The history of Ethiopia is replete with contradictions and paradoxes. There are accounts galore of heroism and meekness, patriotism and treachery, devotion and apathy, and, above all, fear of God and acts of brutality in that ancient country. These chronicles may help provide clues about the root causes of the Woyane anti-Ethiopia schema and the appropriate plan of action needed to deracinate them.
By anti-Ethiopianism we purport the systematic and government-sanctioned weakening of the national fabric by pitting one ethnic group against another, as was witnessed recently in such areas as Benishangul-Gumuz and Gura Ferda zones. Anti-Ethiopianism is the appalling government policy of dislocating natives from their ancestral lands and transferring national wealth to foreigners at dirt cheap prices. It is anti-Ethiopianism to frame a constitution whose central object is to promote the disintegration and land-lockedness of the country. Most importantly, anti-Ethiopianism implies the deviant system of government under which all major economic, political and military institutions are controlled by the minority Woyane group, and through which fundamental human rights are suppressed and the people are denied their basic rights to participate in free and fair elections.
Confucius sagaciously advised: “Study the past if you would define the future.” Accordingly, when we consider the current predicaments of the country, which are characterized by ethnocentrism, totalitarianism, corruption, nepotism and absence of a feeling of Ethiopian patriotism amongst the rulers; and, most importantly, when we search for a viable solution to them, we should go no further for clues and explanations than the recent past events, beginning with the invasion of Italy in 1935-1940.
Much has been documented about the infamous Fascist aggression by notable Ethiopian and Western historians, journalists and novelists, as well as other writers who had taken active parts in the actual war. While well-researched history books and journal articles may serve as the ultimate sources for academic exercise, there is considerable information that may be gleaned from anecdotal accounts narrated by individuals based on their personal experiences. In this regard, we are fortunate to have at our disposal now the writings of three foreigners who had the opportunity to witness firsthand the savagery of the Fascist aggression, the heroism of the Ethiopian fighters, and the betrayal by local collaborators.
The three foreigners, whose paths had crossed several times in the battles of Tembien, Maichew and other fronts, had fought on the side of Ethiopia under the leaderships of such eminent Ethiopians as Ras Kassa Hailu Darge, Ras Seyoum Mengesha and Ras Mulugeta Yiggezu, the War Minister. In so doing, they were able to record considerable historical data and to leave behind intriguing accounts of bravery and treachery that could inform present and future researchers seeking answers to some of the most complex questions about present-day Ethiopia. Most importantly, they provide critical insights into the underlying reasons for the anti-Ethiopian agenda Zenawi and his Woyane entourage successfully exploited to catapult themselves to power; the continued damage to the long-term viability of the country that is caused by the misguided fiscal, economic, educational and military policies implemented by the TPLF-led regime; and the institutionalization of ethnic-based governance that is portentously promoted to nurture inter-ethnic animosity among brothers and sisters who have lived in relative harmony for many centuries.
Recently, the works of two of the foreigners were made accessible to Amharic readers. The first, ቀይ አንበሳ (Alpha, 2003) was translated by Tesfaye M. Bayileyegn from the original narration of Colonel Alejandro del Valle1. The second book, የሃበሻ ጀብዱ (AAU Press, 2010), is a translation by Techane J. Mekonnen based on Adolf Parlesack’s memoir in Czech entitled Habesska Odyssea (Praha : Panorama, 1989). The third, and most controversial, memoir was written by Colonel Feodor Konovalov, a Russian military adviser to Ras Seyoum Mengesha and other leaders. While there is no accessible Amharic translation of Konovalov’s writings, relevant excerpts are available in various sources (see, e.g., Clarke III, 2008 2).
Excepting a few and infrequent inconsistencies among the renditions of the three foreigners about shared events that they had jointly witnessed, there is a remarkable degree of consistency in their accounts of the breathtaking gallantry of Ethiopian fighters, as well as the distressingly heartrending treachery of domestic collaborators, especially from Tigray, Rayya, and Azebo regions, in the early days of the war.
