A spokesman for the Ethiopian government said on Sunday that the English monarch Queen Elizabeth the 2nd was descended from a 19th century tribeswoman from the Semien Mountains in northern Ethiopia. Records from the nation’s archives apparently provide evidence of a secret liaison between the then king Edward VII and a local unnamed peasant women. Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandfather, also known as the “uncle of Europe”, was said to have enjoyed numerous hunting trips into the heart of Africa during his lifetime.
Sceptics claim that the Ethiopians are trying to follow in the footsteps of their southern neighbour Kenya, who have a legitimate connection to the newly elected US president Barack Obama on his paternal side. Both the Kenyan and Eritrean governments were quick to squash the rumours regarding Queen Elizabeth as ‘absolute and crazy nonsense’.
However, an English historian who has chosen to remain anonymous said it could well be possible. Speaking from Addis Ababa airport, he said:
“I think there is a case to be made that Queen Elizabeth II is in fact partly Ethiopian. From the documents I have seen today, it is apparent that her ancestor King Edward VII had had a hushed up sexual relationship with an albino woman from a remote village in the northern mountain ranges of Ethiopia. If we can get some DNA from her majesty and begin some tests then I think we would establish this claim as a fact beyond any doubt”.
Scientists have often studied the features of the long reigning English queen. Some German biologists pointed out in 1985, that her mouth and cheeks were not typical of the northern European facial structure. French hair salons and famous stylists have often been silenced for mentioning the incredible lengths the monarch goes to in order to take the tiny curls out of her hair.
Paris hair dresser Paul Prideux, who was once her personal stylist, said in a radio interview last year:
“It is impossible! Impossible! ‘er ‘air is like a golli… er… an African! No more I tell you. She must get ‘nother ‘airdresser!”
Buckingham Palace has yet to comment on the speculation but is expected to issue a denial in the coming days. If the claims prove to be true it could mark a major change in British-Ethiopian relations. Some royal experts and supporters even think it could mark a revival in pro-monarchist sentiments amongst the usually hostile Liberal-Left, Socialists and the BBC who would warmly welcome an ethnic minority Commander-in-Chief. Somalia, who has been in conflict with Ethiopia, is said to be worried about the possible repercussions of a future alliance of a major Western power with its enemy.
The two nations are awaiting further developments with much interest.
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA – President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday night openly clashed with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, after the two disagreed over the direction of the formation of a single government for all African states.
According to sources at the summit, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe reportedly helped Mr Museveni take on Col. Gaddafi, who besides mooting the single African government plan, also sought to be bestowed the title “King of Kings”.
Col. Gaddafi reportedly clashed with Mr Museveni over his calls for speeding of the single African government plan. Whereas Mr Museveni calls for strengthening of regional blocs, a position he reiterated in Addis Ababa, Col. Gaddafi wants an immediate fast track to form the United States of Africa.
In what looked like a parliamentary debate characterised by points of order, the two leaders also disagreed on the involvement of traditional leaders by Col. Gaddafi in his pursuit of the United States of Africa dream.
Col. Gaddafi sponsored Mr Museveni’s National Resistance Army guerilla war that brought the Ugandan leader to power in 1986.
Their current disagreements could bring one of the longest political relationships to an end. At the AU summit, Mr Museveni reportedly warned that he would arrest any traditional leader in Uganda who claimed to speak for Col. Gaddafi.
The Ugandan government last month cancelled a summit of traditional leaders across the continent convened in Kampala and funded by Col. Gaddafi, saying the leaders had discussed politics.
The Ugandan Constitution bars traditional leaders from participating in partisan politics. In Col. Gaddafi’s proposal for the single government, Africa is to have a president, a vice-president and secretaries handling various portfolios such as foreign affairs, research and the battle against pandemics.
However, with much opposition from the other African leaders, Col. Gaddafi stormed out of the meeting at about 2am and a few minutes later, all the leaders filed out.
Asked why Col. Gaddafi had stormed out, Tanzanian Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe said Gaddafi ‘’may have felt unwell”.
The summit ended yesterday with no concrete agreement on the way forward over a single government.
Col. Gaddafi said a special meeting of the group’s Council of Ministers would meet in three months’ time to iron out what powers its newly created African Union Authority should have.
This came after the 53-member group’s marathon talks that failed to agree on ways to transform the current Africa Union Commission into an authority, a process that will end with the creation of the “United States of Africa.”
