This week the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) that was created by the Tigrean despot Meles Zenawi is spending millions of birr to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
First of all, both ANDM, which was created 16 years ago in 1994, and its predecessor, Ethiopian People’s Democracy Movement (EPDM), which was created in 1980, were used to advance Tigrean People Liberation Front’s (Woyanne) ethnic apartheid agenda.
Second, ANDM is an anti-Amhara and anti-Ethiopia group that is led by Meles Zenawi’s puppets who are not even Amharas, such as Bereket Simon and Helawi Yoseph.
Third, ANDM is a criminal organization that has incited violence against Ethiopians of Amhara ethnic group in southern region of Ethiopia.
Fourth, ADNM’s raison d’etre is serving its Woyanne Tigrean masters. In the video on the left you will see ANDM leaders pledge to build schools in Tigray while Amhara children eat trash at the Addis Ababa city dump.
This week, Aster Aweke and some lesser known singers are scheduled to perform at the ANDM anniversary event in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
And next Wednesday, Nov. 28, Aster flies to the U.S. and dares to come to Atlanta to sing in front of Ethiopians, many of whom have fled Ethiopia because of ADNM and its puppet master the ruling TPLF.
I love Aster and enjoy her songs, but I join concerned Ethiopians in calling for a boycott of her performances from hereon until she apologizes and gives an assurance to the people of Ethiopia that she will never associate herself with Ethiopia’s enemies such as TPLF and ANDM.
There are many talented Ethiopian artists who will never sell their soul and betray their people for Woyanne crumbs (frefari). Let’s support them and boycott those like Aster and others who betray their country.
There is a well written article in Amharic about ANDM by Wondimu Mekonnen of London. Click here to read.
When singer Solomon Tekalign went to Eritrea to visit Ethiopian opposition groups (see the video here) 3 years ago he was in dire financial straits. He was literally begging friends for money. Right after he returned from the Eritrea trip, suddenly cash started to flow into his hands from “invisible” sources. Within a few months, he bought a 4-bedroom single family home in Atlanta, as well as a brand new Hummer ($40,000).
[Below is a photo of Solomon Tekalign’s 4 bedroom house at 1096 Carriage Trace Cir. Stone Mountain, GA (fully paid off)]
Then suddenly he packed his bag and flew to Ethiopia. When he returned, he started to sing to Woyanne propaganda chief Bereket Simon’s tune by launching an attack on opposition groups and any one who opposed the Woyanne ruling junta led by Meles Zenawi.
As the May 2010 fake election approached, Solomon released a new song praising and admiring Meles Zenawi’s eyebrows (qendib). Singing a love song to Meles meant more rewards.
[The third house at 1228 Carriage Trace Cir. in Stone Mountain, GA, that Solomon Tekalign is currently buying with cash]
[Photos by Ethiopian Review’s Intelligence Unit]
Solomon now owns 3 cars (Jeep, Hummer, and Mercedes Benz 500) and 3 houses (a town house, a 4-bedroom house, and a 6-bedroom house) with an income of about $50 per day that he gets by making illegal copies of music CDs.
Solomon Tekalign is a good case study of how Woyanne is successfully co-opting and neutralizing its opponents through bribery with money looted from the poor people of Ethiopia.
I hope the U.S. law enforcement authorities who specialize in corruption look into this case since such corruption is undermining the Ethiopian community in North America and also it is a violation of U.S. laws.
Solomon and other hodams are feasting on Ethiopia’s treasure that is looted from children like this girl below who scavenge and eat trash at Addis Ababa city dump to survive.
Boston area TV, WCVB, reports that an unidentified passenger died on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 500 that headed to Washington DC. The flight was diverted to Boston.
BOSTON (WCVB) — A flight headed to Washington DC, was diverted to Boston on Wednesday after a 64-year-old man died on board, CNN reported.
The man died on Ethiopian Air Flight 500, CNN reported. The man’s name, nationality and cause of death were not immediately available.
The flight was headed to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., from Rome when it was diverted to Boston.
The plane landed at Logan Airport at 7:15 a.m. and continued to Washington at 9 a.m.
Addis Ababa-based business journal Capital Ethiopia reports that the recent confiscation of lands from investors by Meles Zenawi’s puppet mayor of Addis Ababa, Kuma Demeksa, is causing private banks to lose over 400 million birr. Many of the investors are Woyanne members and supporters who have already taken their money out of the country in hard currency. While Woyannes take their money out, some fools in the Diaspora continue to take their money to Ethiopia to lease land, not realizing that it can be confiscated any time at the whim of the regime without due process. That is one of the costs of keeping oneself politically ignorant and becoming unaware of developments in Ethiopia. It is inevitable that the financial system will collapse due to the massive corruption and all those who are depositing their money in Ethiopian banks will be left empty-handed. — Elias Kifle
(Capital Ethiopia) — Several private banks will lose more than 400 million birr in loans to four real estate developers after the Addis Ababa City Administration under Kuma Demeksa’s order reclaimed their plots. The real estate developers allegedly used the land illegally as collateral to obtain bank loans and subsequently transferred them to third parties.
The city administration says it considers suing the real estate developers, [including construction mogul Samuel Tafesse who has recently built a $5 million mansion in a suburb of Washington DC].
An official told Capital that the City Administration reclaimed over 200,000 square meters of idle plots from the four real estate developers. He says the state owns the plots and no one has the authority to sell or transfer them, except the city administration.
Without mentioning the exact amount of money, the official claims the hundred millions of birr that has been disbursed by commercial banks will automatically be lost as per the national law. He says every real estate developer has borrowed more than hundred million birr from the banks.