Although Konovalov was generally silent on the contribution of the traitors to the defeat of Ethiopia, he was in remarkable concord with the other two in expressing awe and admiration at the inimitable valor and fearlessness of the Ethiopian army in the face of an infinitely better armed enemy. Quoting a Western diplomat, Konovalov was unhesitant to affirm: “… the Ethiopian soldier, well-taught and well-led, had no equal anywhere in the world.” The memoirs of all three abound with their eyewitness accounts of how, defying all odds against them, waves of primitively armed Ethiopian fighters, composed of men and women from every ethnic group, religious persuasion and social ladder, stormed, time and again, well fortified Italian positions, sending terror and confusion among the enemy. As one reads about the surreal exploits of those brave fighters, the knowledge of belonging to a people of such valiance and heroism fills one’s heart with a sense of immense pride. In one instance, for example, del Valle tells of a story in which the Ethiopians ferociously and unstoppably climbed up a hill to engage the enemy that was assailing them from above with automatic weapons and mustard gas. In summarizing his amazement at the extraordinary scene he was witnessing, he wrote: “The efforts of the invaders to try to stop those brave Ethiopians, who were charging uphill over the bodies of their fallen compatriots, was like firing bullets from machine guns to futilely slow down the gushing of water downhill.”
The foreigners also documented heroic accomplishments of ordinary citizens, whose names never made it to the history books, but who had demonstrated unimaginable bravery on the battlefields. Among such stories eloquently told by Parlesack, none is probably as fascinating as that of a young Oromo boy from the Sellale region by the name of Abichou. Parlesack describes with a Homeric touch the valiance of the boy as he terrorized the Fascist aggressors, chased to their deaths many of the traitors, coordinated a multi-ethnic army from Hamassen, Tigray, Gojjam and Sellale, and scored countless victories against the invading army.
Parlesack and del Valle were also unreserved in their expression of disgust at the degree of betrayal and treachery perpetrated by some members of the Tigray, Rayya and Azebo regions that made the campaigns of the great armies of Ras Seyoum, Ras Kassa and Ras Mulugetta immeasurably arduous. Parlesack even hinted that the balance of power at the battle of Maichew was tipped in favor of the invaders, thanks in great part to the sabotage of the traitors from Rayya and Azebo, who inflicted considerable damage on the advancing Ethiopian army coming from behind at critical moments.
Among the most notorious traitors of the era was Dejazmach Haile Sellasie Gugsa, a great grandson of Emperor Yohannis IV, who gave his allegiance to Benito Mussolini in the early days of the war. This traitor facilitated the invasion of Mekelle in November of 1935, and later joined the invading army that marched on Addis Ababa in April of 1936. Throughout the occupation, he provided invaluable service as a trusted adviser to both Rodolfo Graziani and the Duke of Aosta. Remarkably, his first demonstration of treachery was to raise the Italian flag in Mekelle, desecrating the Ethiopian tri-colors. Over six decades later, another traitor, the late Meles Zenawi, would defile that same flag.
Indeed, in the face of the well-known anti-Ethiopian sentiment unabashedly exhibited by Zenawi, and now aggressively implemented by his successors, it is not beyond the realm of rational proclivity to wonder whether the turncoats of the Italo-Ethiopian war did not influence the imprudent minds of the current traitors.
Much has been disclosed about the dubious family tree of the late dictator and the backgrounds of some of those in the Woyane leadership. Regarding the notorious heritage of Zenawi, Gebremedhin Araya, a one-time TPLF fighter and an accomplished authority on the late dictator’s family history, has given gripping testimonials, in a series of ESAT interviews, how the dictator’s mind might have been poisoned while growing up in a family that had always betrayed the land they lived in. There are also troubling accounts of the backgrounds of most of the Woyane leaders, including the notorious Bereket Simon, Sibhat Negga and several others.
At a time when there is a lot of confusion among some sectors of the Ethiopian community about the true nature of the Woyane regime and its hidden agenda, it is absolutely critical to see the treachery of the rulers through the prism of their treasonous forefathers. This is especially indispensable in any effort to raise the awareness of the people of Tigray in whose name these traitors are causing immeasurable damage. Although there were several traitors who, like Haile Sellasie Gugsa, sided with the enemy and fought against the Ethiopian army, there were also exemplary patriots from the same region who valiantly fought and died in defense of their motherland against Fascist invasion. Similarly, despite the common perception that many Tigreans today are backers of the evil dictatorship, it should be incontrovertibly affirmed that there is a large proportion of Tigreans who abhor the destructive and anti-Ethiopian path followed by the Woyane regime.
