The Epidemic of Election Stealing in Africa
By Fekade Shewakena
There is an epidemic of election rigging and stealing in Africa but the most virulent form of the disease appears to be sitting in Ethiopia. The current sick regional and local “elections” being held in Ethiopia is only a case in the pattern. The concept and ideals of election are completely put upside down. Linguists should come out with some word to name this crap the Meles Zenawi’s of Africa call election and do some justice both to the literal meaning of the word “election” and the value civilized humanity attach to it. What do you call this kind of elections where the losers are first designated? I have seen people in democratic countries as they walk out of election booths with their heads held high and walking majestically knowing full well that their votes count towards the ownership of their governments. For Gods sakes, how can you have elections when you don’t have choices to make and even if you choose you are not sure what the authorities do with your vote? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Paradoxically, Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s Comical Ali, is in full gear telling everyone left and right that all problems of the elections are caused by the opposition, the designated losers. I am always flabbergasted by the density of this man’s head and the boldness with which he speaks. It is like a rapist accusing his victim of making noise.
If you still have difficulty understanding what passes for a democratic election in Ethiopia these days, take this soccer analogy. Then you will know what the TPLF dictators mean by election. Say we are going to play soccer – my team and yours. I will prepare the rules of the game A to Z. I will choose the ref. you will have to agree to my right to choose some of your players or I will have the right to break the legs of some of your good players. If your players miss a near goal during the game, scaring my team, I will be given a penalty kick. You also have to agree that I have a right to order the chopping of the hands of your supporters in the stadium who clap too much and annoy me and my team. Just in case you happen to win or we come out a draw, we will have to kick 5 penalties each. Isn’t that fair? But I will kick mine from the standard spot but you will have to kick yours from the opposite end of the goal. In the end, you are required to declare to the world that the game was fair. Monday morning quarterbacking is not allowed. If you complain, I will accuse you of trying to destroy soccer as we know it and take you before a panel of judges that I chose for the purpose. If anybody asks questions about the fairness of the game or attempts to laugh at us, we all have to agree to tell them that we are living in a backward country where soccer has not yet developed and promise them we will be there in a few years. Now let’s play the game.
Those of you who know how soccer is played may be laughing at this but if you substitute democratic election in place of the soccer game, that is exactly what you have going on in Ethiopia in the name of elections. It is hardly a surprise that even the small opposition groups who make a living by deferring every rule making to the regime could not take it anymore and decided to boycott the election. But I am not sure if the boycotters understood the consequences of their actions. They seem to have forgotten they are in the game already. I am sure they will pay for it dearly. Meles Zenawi is angry that he is accusing them of working against democracy and the “constitutional order”. Bereket is coming out swinging. The TPLF tribalists are angry and are already claiming, believe it or not, that these poor opposition groups are helping Shabia and terrorists. Boycotting election or refusing to vote are not rights in Ethiopic wonderland. If you think I am exaggerating this, read what the TPLF ethnic website Aiga wrote on its editorial this week. It is the preamble of the charges to be made. They wrote the following:
“It looks more and more like “the loyal opposition” is going to take on being a front to anti-government forces as a full time job. Together with Shabia and the terrorist ONLF, these forces are forming a constellation in attempt to reach a self-fulfilling prophesy”
The National Election Board, which is an arm of Meles Zenawi’s party, has already issued a thunderous statement intimidating the boycotters. The report by Peter Heinlein of the Voice of America filed from Addis Ababa contains the following ominous report.
National Election Board Chairman Merga Bekana Wednesday accused the leader one of the country’s largest regional parties of illegally ordering an election boycott, and suggested the party could lose its legal status. He said the boycott call by Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, or OFDM, chief Bulcha Demeksa, violated Ethiopia’s election code”…..”It is unhealthy, it is illegal, because in the middle of the game it is unfair to boycott the process of elections generally,” Merga Bekana said. “The board will take to the attention of …the issue, and the board will assess thoroughly within the legal frame and eventually declare the decision.”
Professors Beyene Petros and Merera Gudina and the good gentleman Mr. Bulcha Demeksa may have to quickly declare that they have made a mistake and find some clown who would serve as a Shimagille to go between them and Meles and peddle reconciliation before they are thrown into Kaliti. If they think there is an international community that will listen to their voices, it means they have not taken lessons from the 2005 election. The lords of poverty don’t listen to such voices.
