A six-member delegation of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) led by the party’s chairman Ato Hailu Shawel will arrive at Washington DC’s Dulles Airport on Wednesday, August 29, at 8 AM.
Previously they were scheduled to arrive on August 20, but delayed due to logistical issues.
The committee that is organizing the Kinijit delegation’s North America tour said that Ato Hailu Shawel(President), Wzt. Birtukan Midekssa (Vice President), Dr. Berhanu Nega (Addis Ababa Mayor-Elect), Dr. Hailu Araya (Spokesperson), Ato Brook Kebede and Ato Gizachew Shiferaw (executive committee members) will visit several cities in the United States and Canada at the invitation of Kinijit support groups.
The Kinijit delegation looks forward to engaging in constructive discussions and exchange of ideas and views with Kinijit supporters in North America, the organizing committee said.
The Kinijit leaders are expected to be received by hundreds of Ethiopians when they arrive at the airport on Aug. 29.
The ad hoc committee that is organizing their visit is finalizing reception plans, such as arrival schedules and other information, which will be released shortly, according to Ato Aklog Limeneh, chairman of Kinijit North America support groups and a member of the reception committee — which also include Dr Alemayehu Gebre-Mariam, Ato Tamagn Beyene, Dr Solomon Alemu, and Dr Gashu Habte.
A senior Eritrean minister Saturday criticized U.S. consideration to put his country on a list of state sponsors of terrorism for providing support to Islamist insurgents in Somalia.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer [who is supporting Meles Zenawi’s war crimes in Somalia] said Friday the U.S. is considering the move, which would impose sanctions on Eritrea.
Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu responded by saying his country “would like to thank … Frazer for exposing … her ill will toward the Eritrean people.”
A U.N. report issued last month says Eritrea has shipped large quantities of weapons to Islamist insurgents fighting the Ethiopian-backed Somali government. Eritrean authorities deny the report’s findings. But Frazer called the report “fairly convincing.”
Eritrea and Ethiopia have tense relations stemming from a border dispute.
The U.S. has also ordered Eritrea to close its consulate in California out of concern for the African country’s role in Somalia. Frazer says the U.S. will consider further action if Eritrean behavior does not change.
Washington is also concerned about restrictions placed on the U.S. Embassy in Eritrea’s capital.
The U.S. says Eritrea has refused to grant visas to officials assigned to work at the Asmara embassy.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
A senior Eritrean minister Saturday criticized U.S. consideration to put his country on a list of state sponsors of terrorism for providing support to Islamist insurgents in Somalia.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer [who is supporting Meles Zenawi’s war crimes in Somalia] said Friday the U.S. is considering the move, which would impose sanctions on Eritrea.
Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu responded by saying his country “would like to thank … Frazer for exposing … her ill will toward the Eritrean people.”
A U.N. report issued last month says Eritrea has shipped large quantities of weapons to Islamist insurgents fighting the Ethiopian-backed Somali government. Eritrean authorities deny the report’s findings. But Frazer called the report “fairly convincing.”
Eritrea and Ethiopia have tense relations stemming from a border dispute.
The U.S. has also ordered Eritrea to close its consulate in California out of concern for the African country’s role in Somalia. Frazer says the U.S. will consider further action if Eritrean behavior does not change.
Washington is also concerned about restrictions placed on the U.S. Embassy in Eritrea’s capital.
The U.S. says Eritrea has refused to grant visas to officials assigned to work at the Asmara embassy.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
The Ethiopian Woyanne regime’s Ministry of Justice said Saturday the pardon plea of Ato Kifle Tigneh and other 31 members of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) has been approved by EthiopianPresident Meles Zenawi’s puppet Girma Woldegiorgis.
In a statement, the ministry said the prisoners “admitted” [or else rot in jail] that their attempt to change the constitutional system through force was “mistaken.”
It also said the Kinijit members “agreed to discharge their responsibilities through respecting and abiding by constitutionally organized governmental institutions.”
The Kinijit members forwarded their plea for the Woyanne regime Ethiopian government and people to grant them pardon, according to the statement.
They were jailed after post-election violence in 2005 along with 38 senior CUD leaders, who were freed last month.
None of the 32 opposition supporters and members had been charged following their arrests in 2005. Bereket Simon, a Meles adviser, said he did not know why they had been held without charge.
“The government has pardoned them. They can run for office, they can run their political organizations,” Bereket said [with a straight face]. “It is good for Ethiopia because it indicates that the rule of law is respected in Ethiopia.”
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) — More than seven years after most of the world marked the start of the 21st century, Ethiopia is putting the finishing touches to its own millennium bash.
A screen in Addis Ababa counts down the time to Ethiopia’s new millennium.
Using the Julian calendar, an ancient system of measuring time abandoned by the West in the 16th century, Ethiopia enters its new millennium on Sept. 12 with a huge concert expected to draw hundreds of thousands of partygoers.
Organizers hope U.S. singer Beyonce will headline the New Year’s concert with popstar Janet Jackson and rapper 50 Cent also rumored to appear in a 20,000 capacity venue being built on Addis Ababa’s priciest avenue.
President Girma Woldegirogis has billed the celebrations a time to focus on fighting poverty and advancing democracy in the Horn of Africa country of 81 million people.
But, reports that Saudi-Ethiopian tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi is paying $10 million to build the Millennium concert hall has angered some in Ethiopia, which ranks 170 out of 177 in the United Nation’s Human Development Index.
