Deutsche Welle (የጀርመን ድምጽ ራዲዮ) has reported today about the lawsuit against Ethiopian Review editor by the richest man in Africa, Mohammed Al Amoudi. Click below to listen.
Al Amoudi is an Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire who is a self-acknowledged members of Woyanne, the ruling genocidal junta in Ethiopia.
The lawsuit is stated as Al Amoudi vs. Elias Kifle, but the real target is Ethiopia’s independent press that has been silenced in Ethiopia, but thanks to the Internet, it continues to have a strong voice.
Netsanet Le Ethiopia Radio in Washington DC will have a special program this coming Sunday on the lawsuit. Stay tuned.
Ethiopian Review’s Legal Fund has been reactivated to help cover expenses. Click here for more info.
In getting ready to defend Ethiopian Review against Woyanne money man Al Amoudi’s malicious lawsuit, we are encouraged by the outpouring of support from Ethiopians around the world, including those with whom some times we disagree. (see the lawsuit here)
I am particularly touched by the show of solidarity that is being shown by EMF (ethioforum.org), ECADF (ecadforum.com) and AbbayMedia (abbaymedia.com). I am grateful to both Ato Kinfu Assefa and Ato Girum Zegeye.
I have had bitter disagreements with Girum Zegeye of AbbayMedia and some of the ECADF admins in the past, so far as calling each other names. But when Ethiopian Review is threatened by the Woyanne junta, they are among the first to come to our defense.
Qale Ethiopian Forum has interviewed me today and called on its members to stand with Ethiopian Review.
Ato Kifle Mulat from the Ethiopian Free Press Journalists Association has sent a message of support and solidarity today.
Other developments
Netsanet LeEthiopia Radio in Washington DC will have a program on the Al Amoudi lawsuit next Sunday.
Ethiopians in London are getting organized to assist with the legal battle.
There will be a teleconference next Saturday at 3 PM Washington DC time (8 PM London time) to discuss strategies. The conference is open to every one who wishes to help out. To participate, please send email to [email protected]
An Ethiopian Review Legal Fund has been set up. Click here for more info.
Some time next week, I will announce our response to the U.K. High Court where Al Amoudi’s lawsuit has been filed.
The Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) is falling apart in the face of leadership crisis and an impending boycott. The 28-year-old organization has been confronted with numerous problems during the past five years after it was hijacked by the ruling party in Ethiopia through its money man Al Amoudi. The problems include corruption, declining attendance at the annual events, lack of discipline, and poor management.
ESFNA’s problems surfaced in the media when the executive committee arbitrarily reversed the 27-member board’s decision last October to invite Judge Birtukan Mideksa as a guest of honor at the July 2011 event in Atlanta and refused to have an independent CPA audit the organization’s finances.
Recently, the finance head of ESFNA, Ato Abework Abay, resigned after pointing out financial mishandling and lack of transparency on the part of the chairman and other members of the executive committee. The new finance head, Ato Million Gebreyesus, and other members of the board have also questioned the competence of the chairman and the secretary in a recent confidential memo. Some have called on the resignation of the chairman, arguing that it would be impossible to hold the scheduled July 2011 event in Atlanta unless solutions are found urgently.
Meanwhile, Ethiopians in Atlanta are preparing to boycott the July 2011 event. Community leaders have warned the executive committee that unless the board’s decisions are implemented, they will advise members of the Ethiopian community to stay away from the event.
To make matters worse for the ESFNA, the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel has canceled its $250,000 contract citing security problems that have occurred at last year’s event in San Jose where rooms had been vandalized and guests were harassed.
During the past five years, the ESFNA has become a source of embarrassment for the Ethiopian community in North America and a political tool for the Woyanne ruling junta. If there is any chance of salvaging ESFNA, the entire executive committee must resign and be replaced with competent individuals who are free of corruption and Woyanne connection.
In a recent speech on civil liberties, British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that the U.K. coalition government would restore civil liberties with the same systematic ruthlessness with which the former government took them away. It is this corrupt U.K. libel law that Ethiopia’s ruling party and its billionaire financier Al Amoudi are trying to exploit in their campaign to shut down Ethiopian Review. Read more about DPM Clegg’s speech below.
(BBC) — […] Mr Clegg said the coalition government would restore civil liberties with the same systematic ruthlessness with which the former government took them away.
And he said he wanted to reform libel and turn the law from “an international laughing-stock to an international blueprint.”
He said a forthcoming draft libel bill would propose a statutory defence for those speaking out in the public interest, “whether they be big broadcasters or the humble blogger”.
That move, which was being considered by the former Labour government when it ran out of time, comes after a string of cases in which scientific writers have been sued over legitimate academic research or studies.
Mr Clegg said libel should also be reformed to better reflect “the realities of the internet” and also to end “libel tourism” under which foreign claimants sue foreign publications or writers in the British courts.
“We want public-spirited academics and journalists to be fearless in publishing legitimate research. Not least when it relates to medical care or public safety,” he said.
“It is a farce – and an international embarrassment – that the American Government has felt it necessary to legislate to protect their citizens from our libel laws.”