Folks, why is it that we see a pattern of Africa’s dictators robbing their peoples’ votes in broad daylight and declare themselves winners with little exercise of shame and accountability? I see a demonstrable reason for this pattern. Deep inside their minds, all these dictators hate democratic elections like the plague. Election is a post Cold War burden, a curse if you like, on these dictators that the lords of poverty in the West demand of them to legitimize their loan, aid and the rest of the poverty industry. There are no lines the Meles Zenawi’s of Africa hesitate to cross to protect their stranglehold on power. When they tell you they are for democracy and waste your time lecturing you about it, they are simply lying though their teeth. They hate it actually. Only the most honest of Africa’s dictators do what Jean-Bédel Bokassa did in Central Africa — declare themselves emperor and lifelong rulers of their countries.
Don’t you admire this guy for his honesty? Believe me, if you scratch Meles Zenawi a little deeper, you will definitely find some form of Bokassa minus the honesty. On that scale, I also believe Isayas Afeworki of Eritrea is more honest than some of these thugs who hold elections only to spill the blood of innocent people who think their vote meant something and come back to their thrones. Afeworki should be given credit for not wasting public resources on sham elections and not spilling election related blood. Any time the goons in Addis Ababa call Isayas Afeworki a dictator I feel like puking. It is as funny as the pot calling the kettle black.
Africa’s dictators gnash their teeth at the first sight of individuals or groups who dare to challenge them on democratic elections or try to publicly criticize them. In the first place, for an opposition to say you are an equal or a better alternative than the dictators is a huge affront to their sense of entitlement. Africa’s dictators talk about democracy because they have to pretend they embrace it. In many cases they are also encouraged to pretend they do by their donors. Were you amazed when US officials could not wait until sun set to congratulate Kenya’s Kibaki the day he hastily announced his stolen victory, only to backtrack it after the people became mad and drew their machetes? One would believe that, with all the information machine at their disposal, they would be the first to know that the goon stole the votes. Please don’t tell me you are happy to see the intensity of interest and condemnations of the elections in Zimbabwe? That is not for democracy. Are you surprised as to why they hold Mugabe to a different standard and that no one even credited him for conceding defeat in the parliamentary elections, at least? The man is obviously another African shame that drove his country into the ditches, but he is a Mother Theresa compared to dictators like Meles Zenawi who butcher and imprison their opponents in mass. The amount of Western hypocrisy is simply staggering. And this is the very reason why Africans should stop looking to the West for help in building their democracies. We have to fight and earn it ourselves. I often scramble to close my ears when President Bush speaks about spreading democracy in the world. It sounds like screechy broken record to me.
There is a dangerous antidemocratic trend in Africa developing in the name of democracy and prolonging the misery of the people. The dictators are adjusting and refining their systems of tyranny. They are fine tuning their administrative and legal systems to facilitate their repressive stranglehold on power. They legislate tyranny into laws. They craft them to fit their needs and get them rubber stamped in their parliaments. Musaveni of Uganda had no problem justifying changing the constitution when he felt like extending his term limit. Parliament is like a barn for the herd of cattle and the courts operate like their kitchen.
Unlike the dictators of the seventies and the sixties, the current ones are fast learners. There is a saying in Ethiopia about comparing the previous Dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam and that of Meles Zenawi. The Dergue, it is said, would kill you and parade your body for everyone to see. The Woyanes (the TPLF) would kill you in the dark and come to the funeral to make people believe that they are not the killers.
I see Ethiopia heading for darker days. It appears that Meles Zenawi has settled on his one party state proposal, that so called “developmentalist state” theory, an old crap in a new package hatched up to legitimize one party rule – a proxy for his unrepentant Albanian type of communism. There is nothing developmental in it. The goon thinks he can develop Ethiopia though government efforts, a dying notion of development. It is a kind of hallucination. Development is not as easy as dishing out concocted statistics and empty hopes. The way to develop Ethiopia is to cherish freedom and democracy. This is the only way for poor countries to break with their pasts. The way it is, Ethiopia is not attractive to its own citizens let alone to foreign investors. The only way out of our obscene poverty and institutionalized beggary is through democracy alone. There is no other way out from our conditions. None. With this stranglehold on Democracy our humiliation and grinding poverty are guaranteed to continue.
