Hailu Shawel and his stooge, Donkoro Taye, once again have embarrassd themselves and disgraced the Ethiopian people’s struggle for democracy on the Washington DC-based WAMU Radio’s Koji Nnamdi show yesterday. It would have been a total disaster had it not been for Berhanu Nega who saved the day by his eloquent presentation of the real condition in Ethiopia. Click here to listen.
(Sapa) Johannesburg, South Africa — Zimbabwe has invited 47 regional and sub-regional organisations as well as countries from Africa, Asia, the Americas and one European country — Russia — to observe this month’s election, the government mouthpiece Herald reported on Friday.
Briefing ambassadors from China, countries in the Non-Aligned Movement and Western diplomats resident in Zimbabwe on the forthcoming election, Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the observers were selected on the basis of “reciprocity, objectivity and impartiality” in their relationship with Zimbabwe.
“Clearly, those who believe that the only free and fair election is where the opposition wins, have been excluded since the ruling party, Zanu-PF, is poised to score yet another triumph,” Mumbengegwi was quoted as saying.
All 13 SADC states have been invited alongside 10 other African countries, among them Senegal, Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Libya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Sudan, the Herald said.
Five Asian countries — China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Iran — and four countries from the Americas — Brazil, Jamaica, Venezuela and Nicaragua — will observe the election.
African regional organisations invited are SADC, the African Union, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, NAM, the Economic Community of West African States, Pan African Parliament, Economic Community of Central African States and East African Community.
Among the invited sub-regional organisations are the Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific, Association of South East Asian Nations, Magreb Union, Community of Portuguese speaking (Lusophone) countries and Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.
The December 12 Movement is the only liberation movement invited.
(AP) – A judge in Luzerne Country, Pennsylvania, has issued what is believed to be the first sentence in Pennsylvania for possession of khat, a drug commonly used in parts of Africa and the Middle East.
Judge Chester Muroski gave a Michigan man 4 1/2 to 12 months in jail for possession of khat.
Khat is a plant grown in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It’s a legal stimulant in many countries but is illegal in the U.S. Users chew the leaves and young shoots of the plant, giving them a sense of euphoria.
Shafi Brmaji was caught with more than 50 pounds of khat during a traffic stop along Interstate 80. Brmaji is a U.S. citizen originally from Ethiopia. He says he didn’t know the drug was illegal.
(Press TV) – Heavy clashes between Ethiopian Woyanne forces and insurgents in central Somalia have left at least 14 soldiers dead and many others wounded.
The soldiers were killed late on Thursday as anti-Ethiopian anti-Woyanne insurgents raided newly positioned Ethiopians Woyannes between Cali Kamiin and Albraka in Hodon District, the Press TV correspondent in Somalia reported.
The fierce battle lasted for 3 hours; however, the insurgents finally fled the area.
Elsewhere in Somalia, a large number of government soldiers, armed with high-powered rifles, opened fire on civilians at Mogadishu’s Bakara Market on Friday morning.
There were no immediate reports on the number of casualties.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – A court on Friday ruled a British teacher need serve no time following her conviction for defamation stemming from comments she made in exposing pedophiles at a children’s charity in Ethiopia.
Swiss charity Terre Des Hommes-Lausanne asked the court not to sentence Jill Campbell because her husband, Gary, had made a public apology last month, said Seleshi Ketsela, a lawyer who represents Campbell in the case.
«The case is closed. … They said one (apology) is enough,» Seleshi told The Associated Press.
«I regret nothing and I apologize for nothing as well because we did nothing wrong,» Jill Campbell told journalists. She had been convicted on Wednesday and had faced up to six months in prison.
Gary Campbell issued a public apology for the comments last month, then said he did so only because nobody would be able to care for the couple’s children if they both went to jail.
Jill Campbell said that she was relieved by the outcome, but was unhappy that the charity had not formally apologized to the victims or financially compensated them.
The couple compiled evidence in 1999 that helped convict the director of an Ethiopian orphanage the Swiss charity used to run. The charity acknowledged the abuse took place, but brought a successful defamation case against the Campbells for their claims that the charity’s senior staff covered up the scandal.
Friday’s court session _ closed to the media _ took only about five minutes. As soon as Campbells emerged from the court there was jubilation from their foreign and Ethiopian friends who had gathered outside the courthouse. A number of them hugged each other on receiving the news of the court’s decision.
The Campbells, who have lived in Ethiopia for more than a decade, have drawn wide support in Ethiopia. A group formed to support them, Stop Institutional Pedophilia in Ethiopia, said the charity is «forcing Gary and Jill to apologize for blowing the whistle and stopping the chain of homosexual abusers victimizing orphans.
The Campbells’ report on sexual abuse prompted the charity to apologize and leave Ethiopia. In 2003, an Ethiopian court sentenced orphanage director David Christie to nine years of hard labor for abusing several young boys.
The report included testimony from several young boys at the orphanage, including one who said he had been at the orphanage run by TdH in the northeastern town of Jari.
«I thought I was lucky to have been chosen to sleep with this man, I was a vulnerable young boy with no knowledge of the world that existed outside Jari,» the boy, who went by the initial G., says in the report. «I trusted white men who had, on the surface, appeared to make Jari a good place to live in.
By KRISTIN DIZON
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Until I stepped into Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant, there was a concept in Seattle dining I hadn’t come across before: an all-you-can-eat Ethiopian buffet. Brilliant! I can only hope the idea will be replicated by others.
Owner Abiy Assefa comes from the same family that runs Queen Sheba, a Capitol Hill institution. He managed that restaurant for five years.
The six-dish lunch buffet is an excellent, filling deal at $7.95. It’s served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday in a lovely space, with brick walls, glowing paper lanterns, and a chic back-lit bar in warm orange tones and dark tables. The offerings change daily, but the restaurant, situated on the eastern edge of downtown Seattle, always serves three meat dishes and three vegetarian options.
On my visit, the doro wot was pungent in its red peppery berbere spices — a high-protein dish with chicken thighs and drumsticks surrounded by whole hard-boiled eggs.
The beef tibs wasn’t as tender as some, but the sauce of tomatoes, onions and spices hit a good note. For a milder alternative, there was lamb alicha in an herby, buttery sauce.
On the vegetarian side, there was a lentil dish, a scrumptious split pea entree and a mixed-veggie medley of cabbage, potatoes, carrots and onions.
A round tray of injera had been sitting out for a while, so the spongy bread was dry and chalky. Luckily, a heaping new tray of the house-made roll-ups appeared, and the bread was again fresh, warm and wonderful.
If you haven’t eaten Ethiopian before, injera is a platform for loading the saucy, stewlike main dishes. Traditionally, you eat with your hands, and they’ll show newbies the ropes. But they also give utensils upon request.
So far, the lunch crowd is pretty thin, making it the perfect time to support the awesome concept of an Ethiopian buffet.
Dinner prices are steeper, with entrees ranging from $8 to $14, but still quite reasonable. (For dinner, they validate parking at the adjacent Diamond lot.) There’s also a weekday happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m., with half-price appetizers and $1 off draught or bottled beer and well drinks.
Post-Intelligencer food critics arrive unannounced and pay for all meals and services.
HABESHA ETHIOPIAN RESTAURANT
PHONE: 206-624-0801
ADDRESS: 1809 Minor Ave.
HOURS: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Friday; noon-midnight Saturday-Sunday
WEB SITE: habeshaseattle.com