Yesterday, at a meeting with journalists, Col. Gaddafi struck a conciliatory figure, talking of his vision for a “continent that relies on itself and which is a key player in world affairs.’’
He added that the continent has adopted a “step by step’’ approach to “this historic effort’’ on a single government. But, AU Commission chairman Jean Ping said ‘the whole process may take years.’’
According to Mr Ping, amending the AU Charter is not a simple task and two thirds of the 53 states must accept to proceed with the amendment.
There are some who are working double overtime to make sure Ethiopia is strewn across the African continent like shards of broken ethnic glass. They have spent the last 18 years sleepless devising ways of defeating the people by separating them along ethnic, religious, cultural, regional and class lines. Now, we say emphatically: “Enough! Not This Time!” This is our time to come together and unite against a divisive, dastardly and devilish dictatorship. This is the time to stand up and declare: “Ethiopians united can never be defeated!”
But what exactly is the “unity” which makes Ethiopians invincible? In its purest form, Ethiopian unity is a “soul-force” or “truth force” that dwells within the heart and mind of each patriotic Ethiopian and impels him or her to take a personal and public stand for the indivisibility of the Ethiopian nation under God and the one-ness of the Ethiopian people. This “truth-force” has many manifestations. As a state of mind, it signifies the indisputable principle that every Ethiopian has the right to vote for the government of his/her choice and to live in a country where human rights are fully respected and the rule of law reigns supreme. As a form of political advocacy and action, Ethiopian unity means working together on a common set of goals while respecting our differences; uniting around a common vision, agenda and dream and making a personal commitment to work with others on the basis of trust, honor and love of country. As a spiritual experience, Ethiopian unity is about praying together — regardless of our faith — for the end of tyranny and dictatorship, and the blossoming of true brotherhood and sisterhood in equality, liberty and the rule of law. Ethiopian unity is quintessentially about working together to build a future based on the firm belief that the next generation of Ethiopians will not be victimized by a succession of dictators who cling to power by means of arbitrary arrests and detentions, extrajudicial killings, political persecution and stolen elections. It is ultimately about living free in a land where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream!
Unity Does Not Mean There Are No differences
Ethnic division is an ugly fact of Ethiopian history nurtured and refined to its highest political form by the current dictators. One can not run away from it. But Ethiopian unity does not mean the complete absence of differences. The United States of America is “united” not on the basis of uniformity of culture, religion, race, class or ethnicity. Rather, diversity is the glue that holds Americans together. Americans from all walks of life live harmoniously under the rule of law which guarantees their individual rights to personal autonomy, ethnic and cultural identity and independent political activity. It is in the American melting pot that Americans of all backgrounds join hands to “form a more perfect union.” A unity where there are no differences is unnatural and unhealthy. Differences are to unity what alloys are to steel. Likewise Ethiopian unity must be forged in the hearts and minds of free men and women of all ethnic, cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds.
The Power of ONE: Each One of Us is a Unifying Force
Gandhi taught, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” If we want to see a more just and equitable society in Ethiopia, a country where the rule of law is supreme and where government fears its people, each one of us must act. Every Ethiopian is a power for good or evil. We have to make the choice to be a force for good. By every thought we contemplate and act we perform, we can bring about greater unity and harmony among the people. This is a burden of responsibility we carry for ourselves now, and for the next generation. The power of one for good or evil can not be underestimated. We have seen for nearly two decades how one man with a small group of henchmen has been able to destroy an entire nation. What we must also see is that many individuals working together can heal the wounds inflicted upon our country and set it on course to its glorious destiny. Everything begins with the one: One step begins a thousand mile journey. One tree starts a forest. One bird heralds the arrival spring. One candle illuminates the enveloping darkness. One voice can speak for thousands. One hope, one dream can raise the spirit of millions. Each one of us has the Power of One. Let’s use it for the good of Ethiopia and the Ethiopian people.
