By Scott A Morgan

In Recent Weeks there has been some focus on events in the Horn of Africa. A Border Clash between Djibouti and Eritrea appears to have stablized and intervention by France and the United States is not expected at this time. However this is not the only area where the US should be concerned about.

Also during this time period there has been ample criticism of the US Relations with [the Meles dictatorship in] Ethiopia. Ethiopian Woyanne Forces are currently in neighboring Somalia propping up a weak Western Backed Regime. There are two main issues that the Zenawi regime has to deal with. First there are persistent reports of Famine in the Country and there is an insurgency currently active in the Ogaden.

In a recent report Human Rights Watch was very critical of the close relations between the Ethiopians Woyannes and the US and British Governments. The Group feels that the support of London and Washington gives the Zenawi Regime Carte Blanche to deal with its adversaries within the country and in its neighbors.

There has been an effort within the US Congress to have both Transparency and Accountability in dealing with the Ethiopian Woyanne Government. The Ethiopian Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 passed the US House of Representatives. It is currently dormant in the US Senate. The Legislation was first introduced in response to the Highly Controversial Elections in 2005 and their violent aftermath.

Key elements of this legislation include a suspension of US Military Assistance and other sanctions until the Zenawi Government follows specific steps outlined by the US Government. Exemptions will be allowed for Peacekeeping and Counter-Terrorism Operations. Any Government Official that is found to have used Lethal Force against peaceful demonstrators would be prevented from entering the United States.

The Ethiopian Woyanne Regime has spent over a million Dollars in attempting to defeat this legislation. It has recruited prior members of Congress such as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas to defeat this Bill. One tactic that is being used is that this Bill will be detrimental to the National Security Interests of the United States.

The announcement of the timing of the Bill being stalled in the Senate coming on the heels of the criticism of turning a blind eye towards Ethiopian Human Rights Violations will have conspiracy theorists going crazy with glee. After all, there was a concerted effort by members of the Ethiopian Diaspora in the USA to support this Bill. This could be the time when American Human Rights Defenders to contact their Senators to bring this Bill to a vote.
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The Authors publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet (morganrights.tripod.com) and comments on US Policy towards Africa.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Meles Zenawi, Azeb Mesfin, Sebhat Nega and their Woyanne criminal gang no doubt will face justice similarly for their crimes against the people of Ethiopian and Somalia. It’s only a matter of time.

(UN News Service) NEW YORK — Belgian authorities today transferred Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, charged by the International Criminal Court (ICC) with multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder and rape, to the Court’s detention centre in The Hague.

Mr. Bemba – President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), an armed group that intervened in the 2002-2003 armed conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) – is alleged to be criminally responsible for five counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the CAR from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003.

“Justice is coming for the victims, for the victims of the Central African Republic, for the victims of massive sexual violence worldwide,” ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said, welcoming the transfer of Mr. Bemba.

He thanked the Belgian authorities for their efforts relating to the arrest and transfer of Mr. Bemba. “The case of Jean-Pierre Bemba is a text book example of how cooperation should work; it is such cooperation, by all States parties, which makes this Court, 10 years after the adoption of the Rome Statute, a reality,” he said.

Mr. Bemba’s initial appearance before the Pre-Trial Chamber is scheduled for tomorrow.

Aba Qewstos, who is an agent of Aba Gebremedhin (formerly Aba Paulos), the fake patriarch of Ethiopia, has been busy in the Washington DC area for the past several months turning priests against priests and worshipers and against each other.

Concerned Ethiopians in the Washington DC Metro Area have written this message to Aba Qewsots urging him to stop diving Ethiopian Orthodox worshipers, and the community, in general >> Click here to read [Amharic]

Ethiopian Community Finds Home In His Song
Church Musician’s Work Honored With NEA Fellowship

By Sandhya Somashekhar, Washington Post

Moges Seyoum

For more than 80 hours a week, Moges Seyoum works in the parking garage at the Kennedy Center and Lisner Auditorium. But that, he says, is only his job.

His profession is something more special: an ancient religious practice that has brought him the gratitude and respect of thousands of Ethiopians in the Washington area and in May earned him one of the most prestigious awards handed out by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Called the National Heritage Fellowship, it honors traditional and folk artists who make important contributions to the country’s cultural fabric. Among the other winners this year were a saddlemaker from Idaho, a Korean dancer from New York and the leader of a jazz band from New Orleans.

“It is an honor,” said Seyoum, 59, of Alexandria, taking a break between his two full-time jobs one afternoon. “I know that the people appreciate me a lot.”

Seyoum is a church musician, a highly respected position in the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church.

He is one of the world’s foremost experts in a complex style of song and chant in the Ethiopian church. He has memorized hundreds of hours of songs, is an authority on the church’s method of musical notation and has a rare level of mastery in a style of sacred dance.

The service is unlike most Christian services, involving the use of massive hand-struck drums and wooden prayer staffs with ornate bronze handles. The service can last several hours, during which Seyoum sings almost continuously.

On a recent Sunday at Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church in Northwest Washington, Seyoum led a group of singers — all of whom he taught — in a six-hour ceremony commemorating the day they believe Jesus ascended to heaven after being resurrected.

The ceremony began at 1 a.m., although most of the more than 1,000 worshipers in diaphanous white wraps who came to watch did not begin trickling in until about 5 a.m.

Incense clouded the air of the main hall as Seyoum and about a dozen white-robed men sang in Ge’ez, the holy language of the Ethiopian church. They danced intermittently, moving their staffs with slow, swaying movements. Seyoum’s voice rang out above the rest, his eyes rolling heavenward as he shifted from high, clear notes to low, growling ones.

The services bring the community many of the sights, sounds and smells of home, some congregants said.

“There are so many things we miss from Ethiopia,” said Bililign Mandefro, 62, one of Seyoum’s students. When Seyoum sings, he said, “it is a reminder. This is a moment when you are really taken back to your roots.”

Seyoum is credited with helping to popularize the Ethiopian church in the Washington area, home to a substantial Ethiopian population. The church, which had a handful of members when it was founded in 1987, sees as many as 2,000 visitors during special ceremonies.

The growth is fueled in part by a steady stream of immigrants who numbered more than 30,000 last year, according to the Census, a number some say is low. But church leaders say the increase in attendance is also because of Seyoum’s accomplishments.

In addition to his jobs and religious studies, he teaches classes every Saturday, passing on to a new generation of Ethiopian Americans what he began learning from his father at age 8.

“This is no simple thing he does,” said Kay Shelemay, a Harvard University professor and ethnomusicologist who nominated Seyoum for the award.

“He is an immigrant, and he is struggling to have a home and to keep body and soul together in a new country. And then he has really established a wonderful musical liturgical program at his church.”

Seyoum is the first Ethiopian American to be given the fellowship, which includes a $20,000 award, since its inception in 1982. Seyoum said he hopes to use the money for living expenses while he writes a book of church music.

He and this year’s other 10 winners will be honored at a ceremony and banquet in Washington in September.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.