Ethiopian billionaire businessman Ato Al Amoudi has filed a lawsuit against Ethiopian Review in a U.K. high court. The lawsuit claims that the magazine:
…has gravely injured the reputation of the Claimant, has exposed him to public scandal, contempt and odium and has caused him considerable embarrassment and distress.
I am glad that Ethiopian Review has caused this much harm to the scumbag Woyanne blood sucker. More is coming at him once the trial starts in court.
Some of the witnesses mentioned in the lawsuit are Woyanne Ambassador in London and other embassy staff.
I’m not sure why Al Amoudi decided to sue me in a British high court since Ethiopian Review is based in the U.S. Also he might have spent over $10,000 to a private investigation firm to find me and serve me with the lawsuit. I was having lunch at a restaurant today when a 7-foot, 250 lbs man claiming to be a former FBI agent served me with the court papers. Apparently, he and his partners have been tracking me across eastern United States since mid December. They could have just called me and I would have gone to their office to pick up the papers. I myself was eager to face the bozo in court. (Click here to read the charges)
Ethiopian Review Legal Fund has been reactivated to fight back the lawsuit. Click here for more information.
Ethiopian soccer legend Mengistu Worku who helped Ethiopia win the 3rd African Cup has passed away.
Memorial service for him will be held on Friday in Addis Ababa at the St. Petros Church where he will be laid to rest.
The following is a brief biography of Mengistu Worku (Sources: Wikipedia, Facebook, Ethiopian Review archive).
Mengistu Worku was an Ethiopian footballer, recognized as one of the best football players in Ethiopia’s history.
He is most popularly known for scoring 2 goals in the final of the 3rd African cup against Egypt, when Ethiopia won their only major trophy to date by defeating Egypt 4-2.
Mengistu Worku with the Ethiopian national team that won the 3rd African Cup (1962). L. to R. standing: Luciano Vassalo (captain), Awad Mohammed, Tesfaye GebreMedhin, Berhe Goytom, Asmelash Berhe, Kiflom Araya, Gashe Tilahun (trainer); L. to R. sitting: Girma Zeleke, Gila-Michael T. Mariam, Italo Vassalo, Getachew Wolde, Mengistu Worku.
Mengistu finished as top scorer of that tournament with 3 goals. He debuted with Saint-George SA in 1957 and remained with the club for the entirety of his career.
Ethiopians in Europe honor heroes of the 3rd African Cup Mengistu Worku and Luciano Vassalo (Sweden, 2008)
Mengistu was given numerous offers to play professionally for teams in Italy and France, as well as Egypt’s El Zamalek, but like earlier legend and coach Ydnekatchew, he refused all offers and stayed in Ethiopia wearing Saint George’s characteristic “V” across his chest.
Mengistu Worku with former team mate and captain of the victorious 3rd African Cup Ethiopian national team Luciano Vassallo (1991)
Mengistu wore the number 8 for the entirety of his club and national team career. His international career began in 1958 and ended in 1970, following disappointment in the 7th African Nations cup in Sudan, where Ethiopia finished bottom of their group. He still managed to score 3 goals, the only Ethiopian goals in that tournament.
Mengistu played 2 more years with Saint George, retiring in 1972. He is the seventh-highest scorer in the history of the African Cup Of Nations with 10 goals.
Members of the Ethiopian National team celebrate their 3rd African Cup title
Mengistu coached the national team after retirement, but the team failed to match the success it found during his playing days. He did, however, coach the country to their first-ever CECAFA cup title in 1987, when the tournament was hosted by Ethiopia.
1960s Ethiopian national team arrives in Moscow. Mengistu Worku is on the right.
In 2001, Mengistu was struck by a tumor, and doctors had told him he had only months to live. With treatment unavailable in Ethiopia, the Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi paid for Mengistu to travel to South Africa for treatment. “It was because of Al Amoudi that I am standing before you today,” he said on Ethiopian television.
The 1968 Ethiopian National team. First row, left to right: Abdulrahman "Pache", Haile Tesfa-Gabir, Girma Asmerom, Luciano Vassalo, Col. Tamrat Yigezu (President of Ethiopian Football Federation), Yidnekachew Tessema, Gashe Tilahun, Bereket Amde-Michael, Getachew Dula, Getachew Wolde, Adamu Alemu (assistant coach); Second row: Tesfaye Bahire (assistant coach), Mengistu Worku, Tekeda Alemu, Shewangizaw Agonafer, Getachew Gelashe, Hailu Abebe Woldegiorgis; 3rd row: AmdeMichael, Kiflom Araya, Yohannes Tiliku, Abraha Araya, Tesfaye Gebremedhin, Berhe Goytom; 4th row: Eshetu GebreHiwot, BekureTsion GebreHiwot, Fisseha WoldeAmanuel, Milosevic (head coach), Getachew Abdo; Last row: Nega WoldeSelassie
At the 2002 CECAFA Cup, Mengistu was honored before the tournament kickoff by the Council for East and Central Africa Football Association, along with five other east African footballers and three referees, including Tesfaye Gebreyesus, the Ethiopian who refereed at three ACN tournaments.