Banks will also lose the money they gave out for the construction of real estate developers. Construction built on some of the sites reclaimed, will be removed or will be used by the administration after it pays a compensation for the work done at the site. The banks will lose the rest of the money they disbursed to the real estate developers.
According to the Ethiopian law, it’s prohibited to offer vacant plots without any construction on it as collateral, since the land is state-owned. The official further notes that the four real estate developers did in fact construct something on their land: a tiny hovel at one side of the plot, simply to secure the loan from the banks.
A bank president says the policy of most banks on construction loans is to approve the loan request when the client is able to provide a title deed from the city administration and an approved construction plan. If they fulfill these conditions, the banks, who also visit the plots, usually provide them with a loan.
Addis Ababa Mayor Kuma Demeksa said last week that only 18 percent of a total of 5.9 million square meter of land slated for real estate is used properly. He further said that the rest of the plots is transferred to third parties or used as collateral for loans without any construction being built.
The source at the city administration says they are looking into suing those who abused the land rules. Those who transferred their plots to a third party, and those who bought plots, irrespective of whether they have constructed or not, will be taken to court. The court will handle the case and give them a final verdict, he says.
The city administration will continue its recent massive plot reclaiming, which is in its second phase. Over two million square meters of plot from different real estate developers has already been taken back. This accounts for over 33 percent of the total amount of land given for real estate development.
According to Addis Ababa officials, the administration reclaimed over 1.5 million square meters from real estate developers that failed or refused to start construction within eighteen months since the operation started two weeks back. Furthermore, the city reclaimed more than 500,000 square meters of plot that has been held illegally by real estate developers. If the city would have leased the 2 million square meters against an average price of 3,000 birr per square meter it would have gained over 6 billion birr.
The reclaiming operation is part of the city’s measures against 120 real estate developers who it said have violated rules and regulations of the city. Since 1997, the city has slated out over 5.9 million square meters of plots to 125 real estate developers in different parts of the city.
Most lease agreements require developers to deliver their housing units within 24 months from signing the contract and should at least start construction within eighteen months. However, this has been a difficult condition to meet for developers. According to some of them, the primary reasons for the delay include poor infrastructure, escalation of construction material costs and financial problems.
The cost of construction in the city is about 8,000 birr per square meter according to engineering estimates. The real estate developers are also lodging complaints against the city, saying that the administration has triggered the delay itself by creating obstacles in relation to the clearing of plots.
More problems loom ahead for some of the real estate developers. Their clients, who have fully paid for their still-to-be-build homes and who are awaiting the completion of the construction, are expected to officially lodge complaints soon.
A major Kenyan newspaper picked up the story about the plight of Haile Gebreselassie who abruptly ended his athletic career last week after competing in the New York City Marathon. Yesterday, the New York Times, quoting Haile’s own manager Jos Hermens, reported that the star athlete is facing blackmail and that his phone is tapped by the Meles regime. Will Haile, under pressure from Woyanne propaganda chief Bereket Simon, deny his manager’s claims, or will he have the moral fortitude to stand up for himself and for the people of Ethiopia by telling the truth? — Elias Kifle
Haile Gebrselassie allegedly ended career amid huge pressure from Ethiopian regime
(The Standard) — Claims surfaced in international media alleging that undue political pressure from the Ethiopian government may have compelled Haile Gebrselassie to announce his stunning retirement from athletics after November 7’s New York Marathon.
On Monday, reports from Addis Ababa said much to the relief of distance running enthusiasts worldwide that the world marathon record holder had rescinded his decision to quit the sport that has brought him fame and enviable fortune while elevating him as an inspirational figure among Ethiopian youth.
According to the New York Times, “His agent, Jos Hermens, said from Addis Ababa Gebrselassie had reacted emotionally after leaving the New York course at 16 miles of the 26.2-mile race. He also felt guilty for having dropped out of a half-marathon in New York earlier this year.”
‘Emotional decision’
However, he controversially “suggested that Haile’s emotional decision to retire might have stemmed in part from political pressure he was feeling in Ethiopia. His phone has been tapped by government officials and he has faced some sort of blackmail attempt,” the paper quoted Hermens as having said of his client.”
The report quotes the agent saying, “There is a lot of pressure on him in Ethiopia. I don’t know all the details.”
The Ethiopian Review, an opposition online journal based in Washington, reported this month that Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi’s wife and her associates were attempting to force partnerships with Haile on a new hotel that he had built and on other real estate ventures.
The mayor of Addis Ababa, an ally of the prime minister and his wife, had also recently ordered the confiscation of land that had been leased to the twice Olympics 10,000m champion, the journal reported, citing sources in Addis Ababa.
‘Mother of corruption’
“Zenawi’s wife Azeb Mesfin (commonly known as the “Mother of Corruption”) and her business partners are going after Haile’s enterprises with demands for partnership,” Ethiopian Review stated.
“For a long time, Haile has been heavily investing in real estate development and this year, his new five-star hotel in the town of Awassa was inaugurated. The four-story, 150-room hotel was built at the cost of 200 million birr (Sh2b). Haile is also preparing to build 200 condos in Addis Ababa on 40,000 square meters of land.”
It added: “Recently, Zenawi’s puppet mayor of Addis Ababa, Kuma Demeksa, a close ally and business partner of Azeb, has ordered the confiscation of the land leased to Haile. Apparently, his company, Haile & Alem Real Estate, is competing with other companies who have Azeb as partner.”
“All this pressure came out; he was emptying his heart,” Hermens said.
Haile, who has held 27 world records in a two-decade career, is expected to mark his return at February’s Tokyo Marathon, with the London 2012 Marathon and Olympic gold also in his sights.
The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, His Holiness Abune Merkorios, has been admitted to the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta after getting ill. Sources close to the Patriarch told Ethiopian Review that he is responding to the treatment and that he is recovering well.
