Journalist Dereje Habtewold, who is currently in exile, recounts the terror that was unleashed in Addis Ababa and throughout Ethiopia by the Meles regime in November 2005.
Dereje remembers his interview with the newly elected mayor of Addis Ababa, Dr Berhanu Nega of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party (Kinijit) just a few moments before he was arrested along with all the other top leaders of the party.
Shortly after Dr Berhanu’s arrest, Dereje and almost all editors and journalists in Addis Ababa that worked on independent newspapers were rounded up and thrown in jail. They were released two years later.
The article is a good reminder of the fascism that currently exists in Ethiopia under the U.S.-financed brutal dictatorship of the tribalist junta.
Ethiopians celebrate Obama’s election as President of the United States because it has real meaning. It is the hope of all Ethiopians that the new Obama Administration will stop financing the regime in Ethiopia that is accused by all credible international human rights organizations of stealing elections and committing crimes against humanity.
The articles is in Amharic (pdf). Click here to read.
EthiDolls, co-founded by two Ethiopian born women now living in the New York City area, tells the stories of African Women Leaders from history and designs the authentic dolls that represent them.
The storied dolls, books and audio books are fun and educational as well as a gateway to self-discovery, unique expression and self-esteem.
EthiDolls’ products embody the emotional components of tradition, cultural origins and heritage. Makeda,® The Queen of Sheba Doll (who represents the first woman ruler of Ethiopia) is the first offering in its African Heritage Signature Collection.
Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa, a formidable woman of distinction and celebrated icon, is the second offering and comes from what is now modern day Ghana.
Salome Yilma is a co-founder of Ghenet Enterprises, Ltd. (EthiDolls®). She has assembled the management team and developed the business plan for EthiDolls, the premier offering in a line of products planned for Ghenet Enterprises, Ltd. Ms. Yilma is a seasoned executive with professional experience in the publishing industry. She has broad experience in developing successful business strategies, launching targeted businesses and leading high performance sales and marketing teams that consistently met or exceeded revenue expectations. Ms. Yilma has worked for major publishing companies such as Essence Magazine, The New York Times, CMP, Miller Freeman, and VNU.
Born in Ethiopia, she spent her early years in Washington, D.C. and New York, where her father served as Ethiopian Ambassador to the United States and also to the United Nations. She was educated in Addis Ababa in her early years, and in the U.S. where she earned a bachelor degree from Adelphi University. Her education and professional career in corporate America, combined with extensive travel for business and leisure, have given her a unique ability to bridge her rich heritage with the diverse cultural traditions of America.
Yeworkwoha Ephrem is Co-Founder/Executive Vice President of EthiDolls. She was also born in Ethiopia and for the past ten years has been the owner/operator of the highly successful Ethiopian restaurant, Ghenet, located in the SoHo neighborhood in New York City. Ms. Ephrem is a culinary pioneer and entrepreneur. Her first restaurant opened in 1979 in TriBeCa. Her background includes certification in macrobiotic cooking from the Kushi Institute in Massachusetts, conducting cooking classes at Macy’s, and has also participated in the James Beard Foundation as well as The Tasters’ Choice event at the Jacob Javits Center.
Ms. Ephrem has worked at Ethiopian Airlines in the Commercial Planning & Marketing Division, the United Nations Development Program in New York, and the United Nations Peace Keeping Missions in Israel and Lebanon. She has traveled extensively throughout Ethiopia, as well as the Middle East. Ms. Ephrem has been featured with famous chefs such as Martha Stewart and received enthusiastic praise for Ghenet Restaurant in numerous publications including The New York Times, Gourmet Magazine, Zagat Survey, and Time-Out New York.
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) — Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki on Thursday voiced hope that US president-elect Barack Obama will change his country’s policy in the Horn of Africa, a region blighted by conflicts.
“It is my utmost pleasure to convey to your excellency … my warmest congratulations … for your landslide victory and election as the 44th president of the United States,” Isaias said in a letter to Obama.
“Let me further avail of this historic occasion to express my ardent hope that US policy in our region will indeed change under your excellency’s presidency to pursue a constructive path to advance the causes of regional peace, justice and legality.”
Ties between the two nations have been frosty over the past few years, with Asmara accusing the US of backing arch-foe Ethiopia in its border dispute with Addis Ababa.
Washington claims the small African state has backed Islamist groups in Somalia, an allegation denied by Eritrea.
Asmara has called for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops, who, under US-backing, are in Mogadishu to prop up an ineffective transitional government. Last year, the US State Department included Eritrea alongside Belarus, China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea and Zimbabwe on its list of “the world’s most systematic human rights violators.”
In addition, the US placed an arms ban on Asmara in October after allegations that it was supporting “terrorists” in Somalia, feared to be a future haven for extremist groups.
For its part, Eritrea banned the United States Agency for International Development from operating in the country in 2007 and also imposed curbs on US diplomats.
In response, Washington closed Eritrea’s consulate in Oakland, California.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Ethiopia The Woyanne regime tightened security in the capital on Thursday after police said they had arrested more than a dozen leaders of the rebel Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and accused them of plotting terrorist attacks.
The mostly middle-aged men were paraded on state television late on Wednesday alongside a stack of assault rifles that police said were seized during several raids in Addis Ababa.
Merrara Gudina, chairman of the ONC, also dismissed the charges against his party and accused the Ethiopian Woyanne security services of planting infiltrators in the opposition who they would later “expose” and arrest as insurgents.
“We have no link or association with the OLF whatsoever,” Merrara told Reuters. “Most of the dirty work against us is being done by the government.”