The late dictator and his party have always projected themselves as saviors of the people from the tyrannical rule of the Derg. Unfortunately, many genuine Ethiopians have overlooked the fact that the Woyane regime is not only a most vicious authoritarian system, as the Derg was, but also an atrocious organization whose ultimate objective is the destruction of Ethiopia as a nation. In actual fact, no rational government in history has unilaterally advocated the dismemberment of the country it rules, made attempts to justify its isolation through land-lockedness, parceled out precious lands to foreigners at dirt cheap prices, or systematically used ethnicity, famine, illiteracy and disease as instruments to enslave the people it governs, to the extent the Woyane rulers have done so. It is therefore vitally important to effectively establish the anti-Ethiopian identity of the regime, and to reignite the patriotism of those members of the society who have been hoodwinked by the pervasive propaganda campaign that the regime has successfully, but spitefully, launched to portray itself as a better alternative to the brutal Derg dictatorship.
A major weakness of the pro-democracy movement thus far has been its hopeless ineptitude to articulate precisely why the Woyane philosophy is anti-Ethiopian, and how dangerous that philosophy is to the long-term viability of the country. The suppression of basic human rights, the codification of ethnocentrism in the constitution, the irresponsible policy of land grabs, the pitting of one ethnic group against another, and the unfettered corruption among the leaders of the regime have not been effectively communicated to the people as manifestations of this general scheme of anti-Ethiopianism that the Woyane leadership has perfected over the past several decades.
Indubitably, the only realistic strategy that would guarantee the certain destruction of the Woyane regime is one that successfully establishes and communicates to the people of Ethiopia this abhorrent nature of the regime. Without a thorough understanding of the TPLF as a perfidious organization by the people of Ethiopia in general, and those of Tigray in particular, there cannot be a unified front that is a prerequisite for a successful outcome of the struggle to save the country, liberate the oppressed, and establish a democratic system where individual freedoms would flourish and the long-term survival of Ethiopia would be guaranteed. As they have heroically demonstrated to the world before, during and after the Italo-Ethiopian war, there is nothing that unifies and arouses the fighting spirit of the people of Ethiopia more than a sense of direct threat to their heritage and independence either by foreign aggressors or domestic connivers. Pro-democracy forces, Websites, and other groups and individuals, therefore, have the moral imperative to reignite the ardor of the people to defend their country by raising their awareness as to the true nature of the treasonous organization that is Woyane.
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[1]In “Un hombre blanco en el infierno negro por el Coronel Alejandro del Valle” as told to Arturo Alfonso Roselló (Havana: Impreso en los Talleres Tipograficos, 1937)).
[2] Clarke III, JV, “Feodor Konovalov and the Italo-Ethiopian War (Part I), World War II Quarterly, 2008; 5:4-37
Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter Discusses Security Partnership With Leaders in Ethiopia
By Cheryl Pellerin | American Forces Press Service
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 25, 2013 – Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with senior government and military leaders here to discuss the U.S.-Ethiopia security partnership and shared interests in East African security challenges, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said today in a statement.
You do our bidding in the region and we won’t mention your tortures and murders. We got a deal!
Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter meets with Gen. Samora Yenus, chief of staff for Ethiopia’s defense forces, at the Ethiopian National Defense Force headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 24, 2013. DOD photo by Marine Corps Sgt. Aaron Hostutler
Carter’s July 23-24 visit to this Horn of Africa country was the final leg of a three-country trip that began in Israel and included a stop in Uganda.
The deputy secretary is the highest-ranking Defense Department official to visit Ethiopia in more than a decade, Little said.
“My visit here to Addis represents not only the increasing importance we place on our partnership with Ethiopia, but the importance we place on the role of the African Union also in addressing Africa’s security challenges, be it Somalia, Mali, the troubled Sudans, or the Central African Republic,” Carter said after a meeting last night with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Carter characterized the U.S.-Ethiopia partnership as an important bilateral relationship and expressed gratitude to Hailemariam for the critical role Ethiopia has played in addressing regional challenges in Somalia and the Sudans.
