ADDIS ABABA, June 28 (Reuters) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi slammed on Thursday calls by Western diplomats for the release of 38 opposition officials as “shameful”.
In an address to parliament, Meles lambasted the Addis Ababa-based Western ambassadors, some of whom were listening to his speech in the gallery, and accused them of pressuring him.
“In Ethiopia there is nothing that can be resolved as a result of external pressure,” he said.
The officials were convicted this month of charges relating to violent protests over disputed 2005 polls that altered the political landscape in the country of 81 million by handing the opposition a vastly increased share of parliament.
Meles, a one-time rebel leader, said diplomatic appeals for the group to be freed were “shameful and wrong”.
The officials, who may face the death penalty, are among 131 opposition leaders, reporters and activists charged in 2005 of treason, inciting violence and attempting to commit genocide.
There has been widespread speculation of a deal to free the 38 this week. But Meles ruled out a pardon for any prisoners while their cases were pending in court.
“We know the country is rife with rumours about their impending pardon … but the government has not discussed this issue with anyone because it violates the right of the court,” he said in response to a question by a parliamentarian.
Once the donor darling of the West, Meles has come under growing criticism for his human rights record after allegations of a secret detention programme targeting suspected Islamist militants, and a post-election crackdown that killed 193 people.
Even his greatest ally, the United States, has criticised donor-dependent Ethiopia for the arbitrary arrests of tens of thousands of opposition supporters and restrictions on media freedom, including the detention of journalists.
Meles has said he regretted the post-poll violence, but blamed it on opportunistic rioters and an opposition conspiracy to topple him by force.
“I had advised them (the opposition) not to violate the constitution, which they did not heed,” he said.
ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s [dictator] said Thursday he is building up the army‘s capabilities because he fears an imminent attack by Eritrea, which he also accused of arming rebel groups inside his country.
“It is deemed necessary to make the necessary military preparations for deterring a possible Eritrean invasion and to repulse such an invasion should it occur,” Meles said.
The Eritrean information minister, Ali Abdu, said his government was not planning to attack Ethiopia.
Meles also warned that Eritrea may try to disrupt or strike during Ethiopian Millennium celebrations in September. Ethiopia is fighting two rebel forces, one in the eastern Ogaden region and the other in the southern Oromia region. The Ogaden National Liberation Front has recently carried out several attacks along the Somali and Eritrean borders.
Ostrava (Czech Republic), June 28: Twice Olympic 10,000 meters champion Haile Gebrselassie broke the world one-hour and 20 kilometers marks at the “Golden Spike” grand prix athletics meeting on Wednesday.
The 34-year-old Ethiopian ran 21.285 km in 60 minutes to surpass Mexican Arturo Barrios’s previous mark of 21.101 km, set in La Fleche, France, on March 30, 1991.
On the way, he also broke the 20-km world mark of 56 minutes 55.60 seconds, set by Barrios during his run in 1991. Gebrselassie clocked 56:25.98.
“When I arrived at the stadium I was worried about the wind but it died down. At that moment I was thinking I could break the (one-hour) record,” a smiling Gebrselassie told by the finish line. “I felt comfortable the whole way.”
In her first race since breaking the women’s 5,000 meters world record, fellow Ethiopian Meseret Defar ran a measured race over the distance to win in 14 minutes 30.18 seconds, well outside her 14:16.63 record.
Russia’s Yelena Isinbayeva easily won the women’s pole vault at 4.66 meters but was also well short in her bid to break her own world record of 5.01 meters.
“I don’t know why I jumped so poorly. I wanted to jump higher and beat the world record but I just couldn’t do it,” Isinbayeva said.
Britain’s Craig Pickering, establishing himself as one of Europe’s top sprinters, cruised to victory in the men’s 100 meters in 10.16, one-tenth of a second off his personal best.
The 20-year-old, who won the 100 in the European Cup in Munich last weekend, has a busy schedule with Monday’s meeting in Athens and the European Under-23 championships after that.