It appears Meles Zenawi has made his choice. I think the Ethiopian political elite in the opposition and the Ethiopian people have not. The flicker of light at the end of the tunnel that we hoped would be opened and bring the country together is gone. If Meles Zenawi cannot tolerate such small and weak oppositions and plays Zero-sum game with them, I don’t see how he would tolerate the existence of the larger ones. Already there are bills in parliament that are meant to decapitate potential viable opposition groups. The bills are either awaiting rubber stamping or are passed already.
I want to be wrong, but I see Ethiopia sitting on a ticking explosive. It is time for tough thinking on the part of the forces of democracy. I think the first thing we need to convince ourselves of is on the need for a comprehensive approach to the solutions. Somebody needs to pull the country’s resources and forces together to solve these problems. This is the age of information and networking. All serious opposition groups and individuals across the spectrum of ideology and ethnicity should stop this stupidity of living in their cocoons and think and debate and work and strategize together. If the problem looks complex to you, it is simply because there are as many puzzles that we as a people failed to put together. Only when we put some pieces of this puzzle together can the picture of the future become a little clearer. The tyrants in Addis Ababa must be made to think they have a problem and they will have to pay some price for their actions to bring them to their senses. They are driving the bus with their face towards the passengers.
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The writer can be reached at [email protected]
A Personal Memoir
By Getachew Belaineh
According to historians, in November 1886, while Menelik was away in a distant corner of the country, his wife, Taytu, decided to move the encampment from Entoto down onto the current site of Addis Ababa. Taytu left the Entoto mountain camp because of the unlikable cool temperature and was drawn to the site of Addis Ababa by the Fil Wiha hot springs. More important than the comfort of the Addis Ababa site was its potential for expansion. The Entoto site could only offer little room for development due to its rugged topography. Because of Menelik’s vision and Taytu’s farsightedness and the decision she made more 120 years ago, Addis Ababa is now developing and expanding offering the city a new look and personality.
I returned from Addis after a short visit in February 2008, which gave me the opportunity to observe a great contrast that extends from the booming of attractive modern buildings and upgrade of the road systems to the alarmingly deteriorating environmental conditions of the city. In what follows, I will try to recount from my perspective the highlights of both the ameliorating and deteriorating aspects of the city, and few comments about the city administration.
Development
One does not have to spend a long time in Addis Ababa to realize how much the city is changing in terms of roads and new buildings. In the blink of an eye almost, a new construction site emerges somewhere in the city. Private investors and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) are in rush-mood to grab every available piece of land for building modern buildings. The government is solely busy upgrading the major roads using loans secured from international banks and organizations. Speaking of loans, according to the World Bank, Ethiopia has earmarked nearly $1.0 billion of which $0.6 billion is loan from World Bank in the last 15 years for road maintenance and upgrading. The fundamental question is: Is the loan real national economic driven or is it the result of an economic-hit-man shackling the country in debt for generations to come? The answer to this question is not within the scope of this article.
Let’s look at the road upgrading activities in Addis Ababa. By the way, the road upgrading is not limited to the city. There are also major activities outside of Addis. In Addis Ababa, the most notable road upgrades are Tele Medhane Alem-ST. Ourael road, Adwa Ring Road Square-Adwa Bridge Road, Gotera Interchange Roads, and the expansion of the road connecting Arat Killo and Yeka Michael and the multi-Lane Ring Road. The Ring Road, which is approximately 75% complete, is intended to connect all five main gates (Debre Birhan, Debre Zeit, Sebetta, Ambo, and Sululta) in and out of Addis. Heavy trucks entering the city from the five main radial routes will be diverted to bypass Addis Ababa completely or to transfer to another radial route to suit the eventual destination and in doing so avoid the city’s center. The Gotera Interchange Road is expected to ease the overwhelming traffic congestion at the intersection.