“Ethiopia and the United States have shared interests in these countries and we continue to explore additional ways that we can work together to tackle East Africa’s security challenges,” the deputy secretary said.
“I’d like to note that my government recognizes Africa’s strategic importance,” he added, “and we at the Department of Defense recognize its strategic importance today and [for] the future.”
Carter and Hailemariam also discussed next steps in response to recent events in South Sudan and exchanged views on the African Peace and Security Architecture, maritime security, and conflicts in Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic and Africa’s Great Lakes region. The African Peace and Security Architecture is an ongoing Africa-AU framework for crisis management on the African continent.
A senior defense official said that Ethiopia is not a formal partner in the African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, called AMISOM, it has forces in Somalia and was the first of Somalia’s neighbors to respond against al-Shabaab, even before the African Union pulled together what now is AMISOM. Al-Shabaab is an al-Qaida-linked militant group and U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization fighting to create a fundamentalist Islamic state in Somalia.
“The Ethiopians are the No. 1 peacekeeping contributor in Africa at this point in terms of number of forces,” the official added. “They have substantial forces involved in South Sudan and in Sudan, and they’ve been involved diplomatically there as well.”
Carter also met with Chief of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces Gen. Samora Yenus to discuss the critical role Ethiopia has played in stabilizing Somalia and providing peacekeepers along the border between Sudan and South Sudan.
While in Addis Ababa, home of the African Union headquarters, the deputy secretary met with Erastus Mwencha, deputy chairperson of the African Union Commission, the most senior DOD leader ever to visit the AU. The African Union, made up of 54 African states, this year celebrated the 50th anniversary of its original Organization of African Unity. The AU took the place of the OAU nearly a decade ago, and one of its objectives is to promote peace, security and stability on the continent.
At the AU, Carter thanked Mwencha for the African Union’s leadership in tackling Africa’s security challenges.
The deputy secretary also met with alumni from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Addis, founded in 1999 and one of five DOD regional centers.
The ACSS is an agency within DOD that serves as a link between military and civilians involved in the security sector from across Africa, Europe and the United States, according to center literature. The goal is to bring people together to maintain a global network of professionals with a shared commitment to addressing security-related challenges facing Africa.
At a breakfast yesterday morning, Carter met with ACSS alumni from across the continent who offered their perspectives on Africa’s progress in addressing its security and development challenges.
“My job in the Department of Defense is to let people have the basic security that allows everything else in life to be possible — economic development, political development, personal development, community development and everything else,” he told the alumni.
None of that is possible, he said, unless people can wake up every morning and go to work and take their children to school and do all kinds of everyday activities in a safe environment. A few places in the world are blessed with such security, and after a while begin to take it for granted, he added, and people who don’t have it think of nothing else.
“So our job in part is to provide that security. Here in Africa, there are so many sources of insecurity and certainly the United States military is not the answer to them,” Carter said. “We try to make contributions where we can, where you teach us that would be a useful thing to do, and I’m very open to that.
“We in the United States are increasingly turning our thoughts to Africa,” he continued, “because we recognize that this is one of the places that is going to determine its future and our future by trade and culture and many other things.”
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — I AM jailed, with around 200 other inmates, in a wide hall that looks like a warehouse. For all of us, there are only three toilets. Most of the inmates sleep on the floor, which has never been swept. About 1,000 prisoners share the small open space here at Kaliti Prison. One can guess our fate if a communicable disease breaks out.
I was arrested in September 2011 and detained for nine months before I was found guilty in June 2012 under Ethiopia’s overly broad Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, which ostensibly covers the “planning, preparation, conspiracy, incitement and attempt” of terrorist acts. In reality, the law has been used as a pretext to detain journalists who criticize the government. Last July, I was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
I’ve never conspired to overthrow the government; all I did was report on the Arab Spring and suggest that something similar might happen in Ethiopia if the authoritarian regime didn’t reform. The state’s main evidence against me was a YouTube video of me, saying this at a public meeting. I also dared to question the government’s ludicrous claim that jailed journalists were terrorists.
Under the previous regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, I was detained. So was my wife, Serkalem Fasil. She gave birth to our son in prison in 2005. (She was released in 2007.) Our newspapers were shut down under laws that claim to fight terrorism but really just muzzle the press.
