Organization Affairs “to 16 years prison terms starting from the day of his arrest,” a government media reported today.

The court also handed down ten year imprisonment on the former Deputy Administrator of the Gamo-Gofa province, Captain Paulos Bogale and the Gamo-Gofa province Special Police Force Commander, Captain Gebremikael Gebremariam.

Joint statement calls for reconciliation, nonviolence in election disputes

The United States and the European Union expect all parties in Ethiopia “to abide by the political process through parliamentary and constitutional means to resolve” the election crisis, according to joint statement issued by the U.S. State Department July 13, 2005.

“We urge the nation’s political leaders as well as those in the Diaspora to work together for political dialogue and support open communication towards reconciliation and a commitment to peace and nonviolence,” the joint statement said.

Following is the text of the statement:

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
July 13, 2005
REVISED 2005/696

Statement by Tom Casey, Acting Spokesman

Situation in Ethiopia

The following is a joint Statement by the United States and the European Union:

The European Union and the United States commend the Ethiopian people for their peaceful and democratic expression of political will on May 15. The international community urges in the strongest terms that all parties to the elections and the government abide by their commitment to the June 10 and June 13, 2005 declarations. All parties should renounce all use of violence, inflammatory, defamatory or ethnic hate messages via the media or internet, and any other action that is likely to further increase tension in Ethiopia.

The European Union and the United States expect all political parties and the government to abide by the political process through parliamentary and constitutional means to resolve this election crisis. We urge all parties to participate fully in the Complaints Investigation Panel Process. All dissenting views need to be registered and the personal safety of witnesses ensured. Where there are procedural or other problems, these need to be addressed swiftly and constructively.

We urge the nation’s political leaders as well as those in the Diaspora to work together for political dialogue and support open communication towards reconciliation and a commitment to peace and non-violence. We note the announcement by the National Electoral Board on 8 July of the first set of final election results, and call on all sides to dedicate their efforts to ensure that the electoral process continues to be carried out in a transparent and fully open manner.

We expect all political parties including the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) to respect the political process with the National Electoral Board and continue working for the promotion of democracy and a vibrant society. We urge the government of Ethiopia to respect international principles of human rights by exercising due process and releasing detained party members and party supporters who are not going to be charged.

The European Union and the United States will assist Ethiopia as it meets these new democratic challenges.

Created: 13 Jul 2005 Updated: 13 Jul 2005

Ethiopian Review
July 12, 2005

Preparations are underway by the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD) to take over the Addis Ababa City administration. A personnel selection committee chaired by Dr Shimelis TekleTsadik is preparing a list of individuals who will take over the mayorship as well as the hundreds of other city administrative posts. The overall transition process is being managed by CUD Vice-Chairman Dr Admassu Gebeyehu.

Meanwhile, a newspaper closely associated with the ruling party, the Nation, reported yesterday that the Ministry of Justice has accused top leaders of the Coalition for Unity & Democracy (CUD) of inciting unrest among university students.

CUD spokesperson Dr Hailu Araya told Ethiopian Review today that he heard about such threats only from unofficial sources. He could not confirm the report. But said CUD is calling for the formation of an independent commission that will investigate the June 8 killing of students and other unarmed civilians.

Similar calls have been made by other Ethiopian groups, as well as the international community, including the latest European Union resolution.

The vote probing process, which is CUD’s top priority currently, is not going well, according to Dr Hailu. EPRDF authorities do not even pretend to act legally now. They are intimidating, harassing and arresting witnesses who testify on behalf of CUD and UEDF. There are instances where they fired gun shots at witnesses.

Ethiopian Review
July 1, 2005

Shocked by the opposition parties’ landslide victory in Addis Ababa and every other constituency where international observers were present, EPRDF is fighting hard to make sure that it decisively wins the upcoming elections in the Somali Region.

The elections are scheduled for next month, August 21.

Elections in the Somali region could not be held at the same time on May 15 with the rest of Ethiopia due to security problems.

At stake are 23 parliamentary seats. Because of lack of finance, CUD is able to line up only 17 candidates. According to CUD spokesperson Dr Hailu Araya, their candidates are aggressively campaigning to win all the 17 seats. He said it’s tool late to line up more candidates.