“I ran a technically good race. My form has been improving steadily and I feel I can run even faster in Athens next week,” Pickering said. He said he was confident Britain could win the 4×100 meters relay at August’s world championships in Osaka.
U.S. world champion Michelle Perry had a less than happy ending to her day when she had a false start, the second in the 100 meters hurdles final after Slovak Miriam Bobkova had the first, and was automatically disqualified.
Gebrselassie, the best distance runner of his era, retired from track running to concentrate on the marathon after the 2004 Athens Olympics.
In preparation for Wednesday’s record attempt he made a surprise return to the track in the Dutch town of Hengelo last month, clocking 26:52.91 in a 10,000 meters.
“Today is just fantastic day,” he said.
Gebrselassie is one of only three men to win consecutive Olympic 10,000 meters titles, the second at the 2000 Sydney Games providing an indelible image when he just held off the frenzied challenge of his great Kenyan rival, Paul Tergat.
He set 17 world records before his 2004 retirement from the track and has since broken a further three road records plus Wednesday’s double on the Ostrava track.
MOGADISHU, Somalia: Unidentified gunmen lobbed three hand grenades at a police truck patrolling the main market in Somalia’s capital Wednesday, missing the truck and killing two shoppers, police and witnesses said.
Also on Wednesday, former Defense Minister Barre Hirale was injured in the head in an assassination attempt, said Barre Abdi, the district commissioner of the main regional town of Bardhere, 200 miles (320 kilometers) west of Mogadishu. Abdi said Hirale’s car was hit by a land mine, and that his driver was critically injured.
It was one in a series of assassination attempts against prominent figures in Somalia. Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi alone has survived three attempts since May 2005.
The country’s Minister for Trade Abdullahi Ahmad Afrah said he survived an assassination attempt in Mogadishu on Tuesday when a roadside bomb hit his body guards’ car, killing one of them and injuring three others, one of them serious.
“It was an assassination attempt. But it failed,” Afrah who was riding another car said. “Even the targeted car was lightly damaged.”
At Mogadishu’s Bakara market, police officer Abdi Mohamed Shino, who was in the truck targeted by the grenades, said police opened fire after the attack and injured two civilians.
“Two civilians died in the (grenade) blast and two others, including a policeman, (were) wounded,” Shino said. “I think the attackers disappeared into the market.”
Abdisalan Mukhtar, who sells water at the market, said three men armed with assault rifles and two pistols arrived and hurled three hand grenades at the police.
“Then police opened fire and I saw two dead bodies lying on the ground,” Mukhtar said.
A day earlier, a roadside bomb explosion killed five women and a man and wounded nine other people in an area not far from the market.
Government troops backed by Ethiopian [Woyanne] forces drove an Islamic movement from Mogadishu six months ago, but have since struggled to put down remnants of the Islamic movement as well as clan fighting.
The Elman Human Rights Organization on Wednesday accused Somali and Ethiopian forces of killing or arresting innocent civilians without proper judicial process.
“On June 19, Ethiopian troops killed six civilians including three brothers, who were students,” the local group’s chairman, Sudan Ali Ahmed, told The Associated Press. “These soldiers always arrest at least 10 people after each explosion. Those who are arrested are in detention centers without trial.”
Ahmed also expressed concern over the arrest of many prominent clerics and four Tanzanians who fled from Zanzibar seven years ago. The Tanzanians have been missing for two months, Ahmed said, adding that there was a possibility they ended up in Ethiopia.
“All these killings and detentions without trial are human rights violations,” Ahmed said.
Government spokesman Abdi Haji Gobdon dismissed the allegations.
“We don’t arrest people without any reason or hold them without trial,” Gobdon said. “We don’t kill people aimlessly. The allegations are baseless and unfounded.”