With respect to buildings, investors are not wasting any time to fill every available unoccupied space in some sections of the city. Specially, neighborhoods locally known as Bole, Asmera Menged, Aware, Qera, Cherqos, Kazanchis, Lideta, Seratgena Sefer, Iri Bekentu, Qebena, Gola Sefer, etc. have simply run out of land. Even the relatively new neighborhoods such as Gurd Shola, Gerji, and Alem Tena are filling up swiftly. Most of the new high-rise buildings are clustered in the central, eastern, and southeastern sections of the city. The north and west sides of the city, locally known as the Gulele and Shiromeda areas, respectively, are relatively quiescent. For the obvious reason, the most intense areas are around Asmera Menged, Old Airport area, Bole road, and Kazanchis. One of the most extraordinary buildings in town is the Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) Cathedral, locally known as Tele Medhane Alem, situated near Bole International Airport. To mention some of the other most notable buildings: A five-star hotel which is under construction on Bole Road near Meskel Square, a shiny tall building near Ghion Hotel, which is owned by Sheik Al-Amoudi, is nearing completion. If you are familiar with the Kazanchis area, you might as well be familiar with those once popular nightspots known as Six-Doors and Three-Doors where many people used to hang out. However, these bars are now gone in order to create space for many architecturally astounding buildings, including a beautiful high-rise building with a curved glass roof owned by GTZ. Behind the GTZ building, another high rise, nearing completion, for the UNICEF headquarters. Somewhere in that neighborhood is the skeleton of an Irish-funded four-star hotel.
The government is also busy building condominiums (condo) and selling them to people to ease the prevailing housing problem. However, some people complain about the incompleteness of the condos at the time of purchase. Most , if not all condos, have only roofs and walls and are uninhabitable at the time they are sold to the people. They have no toilets, no kitchens, and floors are unfinished. In some cases, even doors and windows are not installed. The buyers have to install doors and windows and complete the interiors. This should not be a major problem, as the situation will allow the buyers to finish the interior according to their own preferences and needs. Some also complain about the inconveniences associated with traditional lifestyle, such as the coffee and sheep and chicken ceremony during holidays. This should not be a problem either, because the aim is to transform Addis Ababa into a modern city with time and the dwellers’ lifestyles should change accordingly.
However, there are some series concerns involving structural quality inspection and safety of septic tanks and sewerage system. It is unknown whether the buildings have gone through the proper quality control procedures to assure compliance with basic requirements of the country’s building code standards, including the ability to withstand high winds and earthquakes, etc. Septic tanks and shallowly buried sewerage pipes are causing series health concerns. Water supply is another problem with high-rise condos. The city water supply cannot reach higher than 3rd floors. By the way, all these problems are valid for all other buildings too.
The government’s effort to construct modern housings and making them available to the people at affordable price is commendable, but those responsible ought to do everything to ensure the condos are structurally and sanitationally safe.
Public Services
World class buildings booming, multi-lane roads flourishing, expenditures for keeping the city reasonably clean, and manage the overwhelmingly traffic congestion could not keep up with the enormous growth of the city. This disparity creates concerns ranging from some level of short-term uneasiness to long-term health vulnerability and life threatening conditions on the inhabitants.
Basic Infrastructures: The city lies at the base of a chain of mountains — the Entoto and Yeka Mountains. The intense rainfall during the rainy season produces a very high sediment-loaded runoff from these mountains. As a result of the incompatibility of the drainage system and increased urbanization, the city suffers from serious flooding when most of the sediment-loaded runoff settles in the low-lying parts of the city. Many of the curb openings are clogged with debris and sediment and some are even closed by new asphalt pavements. After the pooling water evaporates or slowly filters out through the clogged culverts, the dry sediment stays behind, covering the streets and polluting the environment with dirt. Sometimes, it is even hard to tell if a street is asphalt or dirt paved. The flooding and sedimentation problem is not only life threatening, it also shortens the structural life of the road, it also adversely affects health by harming the eyes and respiratory system. The most hazardous situation is when waste water enters the storm runoff or flood and then polluting the streams in the city causing severe downstream environmental degradation.
The city’s sewage disposal facility which serves only a very small neighborhood was installed some 50 or 60 years ago, and the developments achieved since then are insignificant. According to Atlas-Africa (2003), Addis Ababa is the largest capital city in the world that does not have a central sewerage system. Most of the inhabitants use on-site sanitation systems which includes septic tanks and various types of dry-pit latrines that are not well maintained. A general survey indicates a great many use dry-pit latrines, few use septic tanks, and considerable number of people do not have access to any sanitation facilities.