CUD’s campaign in the Somali region is becoming highly successful because it is campaigning on a message of hope and harmony among ethnic groups and clans. CUD’s message includes peace, economic development and democratic rights.

EPRDF is sending a different message. It is resorting to the basest instincts of people: fear and hate. The EPRDF cadres tell the voters that CUD will bring “Amhara domination” to the region, but if EPRDF is elected, it is willing to allow the region to secede.

This time it seems that most of the voters are not buying the tired old EPRDF message of ethnic division and Amhara hating.

The most recent tactic EPRDF using is trying to disqualify CUD candidates claiming that they are not natives of the region. So far, EPRDF succeeded in having the Election Board to reconsider the status of 5 of the 17 candidates.

The rules written by the EPRDF itself allows candidates to run in any constituency. One of the well-known beneficiaries of this rule is EPRDF Minister of Information Bereket Simon who registered as a candidate in Wollo, a place he never lived in.

CUD is not challenging the EPRDF candidates’ qualifications, because of lack of resources.

Another tactic EPRDF using is that it doesn’t campaign under it’s own name. It created other groups bearing the region’s name, but tightly controlled by EPRDF officials in Addis Ababa.

Most of CUD’s candidates are from the Somali ethnic groups. CUD was able to successfully recruit strong candidates locally. It’s difficult for EPRDF cadres to go to Jijiga from Addis Ababa and tell a voter that his neighbor is going to “dominate” him.

The local people want to live in peace. For the past 14 years there was never peace in the region, as EPRDF turned one clan against the other by arming and giving money to the clans it favors.

EPRDF is spending a great deal of money for its campaign in the Somali region. Some of the money is being used to try to bribe CUD candidates to change their party affiliation. EPRDF is also giving a lot of money to clan leaders.

CUD is financially weak. It’s candidates do not even have sufficient money to print fliers and pay for travel expenses. Had CUD been financially strong, it could win all the parliamentary seats allocated for the region. The people are angry at the EPRDF and want change.

One of the CUD representatives in the region ER talked with today expressed his frustration that the top leadership is preoccupied with other matters and is giving little attention to the election campaign in the region. He is not blaming the leadership. He says that he knows the kind of pressure they are under. One way to solve such a problem is to decentralize CUD’s operations, which is currently highly centralized. It seems that without orders or directions from Addis Ababa nothing is done any where in the country.

CUD’s strength in the Somali region is originating from the people’s desire for change. Could this alone be enough to win?

Addis Ababa – Police say three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl kidnapped by men who wanted to force her into marriage, chasing off her abductors and guarding her until police and relatives tracked her down in a remote corner of Ethiopia.

The men had held the girl for seven days, repeatedly beating her, before the lions chased them away and guarded her for half a day before her family and police found her, sergeant Wondimu Wedajo said on Tuesday via telephone from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, some 560km west of the capital, Addis Ababa.

“They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest,” Wondimu said, adding he did not know whether the lions were male or female.

News of the rescue on June 9 was slow to filter out from Kefa Zone in southwestern Ethiopia.

Fate could have been much worse

“If the lions had not come to her rescue then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage,” he said.

“Everyone in thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack people,” Wondimu said.

Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said it was likely the young girl was saved because she was crying from the trauma of her attack.

“A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why they (the lions) didn’t eat her,” Williams said. “Otherwise they probably would have done.”

The girl, the youngest of four brothers and sisters, was “shocked and terrified” and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings, Wondimu said.

He said police had caught four of the men, but were still looking for three others.

In Ethiopia, kidnapping has long been part of the marriage custom, a tradition of sorrow and violence whose origins are murky.

The United Nations (UN) estimates more than 70% of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction, practiced in rural areas where the majority of the country’s 71 million people live.

Lions are a dying breed

Ethiopia’s lions, famous for their large black manes, are the country’s national symbol and adorn statues and the local currency. Former emperor Haile Selassie kept a pride in the royal palace in Addis Ababa.

Despite their integral place in Ethiopia culture, their numbers have been falling, according to experts, as farmers encroach on bush land.

Hunters also kill the animals for their skins, which can fetch $1 000, despite a recent crackdown against illegal animal trading across the country. Williams said at most only 1 000 Ethiopian lions remain in the wild.