We need the United States to speak out. In the long march of history, at least two poles of attraction and antagonism have been the norm in world politics. Rarely has only one nation carried the burden of leadership. The unipolar world of the 21st century, dominated for the past two decades by the United States, is a historical anomaly. And given America’s role, it bears a responsibility to defend democracy and speak out against those nations that trample it.
I distinctly remember the vivacious optimism that inundated the United States when the Soviet Union imploded in the early 1990s. This was not glee generated by the doom of an implacable enemy, but thrill germinated by the real possibilities that the future held for freedom.
And nothing encapsulated the spirit of the times better than the idea of “no democracy, no aid.” Democracy would no longer be the esoteric virtue of Westerners but the ubiquitous expression of our common humanity.
But sadly America’s actions have fallen far short of its words. Suspending aid, as many diplomats are apt to point out, is no panacea for all the ills of the world. Nor are sanctions. But that’s a poor excuse for the cynicism that dominates conventional foreign policy. There is space for transformative vision in diplomacy.
Sanctions tipped the balance against apartheid in South Africa, minority rule in Zimbabwe, and military dictatorship in Myanmar. Sanctions also buttressed peaceful transitions in these countries. Without the hope of peaceful resolution embedded in the sanctions, a descent to violence would have been inevitable.
Now that large swaths of Africa have become safely democratic, ancient and fragile Ethiopia, where a precarious dictatorship holds sway, is dangerously out of sync with the times.
In May, America’s secretary of state, John Kerry, visited Ethiopia and lauded the country’s economic growth. His words showed how little attention he paid to reality. The State Department’s annual report on human-rights conditions has been critical of Ethiopia’s government since 2005. I’d like to think that report represents the real stance of America’s government, rather than Mr. Kerry’s praise for our authoritarian leaders.
Not much has changed since our last dictator, Mr. Meles, died last August. There have been no major policy changes. The draconian press and antiterrorism laws are still there. There has been no improvement when it comes to press freedom.
With a population fast approaching 100 million, Ethiopia, unlike Somalia, is simply too big to ignore or contain with America’s regional proxies.
As Ethiopia goes, so goes the whole Horn of Africa — a region where instability can have major security and humanitarian implications for the United States and Europe. Al Qaeda has a presence here, and hundreds of millions of aid dollars flow into the region while millions of emigrants flow out.
In other words, Ethiopia must not be allowed to implode. And it would be irresponsible for the world’s lone superpower to stand by and do nothing.
It is time for the United States to live up to its historical pledge by taking action against Ethiopia, whose reckless government has, since 2005, been the world’s star backslider on democracy.
I propose that the United States impose economic sanctions on Ethiopia (while continuing to extend humanitarian aid without precondition) and impose travel bans on Ethiopian officials implicated in human rights violations.
Tyranny is increasingly unsustainable in this post-cold-war era. It is doomed to failure. But it must be prodded to exit the stage with a whimper — not the bang that extremists long for.
I am confident that America will eventually do the right thing. After all, the new century is the age of democracy primarily because of the United States.
Here in the Ethiopian gulag, this alone is reason enough to pay homage to the land of the brave.
Eskinder Nega, an Ethiopian journalist and the recipient of the 2012 PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award, has been imprisoned since September 2011.
The 30th anniversary celebration of the annual Ethiopian soccer and cultural festival that just concluded in Washington is a rejection of division along ethnic lines and an affirmation of Ethiopian unity and nationalism.
