(AIT) – On 30 December 2008, Dr. Josef Most, Manager, Engineering Capacity Building Program (ECBP)/ German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Technical and Vocational Education and Training Network (TVET) Reform Programme, Ethiopia, visited AIT to explore possible collaboration between AIT, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
Dr. Most met with Prof. Sudip Rakshit, Vice President for Research; Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, Dean, School of Environment and Resources Development (SERD); Dr. M.S. Babel, School of Engineering and Technology; Dr. Winai Wongsurawat, School of Management (SOM); Mr. Fasel Karim, AIT Extension; Dr. Pritam K. Shrestha, Head-External Relations and Communication Office (ERCO) and Mr. Tenzin Rabgyal, Program Officer (ERCO).
Dr. Josef Most has shown great interest in AIT, and will explore possibilities for collaboration with universities, government research agencies, and the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia through GTZ projects. He said that the Engineering Capacity Building Program (ECBP)/ German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) is interested to partner with AIT in initiating short term training programs, master’s and doctoral program, and also joint research projects under the Ministry of Education. Specific fields of collaboration could be in the area of construction, metal, technology management, pharmacy, textile and leather.
Prof. Sudip Rakshit explained AIT’s groundbreaking work in Afghanistan, and suggested that similar projects could be possible in Ethiopia. Dr. Pritam Shrestha, Head-ERCO informed Dr. Josef Most about the Asia-Africa Initiative.
Dr. Most informed AIT that H. E. Mr. Wondwossen Kiflu, State Minister of Ministry of Education, Ethiopia was not able visit AIT due to his hectic schedule in China. However H.E. Kiflu will visit AIT at some time in the future. GTZ has been partner of AIT for long time and would like to explore further cooperation through this partnership for capacity development in Ethiopia.
Details of the GTZ’s projects in Ethiopia can be viewed at:
http://www.gtz.de/en/weltweit/afrika/aethiopien/14270.htm.
In November 2005, when the Federal Police and Agazi special forces (Meles Zenawi’s death squads) went to Birtukan Mideksa’s home to arrest her, the Ferensay Legacion neighborhood of Addis Ababa rose up to protect her. In that confrontation between unarmed civilians and the heavily armed Woyanne forces, at least 5 people were gunned down and several were injured. Birtukan escaped to some embassy and later surrendered herself.
It was a different story yesterday when Woyanne thugs picked up Birtukan. It seems no body in the neighborhood cared, according to Ethiopian Review sources. Few people even show enough interest to talk about it. The people of Ferensay Legacion feel that Birtukan has betrayed them, as she betrayed all Kinijit supporters by breaking most of the promises she had made. Not only that, after she signed the letter of apology and was released from jail in July 2007, she didn’t even visit the families of those who were murdered by Woyanne death squads trying to protect her.
Some Addis Ababa residents, even her own supporters, say that, what Birtukan did is foolish. It’s like throwing herself from a cliff.
Others say that she seemed to have welcomed the arrest. She was about to lose control of her party, UDJ, due to worsening internal frictions. Inside sources told Ethiopian Review that a group of executive committee members had asked Birtukan to resign just a few days ago. Some of the most senior members of the UDJ leadership were quitting. So the argument goes that both Woyanne and Birtukan will benefit from this trumped up controversy. The only losers are Birtukan’s dimwitted followers who jump up and down over this game of shred between Birtukan and Woyanne.
It is obvious to any one with commonsense that Birtukan’s arrest is a smokescreen for Woyanne’s other troubles, particularly its withdrawal from Somalia after suffering a humiliating defeat. Although she has been the weakest opposition figure inside Ethiopia as far as criticizing the Meles dictatorship, she is a better target for Woyanne since she is relatively more popular in the Diaspora than any of the other Addis Ababa-based opposition leaders. Woyanne strategists have correctly calculated that her arrest would attract a lot of media coverage, which is what they want.
Woyanne is not satisfied with arresting Birtukan. EMF has reported today that UDJ members of parliament were summoned today by the speaker of the Woyanne rubber-stamp parliament and had been asked to distance themselves from Birtukan. Those ‘parliamentarians’ are opportunists. They will waste no time doing that.