Dozens of foreigners have been held in Ethiopian jails and accused of ties to Islamic militants in Somalia. Human rights activists and lawyers have accused Ethiopia of establishing an illegal detention program that violates international law. Ethiopia says the detentions are part of the fight against terrorism and that it has the right to defend itself.
AP Writer Nasteex Dahir Farah contributed to this report from Kismayo, Somalia.
Valkenwaard, The Netherlands – Last night (26) on what was a cool (13 degrees CT) low windy evening Ethiopia’s Mestewat Tufa ran the fastest 10.000 metres for women of the season at Valkenswaard in the south of The Netherlands with a time of 31:00:27.
Holland seems to be a good country for women’s races over 25 laps on the track. On 17 June, Florence Jehwat Kiplagat of Kenya also ran a then season’s best in Utrecht with 31:06:20.
In the local meet at Valkenswaard, seven Ethiopian women tried to qualify for the Osaka World Championships in August. The women went for the qualifying time of 31:10:00 set by the Ethiopian Federation.
Mestewat Tufa (23) was the only one to reach the fast standard asked by her federation.
In the beginning of the race the group stayed together but after four kilometres the Tufa broke away. She ran a steady pace of 73 seconds per lap and finally won by over a half minute on Etalemahu Kidane who finished second in 31:33:49.
Gete Wami, the 1999 World 10,000m champion, who was the pre-race favourite lost contact with the leaders quickly at the beginning and did not finish the race just as Moroccan Zhor el Kamch.
Tufa knows what winning is all about in The Netherlands. In 2003 (49:06) and last year (47:22) she has won the Zeuvelenloop (15 kms) at Nijmegen.
Wim van Hemert for the IAAF
Results
Women
1. Mestewat Tufa (Eth) 31:00:27
2. Etalemahu Kidane (Eth) 31:33:49
3. Bizunesh Bekele (Eth) 31:45:98
4. Alemu Deriba (Eth) 31:58:44
5. Genet Getaneh (Eth) 32:09:50
6. Rian van de Burgt (Ned) 37:31:86
d.n.f: Gete Wami (Eth) and Zhor el Kamch (Mar)
Justice is like fire; even if one covers it with a veil, it still burns. (Malagasy Proverb)
One of our strongest weapons is dialogue, sit down with a man, if you have prepared your case very well, that man, after he has sat down to talk to you, will never be the same again. It has been a very powerful weapon. – Nelson Mandela
Introduction
All those who desire to see a democratic, free, stable, peaceful, secure and prosperous Ethiopia can only wish all the divisions, rifts, squabbles, mistrusts and hatred borne of the many real and imagined difficulties and history come to an end through a moratorium freely entered out of respect of the important historic moment that September 11, 2007 provides as Ethiopia’s 2000 year old 2nd Millennium!
Such a historic milestone is rare. It should not pass with the messy and ugly quarrels that our nation is currently lumbered with. Our church is divided. The nation’s moral and material needs are not fully satisfied. Our politics is cantankerous and brutal. The mistrust amongst opposition and government is high. Even the mistrust within opposition groups is unforgivably destructive and often childish. Meanwhile the clock is ticking to the Millennium Day. It will be our generational and collective failure if we fail to create a grand moratorium where for a change and just for once we ignore the things that agitate each of us and reach out to each other and enter the next 1000 years with hope, justice and the will to triumph over cruelty and adversity together as one.
Leadership
Here is a challenge to leadership. The first move to prepare a new environment that can bring all together in a moratorium for the grand entry into the millennium and beyond must come from the sitting Government. If this Government fails to live up to the call of history and rise above its own worries and pre-occupations and call on all to join, it is hard to expect those who are imprisoned and feel persecuted to join in spite of the Government. So there is thus a call to national leadership. The big question is whether this Government can rise to the challenge and create the conditions for the moratorium to be created. For once it must learn to be humble before history, before the millennium and the people and lead to initiate a moratorium by releasing the prisoners immediately and unconditionally.