“We could spend smarter,” said Fasile Abebe, a 34-year-old taxi driver, gesturing to a man begging beside a fast food restaurant recently renamed “Millennium Burger”.
“He won’t be partying with Beyonce. I have no time for this Millennium.”
Boasting medieval cities, ruined castles and palaces, Ethiopia is often described as the cradle of humanity after the remains of a three-million-year-old skeleton called “Lucy” was discovered in 1974.
But for all its rich heritage, Ethiopia has struggled in recent years to shake off the effects of cyclical famine, centuries of feudalism and nearly two decades of Marxist totalitarian rule under Mengistu Haile Mariam which spawned the “Red Terror” purges.
The millennium celebrations are likely to provide a welcome distraction for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government whose troops are embroiled in a conflict in neighboring Somalia where they were deployed in December to bolster the interim government.
Meles also faces armed opposition in the ethnically Somali Ogaden region where separatist rebels killed 74 people in an April attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field, and worsening ties with Eritrea over their disputed border.
Despite the country’s troubles, many Ethiopians are optimistic the millennium may usher in a new period of reconciliation among its myriad ethnic groups.
The president pardoned 38 opposition leaders, activists and journalists last month who were convicted of trying to overthrow the government following disputed 2005 elections. It released another 31 detained opposition supporters on Saturday.
The vote, Ethiopia’s freest, provoked two bouts of violence in which 199 people were killed, 800 wounded and 30,000 arrested, according to a parliamentary inquiry.
“This rapprochement is indeed a result of the feel-good factor that the millennium has brought about,” said Mulugeta Aserate Kassa, public relations chief for the committee organizing the celebrations.
“It’s time for the nation to undergo a renaissance. A renaissance in our way of doing things — and in our acceptance of a democratic society.”
Other events in a year-long festival include a 10 km Millennium Race led by legendary long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, the unveiling of 11 new national monuments and opening of a coffee museum in Bongo, where the Arabica coffee variety originated.
Hiwot Binyam, a 27-year-old lawyer, cannot wait for the party to begin.
“It’s fantastic. We want to leave behind our image as a place of war and poverty,” she said.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (Reuters) — More than seven years after most of the world marked the start of the 21st century, Ethiopia is putting the finishing touches to its own millennium bash.
A screen in Addis Ababa counts down the time to Ethiopia’s new millennium.
Using the Julian calendar, an ancient system of measuring time abandoned by the West in the 16th century, Ethiopia enters its new millennium on Sept. 12 with a huge concert expected to draw hundreds of thousands of partygoers.
Organizers hope U.S. singer Beyonce will headline the New Year’s concert with popstar Janet Jackson and rapper 50 Cent also rumored to appear in a 20,000 capacity venue being built on Addis Ababa’s priciest avenue.
President Girma Woldegirogis has billed the celebrations a time to focus on fighting poverty and advancing democracy in the Horn of Africa country of 81 million people.
But, reports that Saudi-Ethiopian tycoon Sheikh Mohammed Al Amoudi is paying $10 million to build the Millennium concert hall has angered some in Ethiopia, which ranks 170 out of 177 in the United Nation’s Human Development Index.
“We could spend smarter,” said Fasile Abebe, a 34-year-old taxi driver, gesturing to a man begging beside a fast food restaurant recently renamed “Millennium Burger”.
“He won’t be partying with Beyonce. I have no time for this Millennium.”
Boasting medieval cities, ruined castles and palaces, Ethiopia is often described as the cradle of humanity after the remains of a three-million-year-old skeleton called “Lucy” was discovered in 1974.
But for all its rich heritage, Ethiopia has struggled in recent years to shake off the effects of cyclical famine, centuries of feudalism and nearly two decades of Marxist totalitarian rule under Mengistu Haile Mariam which spawned the “Red Terror” purges.
The millennium celebrations are likely to provide a welcome distraction for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government whose troops are embroiled in a conflict in neighboring Somalia where they were deployed in December to bolster the interim government.
Meles also faces armed opposition in the ethnically Somali Ogaden region where separatist rebels killed 74 people in an April attack on a Chinese-run oil exploration field, and worsening ties with Eritrea over their disputed border.
Despite the country’s troubles, many Ethiopians are optimistic the millennium may usher in a new period of reconciliation among its myriad ethnic groups.
The president pardoned 38 opposition leaders, activists and journalists last month who were convicted of trying to overthrow the government following disputed 2005 elections. It released another 31 detained opposition supporters on Saturday.
The vote, Ethiopia’s freest, provoked two bouts of violence in which 199 people were killed, 800 wounded and 30,000 arrested, according to a parliamentary inquiry.
“This rapprochement is indeed a result of the feel-good factor that the millennium has brought about,” said Mulugeta Aserate Kassa, public relations chief for the committee organizing the celebrations.
“It’s time for the nation to undergo a renaissance. A renaissance in our way of doing things — and in our acceptance of a democratic society.”
Other events in a year-long festival include a 10 km Millennium Race led by legendary long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, the unveiling of 11 new national monuments and opening of a coffee museum in Bongo, where the Arabica coffee variety originated.
Hiwot Binyam, a 27-year-old lawyer, cannot wait for the party to begin.
“It’s fantastic. We want to leave behind our image as a place of war and poverty,” she said.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer [who is supporting 
A screen in Addis Ababa counts down the time to Ethiopia’s new millennium.