The refugees fled Ethiopia, risking their lives. Shortly before their boat reached the coast in the early morning of 6 June, it was overturned by high waves. At least 46 of them lost their lives.
The boat was overloaded with at least 100 Ethiopians when it left the port of Bossaso in Somalia the day before in the direction of Yemen. On board were 83 men and 17 women. According to reports, all were Ethiopians.
Survivors reported to the IOM that the majority had not got life jackets from the smugglers. When the high waves began to fill the boat with water, panic is said to have broken out. Many people crowded to one side of the boat – then it was seized by a wave and capsized around 5 o’clock in the morning.
Mohammed Abdiker, head of the IOM mission in Yemen, spoke of a “tragedy” that is currently happening in the Gulf of Aden. “More than 7,000 desperate migrants are taking this dangerous journey each month. They are treated inhumanely, like slaves. That has to end. “Says Abdiker.
(BLOOMBERG) – Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed a new army chief of staff, replacing Samora Yenus.
The appointment of General Seare (�ዓረ) Mekonnen, who was sworn in today by President Mulatu Teshome, marks the first change at the top in 17 years in Ethiopia’s army, which plays a dominant role in the country that has Africa’s biggest population after Nigeria. He belongs to the Tigrayan ethnic group that’s largely held the top ranks of the military, security and intelligence services since the then-rebel Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front seized power.
His appointment was announced late Thursday by Fana Broadcasting Corp., which is funded by the ruling party.
Named one of three deputy chiefs of staff earlier this year, Seare also previously headed the military’s northern command, whose jurisdiction covers areas bordering Eritrea.
PM Abiy also named General Adem Mohammed as the new director of the National Intelligence and Security Services, replacing Getachew Assefa, according to Fana on Thursday. Adem Mohammed, an ethnic Amhara who previously commanded Ethiopia’s air force, was also appointed as a deputy chief of staff of the army earlier this year.
Barely two months into his new job as a Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed has managed to simultaneously excite and alarm pretty much everybody. In Ethiopian political leadership, this is no small feat, where offending the public has been the norm than the exception. During his judiciously sequenced marathon cross-country check-up, he delivered a cautious message in the west while hitting a conciliatory tone in the east. In the capital, Addis Abeba, he forcefully challenged the youth and business owners to “do their fair share.� Yes, his bid to steer away from the political landmines got him some troubles, generating an instant fury on the front lines of social media, but many seem to get over it quickly.
Perhaps the most drastic of all changes so far is the announcement on Tuesday of the two major policy shifts: Eritrea and the economy, which need separate reflections. All of these happened in just two months. Of course, it is not yet the same as Lenin’s “there are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.� However, given the fact that a few months ago the country seemed on the verge of catastrophe, incremental as one might think of these changes, the steps the new prime minister endeavors are laudable and praiseworthy.
The intricate challenges facing the new prime minister are overwhelming. Among the challenges that hold the PM’s immediate attention are the tasks of deconstructing the political, economic and social narratives, structures and institutions. The primary approaches employed by the TPLF dominated ruling party EPRDF over the last three decades have been divisive and polarizing. By inflating identity and manipulating real and imaginary historical events, the ruling cliques have created walls between the country’s diverse ethnic groups as a strategy to consolidate and monopolize power, both political and economic. Deconstructing institutions and replacing them with an inclusive structure could take some time. However, at least in his speeches Prime Minister Abiy has already given priority to deconstructing these divisive narratives. […] CONTINUE READING
The nonsensical war between the regimes in Addis Ababa and Asmara two decades ago claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people. It was a war of attrition over small tracts of barren land that have no economic or political significance. After the war ended in 2000 and the “Algiers Treaty” was signed in 2002, a long cold war ensued as a result of the regime in Ethiopia refusing to honor the agreement. This has given Eritrea’s warlord Isaias Afwerki a pretext to declare a state of emergency, throw in jail all of his opponents, and stop any talk of a constitutional government. For the past 18 years, Eritrea has been a prison of its own people where young Eritreans who tried to escape the poverty-ravaged country are being shot in the back by soldiers. Eritrea is a nation that is slowly imploding.
Now, Ethiopia’s new prime minister Abiy Ahmed has decided to honor the U.N.-backed Algiers Treaty and remove Ethiopian troops from Badme, the disputed land that Ethiopian soldiers still occupy.
It seems that PM Abiy has made such a move over the objection of some in the ruling coalition for three reasons: 1) To end unnecessary conflicts in the region that his predecessors continuously instigated in order to divert the Ethiopian people’s attention from domestic troubles, 2) To outflank his opponents in the ruling coalition, particularly the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), and 3) Build regional and international credibility for his leadership.
Badme will no longer be a source of instability in the region that both TPLF and Isaias Afwerki exploit to prolong their grip on power. The two former allies have turned the Horn Africa into a perennial war zone.
This is a new day in Ethiopia and the new Ethiopian leadership wants a new beginning. PM Abiy and his team are focusing on healing the traumatized region and growing an economy that benefits average citizens. In furtherance of these objectives, the PM has released thousands of political prisoners, apologized for the atrocities of the security forces, invited Ethiopian opposition parties to prepare for free and fair elections, invited Ethiopians in the Diaspora to invest in their country, and announced the opening up of major state-owned industries to private investors. The PM has done all those in just two months.