Solid waste disposal is another health hazard in the city. According to an estimate by Addis Ababa University, about 35-40 per cent of the solid waste generated is dumped on any available unoccupied ground and left uncollected for several weeks or even months. It is common to see mountains of garbage blocking sidewalks and streets. No wonder, Forbes magazine recently ranked Addis Ababa as the world’s sixth dirtiest city.
I do not want to sound ridiculous by trying to suggest what the city engineers should do to solve these problems. I am confident they (city engineers), with some consulting assistance, have the knowhow and the skill to design and implement systems that can alleviate the problems. The engineers know watershed management scheme is important to reduce sediment load and flooding. They know retrofitting of flood attenuation ponds and stormwater runoff drainage systems are essential to reduce sedimentation and water pooling on the roads. They know the city has to secure locations to be construction-free to aid flood abatement. They know sanitary sewer overflowing into storm sewer system can pollute sources of water for drinking, bathing, and gardening. They know the city needs more extensive network of sewerage system. They also know that it is an impossible task for the municipality to provide effective solid waste collection and disposal services for the entire city and the role of private sector should be taken into account. What the engineers probably do not know is how to tackle these problems without adequate resources. It takes a consciousness of the government to recognize the existing conditions as a series problem to invest and improve the situation.
Historical Sites and Buildings: Buildings and sites of historical significance are endangered. Over the past century, the city has accumulated different architectural identities varying from traces of Greek, Indian, and Armenian to the Italian occupation era. Naturally, this architecture reflects the background of the city as well as the country at large. Among the most significant historical heritages are: the unique timber buildings in Piassa area; a 5-story stucco building from the Italian occupation era(the Electricity House) in Piassa, Taitu Hotel (Ethiopia’s first hotel, which was built by Emperor Menelik), Arada Post Office, Hunengaw Mera shopping plaza in Mercato, Ras Biru W/Gabriel’s House near Mesqel Square, the former Ras’ house now used as Menelik Elementary School, and Jan Meda race ground. These antique buildings have great historical significance and need to be protected and maintained. Upgrading roads and building new modern buildings by destroying these buildings and historical sites is an irreversible mistake and the government ought to preserve them.
Existing Government Buildings: Existing government buildings are on the verge of collapse due to lack of maintenance. For instance, the magnificent landmark municipality building, apartment buildings, hotel buildings (Ethiopia Hotel, Wabishebele Hotel, and Lalibela Hotel near the stadium, etc.) are standing on their last legs. The question that comes to anyone’s mind is: What is the government doing with these buildings, especially those revenue-generating ones? It appears the government is only collecting the revenue until the buildings collapse.
City Administration
As depicted above, population is exploding, buildings and roads are booming, and international activities are growing in the city. The big question: Are the stakeholders, namely the Federal and City Governments capable of handling the growth? I do not know the answer to this question, but let me share my experience in one of the sub-city offices. Hierarchically, the mayor’s office is at the top of the city government. Under the mayor’s office are 10 Sub City Councils (a.k.a. Kifle Ketemas), and under the Sub City Councils are 103 Kebeles (the lowest level in the hierarchy). One of the tasks Kifle Ketemas are charged with is issuing permits for new construction or changes property owners wish to make on or to their properties. The idea is that the Kifle Ketemas or Kebeles, depending upon the type and nature of the change on or to the property, will ensure that the changes are consistent with the neighborhood, community, and the city’s master plan, in addition to protecting the interests of the property owners and all other affected parties.
Is there a defined guideline for the Kifle Ketemas and their employees to carry out their duties? Do employees have the required skill and integrity to do the job? Is there consistent permit or any application evaluation criteria? According to my casual observations in the Yeka Kifle Ketema, the answer is no, no, and no. Yeka Kifile Ketem is one of the top three most populous Kifile Ketemas with eleven Kebeles under its jurisdiction. Gulele Kifle Ketema is the most populous with 334,000 people. The office of Yeka Kifile Ketem is located on the side of Asmera Road near the Ministry of Water Resources. The workforce size of this office seems reasonable, but violation of office hours—either late arrival and/or early departure—is common and no one seems to be overseeing this.