(BBC) – One of Ethiopia’s main opposition leaders has been sent back to prison to serve a life sentence, after a pardon granted to her last year was revoked.
Birtukan Medeksa was among more than 100 people jailed for offences after controversial polls in 2005.
A dispute over the terms of her release caused her re-arrest.
Her colleague Berhanu Nega, who was also pardoned and now lives in exile, told the BBC it showed the government “was hell-bent on staying in power”.
The BBC’s Elizabeth Blunt in the capital, Addis Ababa, says Ms Birtukan was a former judge and one of the younger and more charismatic leaders of the coalition which did so astonishingly well against the ruling party in the 2005 elections.
Our reporter says that while in jail facing charges of treason, she became even more of a heroine, attracting widespread sympathy as a single mother separated from her baby daughter.
After the opposition leaders were pardoned and released last year, she emerged as the leader of a new coalition, the Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), painstakingly stitched together from various opposition groupings to contest elections in 2010.
The government news agency, quoting the ministry of justice, said her pardon had been revoked, since she had denied requesting her pardon.
Ms Birtukan’s problems started when she spoke to journalists abroad about the way the opposition leaders were released, our correspondent says.
She talked about negotiations which had taken place between the opposition and government, with the help of a panel of elders, before their pardon was granted.
The government prefers to lay emphasis on a document signed by the prisoners, regretting any mistakes they had committed and asking for pardon.
This implies that their release was part of a normal judicial process, rather than in any way part of a negotiated political deal.
Mr Berhanu, who was elected mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005 and now lives in the United States, says the aim of the government is to “humiliate” any opposition to its rule.
“What this is doing is to change the nature of the struggle,” he told the BBC’s Network Africa programme.
“There is no other way to freedom and liberty in that country without getting rid of this government.”
Those of us who were born in Ethiopia and grew up in America can attest to the sense of wonder that books provide. But what about the children in Ethiopia where the literacy rate is among the worst? Where only 42.7% of Ethiopia’s population is literate and 99% of schools have no libraries? What kind of world would theirs be? A world without fairytales and dragons, one without a glass slipper and a mermaid. It would more likely be one without a happy ending. Thanks to Ato Yohannes Gebregeorgis this is no longer the case for so many Ethiopian children. Ato Yohannes was chosen among CNN’s Top10 Heroes and was honored during CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. He is currently on a tour of 12 cities in the United States and Europe. On December 11th Ato Yohannes visited Maplewood Memorial Library located in Maplewood, New Jersey. .. [read more]
Ethiopian Review’s 2008 Person of the Year will be announced on January 1, 2009. The decision has been made after taking readers’ suggestions into careful considerations. Stay tuned.
In keeping with its annual tradition, Ethiopian Review will soon announce The 2008 Person of the Year. Last year, we left it to readers to make the choice, and you chose Prof. Alemayehu Gebremariam.
This year the decision will be made by the Ethiopian Review editorial group, but we would like to hear your suggestions.
The selection is based on who made the most significant contribution for the betterment of Ethiopia in the past 12 months.
We accept nominations and suggestions. Please include explanations for your selection.
WASHINGTON, DC – As January 20th nears, people from around the world are preparing to travel to Washington, DC to witness the 56th Presidential Inauguration. Many will be making the journey by bus from around the country, and it is important that all visitors arrive and return home safely from the inaugural events.
When making travel plans for January 20, 2009, all bus passengers are encouraged to visit www.fmcsa.dot.gov for important pre-trip safety information including how to choose a bus carrier, how to check their safety record, what you should know before boarding, and links to additional inaugural information. It is very important that all passengers be aware of the location of emergency exits and fire extinguishers on the bus in which they are traveling, listen to all driver instructions in the event of an emergency and know who to contact if they need help.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the bus and truck safety agency within the US Department of Transportation, is working to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of these passengers. Officials in Washington, DC are expecting the number of attendees to be in the millions, with over 10,000 buses estimated to arrive in the city. To reach bus companies, drivers, and the general public traveling to and from the Inauguration, FMCSA is encouraging driver and passenger safety by distributing safety materials and making them available for passengers and organizers to download from here.
As you embark on the “Road to History” – arrive and return home safely.