Understanding the Adversary and Extending an Olive Branch
What have we learned from the last 18 years of dictatorial rule in Ethiopia? What can we learn from the 2005 elections? How can we build coalitions to help advance democracy, freedom and human rights in Ethiopia? The last 18 years have taught us many lessons. We know that the current dictators of Ethiopia are politically and morally bankrupt, and have no legitimacy in the eyes of the people. We know their raison d’etre (reason for existence) is to cling to power by any and all means necessary. They have proven that they will lie, cheat, rob, steal, kill and do whatever it takes to keep themselves in power. We also know they thrive in a culture of corruption. Politics to them is the business of corruption. The dictators also know basic truths about themselves: They are despised by the vast majority of the people. They know after 18 years of misrule, squandering the country’s scarce resources on wars, useless projects and mindless adventures and social experiments they have little to show for it. (Recently, the World Bank reported that Ethiopia has been lagging in its infrastructure development [that is facilities, services and installations needed for the functioning of a society], as compared to other African countries.) They know they have committed so many unspeakable crimes that they dread the advent of that inevitable day when they will be held to account. They know they will never be able to win in the field of free political competition. The international community knows who they are too: war criminals, human rights violators and international outlaws. The ultimate truth about our adversaries is that they will employ a scorched earth policy if they believe they are at risk of losing power. For them it will be the old après moi le deluge (after me, the flood; or the Amharic equivalent of the donkey’s byword that she does not care if tall grasses never grow after she is gone.) For nearly two decades, they have used ethnic division to consolidate their power, and they will not hesitate to use the same strategy to dismember Ethiopia on their way out.
But there is also another truth we must know: Not all of those on the side of our adversaries are truly our adversaries. Our adversaries are not necessarily a monolith, a single block of rock. It is true that the ruthless crooks at the top are carved out of the same granite of corruption, cruelty and criminality. But there are many who just live under the dark shadow of this rock out of simple survival. They pretend to support the dictators, but in reality, they are sick and tired of living under the long dark shadow of the hard rock of dictatorship. They do not want to be the object of irrational hate, contempt and ridicule by their countrymen and women. They too want to live in peace and harmony with their brothers and sisters. We need to extend olive branches to each one of them so that they do not feel trapped in circumstances over which they have little control, and make it possible for them to join the true cause of democracy, freedom and human rights. It is not necessary to scare or humiliate them and push them deeper into desperation where they see only one option: go down with the dictators. We need to reassure them always that we bear no malice towards them, but we condemn unreservedly any intentional illegal and immoral acts they may have perpetrated against their countrymen and women.
How Do We Practice Diaspora Unity?
Unity is a combination of dialogue and action. It is fundamentally an affirmation of our humanity before ethnicity, nationality, political party, Africanity or Ethiopianity. The strongest form of human unity is based on unity of thought around principles of truth and justice. We demonstrate unity in the actions we take in our personal lives and how we treat and relate to each other; that is, in our ability to build relationships based on authenticity (the degree to which one is true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character) and not ethnicity (looking at the world through tribal and cultural lenses). Practicing unity means focusing on issues and ideas and not personalities; not dwelling too much on the wrongs that have been done to us in the past but how we can heal each other in the future; adopting evidence-based thinking instead of reacting emotionally; thinking before acting and always maintaining a personal policy of openness, honesty, fairness and respect for each other. Practicing unity is also about not acting in certain ways: refraining from soiling the names and reputations of those who struggle with us in the cause but may not agree with us on everything; avoiding rumor-mongering; not insisting that we have a monopoly ownership of the whole truth; and refusing to walk a mile in the shoes of those with whom we disagree. None of us is naïve enough to believe that we can get beyond our differences, whatever they may be, in a single political event; nor do we believe that the removal of dictatorship will be a cure-all to all of our problems. But it is necessary now to begin working together for a better future without embracing the weighty burdens of our past, or becoming its helpless victims. That is why we must embrace the audacity of hope and act selflessly to help the Motherland.
The Power of Dialogue: Out of Many Voices, ONE
The national motto of the United States declares, “E pluribus Unum” (One Out of Many). Our motto for Ethiopian Diaspora dialogue ought to be, “Out of Many Voices, One.” Coming to one voice will not be easy because there are too many echoes reverberating across the canyons that divide Ethiopians and keep us needlessly apart. We must bridge through genuine dialogue the ethnic canyons, the generational canyons, the culture canyons, the gender canyons, the language canyons, the religious canyons, the class canyons and the urban-rural canyons. We need many bridge-builders to sign up and begin working on laying the foundation for a robust Ethiopian democracy based on truly free elections, respect for the rule of law and human rights, the establishment of an independent judiciary, and the free functioning of an independent press and civic society institutions.
The power of Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue should not be undervalued. Unity of thought in dialogue must precede unity of collective action; and the power of dialogue is the power of reason and the power of honest and authentic communication. The Ethiopian Diaspora Dialogue, we believe, has started everywhere. Many are in the beginning stages. We honor all who have taken the initiative to dialogue and encourage them to continue and intensify their efforts.