Release all Prisoners
There is a national conversation that the prisoners of conscience will be released. Equally confusing and mixed signals continue to appear that the prisoners may or may not be released. This speculation is unnerving if not cruel. Will the prisoners of conscience be released or not? What is the Government thinking? Why keep spouting out doubts to a population anxious to celebrate the release of those the people elected believing in a rule of the game that seemed to launch a democratic era in this ancient of ancient nations? It is impermissible to bring in irrelevant concerns such as what happens in the USA or Europe to keep the prisoners hostage in exchange to what legislators and parliamentarians do or not do elsewhere in other lands. Frankly it is not good to use it to keep them in jail, as the reports tell it. If the agreement has been reached through mediators to release the prisoners, the Government side must honour this agreement and release the prisoners unconditionally. There must not be any prevarication. The longer the prisoners remain in jail, the harder it becomes to prepare the ground for a grand and united entry into the millennium and beyond by securing a collective pause to enter into a moratorium for the millennium: united, together by suspending group interests and preoccupations and setting them aside at least for one month- the month of September! This is not much to ask, neither anything to lose, but much to be gained!!!
The AU-CIVIL Society Pre-Summit
I went to Accra to participate to the AU-Civil Society Summit. My main goal in making this journey was exactly the same as I did a similar journey to go to Ottawa to appeal and plead for the release of the prisoners of conscience.
My motion stated:
“We call upon the Heads of States in Africa assembled in Accra, Ghana marking the 50th anniversary of the independence of Ghana to accelerate the implementation of the African peer review mechanism without doctoring the evidence and interfering with the process by maintaining integrity and ethics at the highest level possible; call for a strict adherence and implementation of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights- as a sure guarantee to facilitating the grand debate to accelerate African integration, self-reliance, renaissance, unity and freedom.
In this connection we call on the assembled Heads of States to treat the African democratic opposition with democratic toleration so that all can enter into a public arena where the rule of the game allows democratic debate, conflict avoidance and security commitment. There is no worthier shared value than creating the conditions for democratic opposition to express voice without threat and intimidation obviating the need for the opposition to resort to strategies that contravene peaceful methods of struggles.
In the end as Dr. Nkrumah said the Independence of Ghana is incomplete without the total liberation of Africa, today in the 21st century the overriding value is the democratisation of each African country as a necessary condition for the democratisation of all others. This is the value that we Africans must share to evolve a collective strategy in dealing with a difficult world and communicate better and with openness with each other.
Finally we call upon the Heads of States to call upon their Ethiopian colleagues to release without any condition the prisoners of concience in Ethiopia that have been put into jail for the crime of expressing fine citizenship of the highest quality and standard.”
The Summit accepted the substance of my motion to release the prisoners of conscience, although it did not include it in the final communiqué. The main reason for that was the fact that the issue of prisoners release did not fit directly with the main topic of the pre- Summit conference : The AFRICAN UNION GOVERNMENT: Towards the United States of Africa by ACCELERATING AFRICA’S INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
The Struggle Continues in the Summit and beyond
Codesria has put a fine statement and appeal to the Summit. This is an important statement of solidarity and NES encourages all to heed the Codesria call and join their appeal:
“CODESRIA invites all its members and other researchers and persons concerned about the freedom of the intellectual and the principles of justice and fair play to join in the protests which the Council is mobilising for the attention of the Ethiopian authorities and the African Union. The expressions of concern should be addressed to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Meles Zenawi and copied to the Chair of the Commission of the African Union, Mr. Alpha Omar Konare, and sent directly to CODESRIA at the following e-mail address: [email protected]. The Council intends to collate all letters of expression of concern and solidarity and forward these to the appropriate quarters in Addis Ababa. The letters will also be distributed for campaigning purposes at the upcoming summit of the African Union holding in Accra, Ghana, in July 2007 where, in concert with other organisations and networks, CODESRIA is determined to make the fate of the Ethiopia 38 an issue that has to be addressed and resolved in the only viable way available: Their total and unconditional freedom.