“I saw Ethiopians, who did not know the tribe, region, religion or political view of others around them, treating others with respect, consideration and civility. I wondered, if Ethiopians can do it so well here in America, why can they not do it in Ethiopia …. It could make Ethiopia a haven, not only for Ethiopians, but for others as well. ” Obang Metho
(PRESS RELEASE) — The Ethiopian government is treading in narrow and treacherous waters replete with religious identities. It is breaching international covenants with regard to freedom of religion by engaging in the religious persecution of the Muslims who are half of its citizens. Its egregious acts are: 1) importing from Lebanon an alien ideology (Al-Ahbash) that is cloaked in faith but is incompatible with the prevailing peaceful Muslim belief system; 2) imposing forcibly this sect’s ideology on Ethiopian Muslims; 3) instituting an illegal indoctrination policy across the landscape using the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (EIASC) as its instrument and; 4) implementing extra-judicial rulings on those resisting the application of these draconian rules. These unprecedented actions are in violation of its contract with the UN and the Ethiopian constitution. Although the Ahbash followers have the right to co-exist with other believers in Ethiopia, the government with financing from Lebanon should not impose their belief system on others. This is an anathema to religious freedom. Therefore, the government’s unparalleled grand design to replace and perhaps eradicate the Ethiopian Muslims’ millennium-old faith will not be tolerated.
Freedom of religion is a God-given right and a fundamental pillar of human liberty. This truth was also enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Ethiopia is signatory. Part of the UN’s preamble states:
“……freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people.”
The Ethiopian constitution also states in:
Articles 11, 13 and 27 respectively,
“….. the State shall not interfere in religious affairs;
“…..The fundamental rights and freedoms enumerated in this Chapter shall be interpreted in a manner consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rightscovenants and conventions ratified by Ethiopia.
“….No one shall be subject to coercion by force or any other means, …to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
Unfortunately, in contravention of the UN’s Human Rights declaration that it signed and the Ethiopian constitution that it ratified, the Ethiopian government has violated the rights of the Muslims in a barefaced manner.
Today’s world-wide rally lends credence and support to the peaceful protest that commenced in Ethiopia over a year ago. The non-political and purely religious grievances of the Ethiopian Muslims as reiterated by the 17 elected members of the Arbitration Committee (AC) and supported by over 80,000 signatures represent the objections to the government’s coercive imposition, indoctrination, and interference policy. These are laid out in these simple words: 1) Stop meddling in the religious affairs of the Muslims; 2) Stop imposing the alien ideology of the Ahbash on the Muslims; and 3) Stop hand-picking un-elected administrators and placing them in EIASC, which is controlled by covert government cadres. Echoing these simple demands should not have resulted in the incarceration of the AC members in maximum detention facility. We believe they are prisoners of conscience and should therefore be immediately released and returned to their families. We also demand the government to cease and desist its attempt to create schism between the Muslims and Christians who have lived side by side peacefully for centuries.
Also, the universal calls from expatriate nationals, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom, the European Commission, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, etc., have not budged the Ethiopian government from its contumacious position. The massive world-wide rally on July 26, 2013 is intended to keep these unfulfilled constitutional rights alive and garner support by appealing to public officials and inviting ordinary peace-loving citizens to join us for this historical rally.
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Addis Ababa– An Ethiopian Airline plane from the capital Addis Ababa to the northern tourist town of Axum was forced to make a rough landing on Wednesday after its smoke sensors went off minutes before landing, an airline official told Sudan Tribune.
The plane, a Bombardier Q400 with 78 passengers and crew on board, made the landing after alarms went off went off to warn of smoke in one of its wings.
“The smoke sensors in the aircraft indicated a fire alarm one minute before landing” the official who decline to be named said adding, “the left wing of the plane was smoking and one engine was not functioning properly”
The official said the cause of the smoke is under investigation. By the time of filing this report, Ethiopian Airlines had not made an official statement over the incident.
“We could see smoke coming out of the plane’s wing. Everybody panicked. It was a very scary incident,” said Rigaet Haile-aeb, one of the passengers on board told the Sudan Tribune by phone.
Haile-aeb was travelling with her husband and their one year old daughter.
The captain reportedly made a steep descent and quickly landed before reaching the main runway to avoid a potential fire outbreak as all passengers safely disembarked from the plane.
Quoting aviation experts, the Ethiopian Airlines officials said the aircraft could have blown up in the sky, had the smoke – which had the potential of turning into fire – began five minutes earlier.
The official lauded the captain’s quick measures and his courage in handling the situation professionally. Passengers reportedly paid tribute to the captain for saving their lives.
This is a second Ethiopian passenger plane to face difficulties in less than one week.
Last week, Ethiopian Airlines owned Boeing 787 Dreamliner which was parked at Britain’s Heathrow airport caught fire forcing a temporary shutdown to the airport’s main runways.