We are humbly proud to be part of the emerging teams of dialogue facilitators in the Diaspora. We believe “truth-powder” is far superior to our adversaries’ gunpowder. Guns and tanks do not stand behind us. Strong beliefs and ideas about the power of a united Ethiopian people do. And there is no gun or tank that can defeat an idea whose time has come. And the time has come for all of us to work single-mindedly for the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. Ancient wisdom says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with other.” We want to go far with our compatriots on the long journey to freedom from dictatorship. As we do so, we are inspired by Barack’s message to the American people: “For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism…. Or we can come together and say, “Not this time.” It is high time that all freedom-loving patriotic Ethiopians the world over make a choice, stand up and shout: “NOT THIS TIME!” Let’s come together and make 2009 the beginning of a New Era of Unity in the Ethiopian Diaspora. YASTESERYAL!
Recent news that the Ethiopian government has cracked down on charities which receive funding from overseas should be a major cause for concern.
The Charities and Societies Act states that any organisation receiving more than 10% of its funding from abroad is a “foreign NGO” (non-governmental organisation).
In Ethiopia, a country where approximately a quarter of the population live on a dollar a day, charities inevitably struggle to raise funds domestically and subsequently look overseas.
According to the Guardian, organisations like the Ethiopian Human Rights Council and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association depend on foreign money by up to 90%.
But criminalizing charity work appears to be the latest in a string of efforts to crack down on any form of dissent in the East African country.
Censorship of media is already rife. Last summer saw the Mass Media and Freedom of Information Proclamation passed in the House of Peoples’ Representatives, drafted without consultation from journalists or legal experts.
Some say the changes are in nervous preparation for next year’s election but regardless of intention, it is drawing worrying parallels with heavily censored countries such as Zimbabwe where Zanu PF passed the Access to Information and Protect of Privacy Act in 2002.
The law saw foreign news organisations banned and many domestic publications shut down including The Zimbabwean, which is now edited by the charismatic Wilf Mbanga in England and printed in the UK and South Africa.
The few journalists that remain must be licensed, registered and pay a huge fee only to have every cough and spit heavily monitored.
If Ethiopia’s conflict with Somalia continues, it is vital that independent media be able to report on it (unlike in Zimbabwe) and that humanitarian charities remain active… even if their funding comes from western donors.
An arrest is pending for the driver who crashed his cab into Solly’s Tavern last night, an accident that caused several minor injuries and opened up a wall in the U Street corner bar. According to a police report, Afework Berhane, a 42-year-old driver from Northwest, faces arrest for operating a car with a suspended driver’s license and for hacking (operating a taxi) without a license.
Berhane could not give a statement to police or recall what had happened when they arrived at the scene of the accident. The officer leading the investigation cited a “medical emergency of an unknown nature” as the reason for the accident. Unable to provide further information, Berhane was admitted to George Washington Hospital, where he is still being treated as of this writing. Hospital officials could not say whether he would be released directly into police custody.
Berhane’s Maryland driver’s license was suspended in March 2008. His District of Columbia Taxicab Commission face-identification card expired January 31, 2008. There were no insurance records in his car at the time of the accident.
Eileen Naples of Arlington had stepped into the cab at the northeast corner of 11th and U Streets NW and was waiting for her cousin to get in when Berhane peeled off in a diagonal direction across the intersection. Doctors believe that Naples broke her nose but she says she is otherwise alright. She could not say what caused the accident. “The door was still open,” she says. “I didn’t even have time to react.”
Four friends who were sitting in the bar’s window nook facing 11th Street were taken to area hospitals. Though all four of them were assumed to have broken bones, x-rays revealed that their injuries were limited to bruises and lacerations.
“I was basically pinned up against the car and the building,” says Mariel Wiswell, one of the four sitting in the window. “We think it’s a miracle that nothing was broken and that we’re still here. You don’t hear about people living through something like this.”
Her boyfriend, Eric Backus, says that he nicked an artery in his right leg that was still bleeding. All four Northwest residents have been released from medical care.
Wiswell said that she and others could see Berhane experiencing what appeared to be seizure-like symptoms in the cab. “Out of nowhere, this loud crash—and everything was in slow motion. The accelerator was still on,” she recalls. “He was seizing still on the scene.”
A woman who picked up the call at the company listed as the taxicab’s owner said that she did not speak English and did not comment further.