– News 24

By Sereke Berhan

In this age of deception, intrigue and greed, politics, especially Ethiopia politics, really makes strange bedfellows. In a not so surprising but unexpected turn of events, Sheik Al Amoudi, who was held with high regard by many people in and outside the country, suddenly made a miscalculated move to openly support the party that has made the destruction of Ethiopia its main goal.

The Sheik’s assertion that it is his inalienable right to support any party he chooses is basically acceptable and it should be encouraged in a balanced democratic environment.

But the right to choose what he wants based on his self-interest cannot be equated with choosing what is right for the country. If he really thinks that he has allied himself with the party thinking that the current government is right for Ethiopia, he must be oblivious to the reality around him. On the other hand, if he thinks that the government is right for a few like him, and if that is really what matters the most to him, then he certainly has made the right decision.

In a letter he sent to his friends in the United States, he tried to defend his choice by claiming that he is participating in a democratic exercise. One truth that he and many others, especially foreigners, are missing is that this was not and is not a contest between different political parties with a shared aim of serving Ethiopia’s best interest. What we have is, on one hand the TPLF/EPRDF, which has openly subverted Ethiopia’s interest to realize its hidden agenda, and on the other, an opposition that is trying to deflect this subversion. It is not a contest between groups that present different ways of accomplishing a common goal, but a struggle between those who are destroying the country and those who are resisting this destruction.

It is common knowledge that there is a symbiotic relationship between the Sheik and the ruling party. His alliance with the government has been tolerated for years with the assumption that his heart is with the people. To openly flaunt this relationship in front of Ethiopians at this critical moment in the nation’s political struggle and to conspire with the people’s sworn enemies, as if their voices and desires don’t matter is a cardinal sin.

It doesn’t take much to figure out that Al Amoudi’s financial interest could be at stake if there is a change in government. He may even have been coerced into submitting to the wishes of the ruling party. Whatever the case may be, as a person of fortune and high standing who claims to have a vision of peace and prosperity for Ethiopia, he should have considered the country’s well being and the people’s welfare before making a decision that helps undermine the quest for true democracy. No matter how democratically justified his action is as presented by many of his obedient supporters, his alliance with uncaring rulers who are widely despised by the population has seriously damaged his reputation and credibility. His tremendous influence has been shrewdly manipulated to facilitate the imposition of yet another dictatorship on the Ethiopian people. Knowingly or naively, he has endorsed the ruling party’s negative actions and he has allowed himself to be used for the fulfillment of anti-Ethiopian goals. If nothing else, out of respect for the Ethiopian people and for the sake of truth and fair competition, he should have maintained a “neutral” stand. By carelessly exercising his democratic right to choose, he has emboldened the enemies of the people and he has clearly indicated to the Ethiopian people that his wants are much more important than their needs.

One public relations lesson the Sheik should learn is that however he wants to look at it, common people matter. He may never feel their pain, he may never be as hungry as they are, he may never experience their misery and he may never feel their sadness. There is not much that he can share with them except their hopes and dreams. Without having to go through their painful experiences he could have silently stood with them to share their vision. The one most important thing that the Ethiopian people want from him and others like him is to refrain from standing in the way of democracy by enabling a greedy regime continue destroying their lives.

There is no need to condemn or slander the Sheik for making this unpopular decision.

We should leave the judgment to history. What he is doing for the country and his contribution for economic development is sincerely appreciated. Ethiopians should still feel indebted to him and we should respect his position.

As enduring, patient, and forgiving as they are, Ethiopians never forget those who betray them in their time of desperation. Today and in the future his financial power will get him anything he wants. He will be feared and many people will still grovel for him. To his future regret, however, he has denied himself the opportunity to be admired and loved by the common people who will one day make their voices heard with or without his help. Then he will find it difficult to enjoy life alongside the people whose voices he deliberately tried to ignore by helping a government that tried to steal their freedom.

The letter sent out to friends may convince some, but I doubt if the Sheik is going to have many real Ethiopian friends left in the US or any place else unless he changes his position. Those who are after his money or influence will remain pretending to be his friends giving him the wrong advice until…
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