Ethiopia The Woyanne regime, which is an ally of the United States and the biggest military power in the Horn of Africa, blames insurgents supported by neighbouring Eritrea for bomb blasts that killed eight people and wounded many in the city earlier this year.
Extra police were on patrol on Thursday, searching vehicles and members of the public, while car hire companies and hotels were told to scrutinise their clients thoroughly.
“The detainees, who have links to OLF leaders in Asmara, were mobilising finance and dispatching illegal weapons and also recruiting members for their anti-peace activities,” a joint intelligence and police taskforce said in a statement.
It said some of the men had been operating “under the disguise” of membership in legal opposition political parties like the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM) and Oromo National Congress (ONC).
It gave no other details, but added that the taskforce had also arrested the leaders of “Kawerj”, a previously unknown movement that it said was a self-styled extremist group also plotting attacks in the capital.
A week ago, the authorities arrested OFDM general secretary Bekele Jirata and accused him of working with the OLF, one of several rebel movements opposed to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The OFDM denies it. In April, it accused Meles’ government of intimidation as voters went to the polls for the first time since post-election violence in 2005 killed 199 civilians.
The party said most of their candidates had been threatened and forced to pull out of the race.
There was no immediate comment from Asmara on the Ethiopian Woyanne allegations. Both Horn of Africa countries routinely trade accusations of supporting each other’s rebels since they fought a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70,000 people.
Ethiopian Airlines has embarked on a strong expansion programme that includes pressing of an order for 10 Boeing 787-800 dream-liners.
The airline’s world sales manager Amare Tsadik briefed Malawian travel operators during their weekend visit at Ethiopian Airlines head office in Addis Ababa to orient them on what the airline offers.
“The aviation market in Africa and globally is strong. The 9/11 had bare or minimal effect on our company and we have continued to grow, posting close to US$800 million in profits in 2007 and we expect over US$1.2 billion this year,” said Tsadik.
Ethiopian Airlines—which operated its first flight to Cairo, Egypt in 1946—has grown in terms of passenger numbers to 2.5 million in the last financial year flying into 50 destinations
“Africa has a great market we look at the market and we want to ensure that our customers have the best facilities. That is why we built an all-purpose cargo terminal which holds any cargo including wet cargo,” said Tsadik.
On his part, the airline’s senior marketing officer Fasika Beharnu took Malawi tour operators to the airline’s head office, aviation school, maintenance and cargo places explaining that the company employs close to 5,000 people and provides its own services.
“When you are selling tickets in Malawi we want you to understand the product your are selling is a complete product. We provide most of our service from cleaning to catering, training and maintenance to ensure that we provide quality standards,’ said Beharnu.
The aviation school also trains international pilots, cabin crews and maintenance staff and the company does offer many of its services across the continent.
Kenneth Kamole of Lloyds Travel said the tour was beneficial to the travel agents as they could now explain properly what Ethiopian Airlines offers to its customers.
Through Ethiopian Airlines, air cargo can be directly sent to Lilongwe from over 50 destinations which include business hubs of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Bangkok in Thailand, Beijing in Mainland China, Hong Kong, London in the United Kingdom and Washington DC.
Ethiopians joyfully celebrate, with Americans and the rest of the world the election of Barack Obama to take the office of the presidency of the United States of America. Ginbot7 recognizes the symbolic and historical significance of this truly remarkable event that changed the United States of America and the world making Barack Obama, an African American, the 44th president of the United States of America. Evidently our joy of celebrating the victory of Barack Obama goes beyond the fact that this prodigious son of Africa has reach the highest summit of political power on Earth.
Ginbot 7 Movement for Justice, Freedom and Democracy, has encouraged and mobilised its members and supporters to actively participate in Obama’s campaign, and it has also used its modest means of communication to urge Ethiopian Americans to register and vote for Obama because Ginbot 7 utterly agrees with Obama’s assessment of the failure of American foreign policy that ignored the repression of freedom, justice, and democracy in Africa, Asia, and South America.
We, in Ethiopia have always argued that America’s national interest will best be served if the values of freedom, justice and democracy that made the nation of America great become the guiding spirit of its foreign policy. This is exactly what the president elect promised. We Ethiopians believe the personal convictions of Barack Obama for freedom and justice will guide his administration that America’s fundamental values must not be compromised to satisfy short term American interest.
ginbot7.org
Ethiopians are well aware of the challenges the new president faces. Changing the entrenched practices of past administrations, and dealing with the ruthless dictators and human right violators in many parts of the world is a task that needs time, wisdom, and perseverance. Ethiopians are also responsive of how the well connected lobbyists and the politically powerful will try hard to hinder Barack Obama from realizing his new foreign policy visions. Yet, we believe that Obama’s unique ability to defy the odds and become the first African American president of the US will put him in a much better position to over come most of the challenges that he faces.
Most importantly, we believe that Obama’s presidency will have the greatest impact in his ancestral land of Africa. The proud and independent people of Ethiopia believe that the fight for freedom and democracy, and the task of building strong economy in our country is our own responsibility. However, we treasure America’s unconditioned presence in helping us build democratic institutions. We Ethiopians want to make it clear that America’s long term interest in Ethiopia and around the horn of Africa will not be served by supporting Meles Zenawi’s tyrannical regime that invades its neighbours and oppresses its own citizens. All in all, it is the deep-seated belief of Ginbot7 and the Ethiopian people that Obama’s administration will not support the abuse of freedom anywhere to protect freedom elsewhere.