The Council invites a full and enthusiastic response to this call for solidarity with the Ethiopia 38 and for an expression of outrage at the behaviour of the Ethiopian authorities. In acting, let us all be reminded that at this critical point in time, silence and/or indifference are not options to be exercised and duty demands that we muster our collective solidarity to make a difference in the fate of colleagues, courageous men and women from the academy and civil society who dared, in accordance with the spirit of the 1990 Kampala Declaration, to be socially engaged, won an uncommon victory, and are being persecuted by a ruling oligarchy that is unwilling, no matter the cost, to accept the popular verdict returned by the people of Ethiopia”
There are also other teach-ins and a number of other activities those civil society groups, parliamentarians that have put the case of the prisoners of conscience in the African agenda in Accra. Andargatchew Tsige and others are expected to join this effort. Not only are other Africans concerned about the prisoners of conscience, but they are deeply worried also with the danger of ‘the politicisation of ethnicity and the ethnicisation of politics’ pauses for Ethiopia and more widely for a pan-African project in Africa. Far from Ethiopia being a symbol and example of African unity and renaissance, the particular ethnic politicisation is perceived as a matter of concern for all of Africa. Whilst in Accra I was struck by how much Ethiopia meant to the first generation of independent Ghana. Even the flag of Ghana in substance if not in form is borrowed from Ethiopia. A number of names from Ethiopia are used to name the streets of Ghana. The respect of Ghanaian intellectuals to Ethiopia as a symbol of freedom is still current. I felt proud to see this wonderful connection of Ethiopia with Ghana, Africa’s first free star from colonialism. Ghana appears to enjoy not only Ghananian but also Pan-African organic intellectuals
Concluding Remark: Call for Ethiopian Intellectuals!
On the contrary in Ethiopia, I feel we have intellectuals that may be linked to the people but who do not share an African and indeed even an Ethiopian project. There may be intellectuals with a project but who are not linked to the moral and well being of the people. There is a need in Ethiopia to create organic intellectuals with both a shared project and rooted in the lives and well being of the people and the country.
I am struck by how much there is a failure to create such organic Ethiopian intellectuals that combine project specially a pan- African project with rooted-ness in the peoples life, needs and moral and material welfare. Ethiopia desperately needs large minded, open and powerful intellectuals who share a value, vision and mission to undertake a project that unite the people and not divide them, that anchor them morally and not disperse them, that inspires them to improve their well being and their lives and not kill them and expose them to risk and danger. We need a community of organic intellectuals to support the people in their democratisation and enlightenment. But first thing first we need to unite and get the prisoners released and vow to make sure the opportunity of the millennium is not lost to march in unity even if this is only for one month to start with.
The organic intellectuals are needed to think big, to think deep and act with commitment to create democratic toleration, democratic institutions where transitions are lawful, predictable, irreversible and sustainable. There must be an opportunity for those who wish to run for public life to circulate and for each set of people to come to Government, make their mistakes and go out allowing others to make their mistakes and pass on the baton to others within a rule of law and rule of the game that is open, transparent, non-deceptive, legal and moral producing justice and development in the process. Only when the society is able to circulate argument like commodities can real organic intellectuals emerge to generate a vibrant public sphere. Let us hope the Millennium will be a moment where we all reflect how to bring about this civilisation for this oldest of the old countries in the world. Millennium times are rare and come once in a thousand years. Let us not regret latter by missing the moment. Seize the moment now. Tomorrow is too late! First thing first let the prisoners free without delay and confusion.
Ostrava (Czech Republic), June 28: Twice Olympic 10,000 meters champion Haile Gebrselassie broke the world one-hour and 20 kilometers marks at the “Golden Spike” grand prix athletics meeting on Wednesday.