Although the bar now has a new and unsolicited east entryway, that will not prevent Solly’s from opening for Saturday night. The bar will open at 6 p.m. tonight and intends to keep normal business hours open for the duration of repairs.
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have completed the first high-resolution CT scan of the world’s most famous fossil, Lucy, an ancient human ancestor who lived 3.2 million years ago.
Lucy is in the United States as part of a world premiere exhibit organized by the Houston Museum of Natural Science.
John Kappelman, professor of anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts, led the scientific team that conducted the scan of Lucy, whose remains include about 40 percent of her skeleton, making her the oldest and most complete skeleton of any adult, erect-walking human fossil.
“By examining the internal architecture of Lucy’s bones, we can study how her skeleton supported her movement and posture, and compare that to modern humans and apes,” Kappelman said. “Because Lucy is so complete, she is one of the few fossils that permit us to compare how she used her arms versus how she used her legs. These new data will allow us to examine the theory that she climbed about in the trees, as well as walked on two legs when she was on the ground.”
Although Lucy is small (about one meter tall), her contribution to science has been large. She represents a distinct species of human ancestor, known as Australopithecus afarensis, or “southern ape of Afar,” in reference to where the bones were found.
Prior to the 1974 discovery of Lucy, some theories of evolution suggested human-like intelligence evolved before upright posture (bipedalism). But the existence of ancient bipeds like Lucy refutes this theory because their brain is not significantly larger than that of a modern chimpanzee.
The Ethiopian government entrusted Lucy to Kappelman and Richard Ketcham, associate professor of geological sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences and director of the university’s High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility, one of the world’s premier labs for this work.
Scientists at the facility have scanned thousands of delicate fossils and biological specimens, including irreplaceable items such as the brain case of Archaeopteryx (one of the oldest and most primitive birds known). Because CT allows scientists to see inside fossils without doing any harm, it has become one of the most powerful tools for studying precious, one-of-a-kind specimens.
“We have more experience scanning natural history objects and dealing with the issues that can arise in scanning natural material than any other lab in the world,” Ketcham said. “The equipment is constantly updated and we’ve created a large, specialized toolkit to process the scan data and to extract the maximum amount of information from it. There’s no other place the Ethiopian government could have sent Lucy to get better imagery or to acquire it more safely.”
For 10 days the university team worked around the clock to scan all 80 pieces of Lucy’s skeleton. The scientists created custom-built foam mounts to safely hold the specimens in the scanner. And each piece was carefully examined before and after scanning to ensure that no damage occurred during the project.
The successful completion of Lucy’s scan means that the specimen is now safely archived in digital format, another of the reasons behind the scanning.
“These scans will ensure that future generations are familiar with Lucy,” said Jara Mariam, director general of Ethiopia’s Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage, “and will know of Ethiopia’s central contribution to the study of human evolution. A virtual Lucy will be able to visit every classroom on the planet.”
“In some ways, scanning Lucy was the easy part,” Ketcham said. For the next several months, the research team, consisting of scientists from all around the country, will be reviewing and processing the data and generating images to analyze Lucy’s skeleton and begin to answer important questions ranging from whether she climbed among the tree branches to how she chewed.
This ancient hominin, whom Ethiopians call “Dinkenesh” (“You are beautiful”), is the feature attraction in the exhibit, “Lucy’s Legacy: The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia,” which is touring the United States. More than a quarter million people viewed the fossil at Houston Museum of Natural Science during 2007 and 2008. After the brief layover in Austin for the scan, Lucy moved to the Pacific Science Center in Seattle where she is on exhibit through March.
Kappelman said the university’s scanning project represents a model for future collaborations between public educational programs and scientific research.
“There is an understandable tension between museum curators, who like to display fossils, and scientists who want to conduct research on the specimens,” Kappelman said. “Our project demonstrates these goals are not mutually exclusive—but mutually beneficial. The museum exhibit that features Lucy offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to introduce millions of people to the actual evidence for human evolution, and seeing the real fossil is so much more meaningful than viewing a plastic replica.”
“Having Lucy here also means that scientists can conduct research that asks new questions about the fossil and this knowledge feeds back into the ongoing exhibit and continues to educate,” Kappelman said. “Lucy may be old, but she still has lots of new secrets to tell.”
Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have completed the first high-resolution CT scan of the world’s most famous fossil, Lucy, an ancient human ancestor who lived 3.2 million years ago.