The application and review processes in this office are in complete disarray. In the absence of any standard guidelines, each applicant is at the mercy of the employee handling the case. Each employee fabricates any criterion to deny or grant the requested permit depending upon the willingness of the applicant to fulfill the employ’s personal “need”. Appealing to a higher authority or superior is not an option because it will not do any good except further complicating the already complicated matter. Superiors, section heads, or even the top person in the office has neither the courage nor the skill to interfere and give direction to their subordinates to resolve the appeal. The other interesting situation is, if an employee is on leave of absence for an extended period, there is no one to fill the void, not even his or her immediate superior. In an event like this, applicants have no choice other than to wait until the employee returns to the office. According to my casual observations, deficiency of the required skill for the position, lack of work discipline, sloppiness, and dishonesty are common on some employees.
The city administration is expected to serve at a highly visible capacity to provide civilized and well-mannered public services. Posting functions and vision on a website is not enough. It is imperative that the City Administration live up to its standard in order to maintain Addis Ababa’s inherited continental capital standing. Remember, in addition to an estimated 4 million inhabitants, Addis Ababa is the house of the African Union, Economic Commission for Africa, and many other international organizations.
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The author can be reached at [email protected]
What Ethiopians want is not a handout from the U.S., but for the Bush Administration to stop supporting and financing the fascist tribal junta that is pillaging and plundering our country. Most of these books will not even reach the students.
(ENA) – As part of its ongoing commitment to support Ethiopia’s educational system, the American people donated today over one and half million English language textbooks to Ethiopia, the US Embassy in Addis anounced.
The donation is part of President George W. Bush’s Africa Education Initiative, which increases access to quality basic educational opportunities in Africa. The English language textbooks were developed specifically for Ethiopia and are for use in primary schools for grade 5 to 8.
Speaking at the handover ceremony held at Sefere Selam Primary School in Addis Ababa, Dr. Sarah Moten, President Bush’s Coordinator for the Africa Education Initiative said, “Education is the key to future economic growth and lasting democracy, and essential to improving the lives of Ethiopians.
“We are proud to be working in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Ethiopia’s schools to help this country’s children be better prepared for productive futures.”
Also attending the ceremony were Dr. Sintayehu Woldemichael, Minister, Ethiopian Ministry of Education, Dr. Thomas Corts, U.S. Coordinator of Basic Education, U.S. Ambassador Donald Yamamoto and Nancy Estes, USAID-Ethiopia Acting Deputy Mission Director.
Along with the Africa Education Initiative, U.S. support for quality education in Ethiopia includes scholarships that enable girls to complete secondary education, support for teacher training at the primary level, capacity building in planning and management and community empowerment for school governance.
With an emphasis on primary school completion, USAID has been supporting the Ministry of Education in eleven regions since 1995.
Overall, USAID has invested approximately 160 million USD in financial, technical and managerial resources to support its Basic Education Program, the embassy said
The Red Cross is wasting its time and money. Woyanne gunmen are not interested in the rule of law. They don’t even abide by their own constitution that they swore to uphold. They follow the law of the jungle.
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Source: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – Switzerland
Addis Ababa (ICRC) – On 15 and 16 April, 100 legal advisers of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) Woyanne gunmen and mercenaries took part in a workshop on international humanitarian law (IHL) organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Addis Ababa.
The participants came from several ENDF units in Addis Ababa, regional commands and training centres, and from all divisions around the country.
“Under IHL, legal advisers of the armed forces should be available to guide military commanders on the correct application of the provisions of the law,” said Jürg Eglin, deputy head of the ICRC’s delegation in Ethiopia.
“They should also advise them on how to ensure that the forces under their command receive appropriate instruction in these provisions.” IHL is a body of law comprising the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, to which Ethiopia is a party, and various other international treaties.
It regulates the means and methods of warfare, with the aim of striking a balance between military necessity and the principles of humanity.
Under the provisions of IHL, persons who are not or are no longer taking part in a conflict must be spared and treated humanely.
The ICRC is responsible for promoting IHL throughout the world.
It endeavours to make the basic principles of the law known to all bearers of weapons.
In Ethiopia as elsewhere, the ICRC conducts exclusively impartial, independent and neutral humanitarian activities.
For further information, please contact:
Patrick Mégevand, ICRC Addis Ababa, tel. +251 116 478 300 or +251 911 480 921
Anna Schaaf, ICRC Geneva, tel. +41 22 730 2271 or +41 79 217 3217
Meles Zenawi, the butcher of East Africa, is currently in New York to attend a United Nations meeting.