ENTC asks Government of Sweden for diplomatic recognition
The Ethiopian National Transitional Council (ENTC) has sent a communique to Mr. Carl Bildt, Foreign Affairs Minister of Sweden, requesting a diplomatic recognition.
The letter was submitted to the Sweden foreign minister by ENTC’s diplomatic representative in Stockholm, Mr. Aba Biya Ketema Wara Badi.
The letter explains ENTC’s mission, and discusses the worsening political, economic and security crises in Ethiopia, as well as the need for the Sweden government to help with a peaceful transition to democracy.
The Transitional Council was founded at a 3-day conference in Dallas, Texas, that was convened from July 1 – 3, 2012, with the participation of representatives from over 30 cities and countries.
The Transitional Council plans to submit similar requests to several countries through its diplomatic representatives in the coming few weeks.
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For more info:
ENTC Foreign Relations Committee
85 S. Bragg St. Alexandria VA, 22312 USA
Tel: 202-735-4262
Email: [email protected]
Website: etntc.org
It took 55 days for CNN to report about the disappearance of Ethiopia’s tin-pot dictator. Even now, the CNN report appeared only on its website. This goes to show how inconsequential Meles Zenawi is to the international community after 21 years in power and turning Ethiopia into a colony of Saudi Arabia, China and India.
By Faith Karimi
(CNN) — Ethiopia’s prime minister is “recovering well,” a spokesman said Wednesday, amid frenzied speculation about the health of the usually visible leader, who has not appeared in public for two months.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, 57, came to power two decades ago and is considered a strong force in the frequently volatile horn of Africa.
He has not appeared in public since June, and the secretive nation has released little information about his whereabouts, prompting rumors and opposition claims that he is dead or facing a life-threatening illness.
After weeks of speculation, the government held a news conference last month and announced he got treatment for an unspecified illness.
Zenawi is “recovering well, resting and performing his duties as prime minister and head of state,” government spokesman Bereket Simon reiterated Wednesday. He declined to give exact details on Zenawi’s whereabouts or the nature of his illness.
His absence has been a hot topic in the nation, with bloggers launching a counter of the number of days he’s been missing. Citizens have taken to social media to discuss his whereabouts and exchange conspiracy theories.
Searches for Zenawi are at their highest since 2004, according to Google trends.
“Ethiopians are a bit confused,” said Endalk Hailemichael, 30, of Addis Ababa. “In Ethiopia, there are traditions of secrecy and hiding the whereabouts of leaders. People are afraid, there is a lot of uncertainty looming. A lot of rumors and unclear information going on.”
Hailemichael said the disappearance has sparked a lot of questions, including who would succeed him in case of a power vacuum. But most people are discussing it with fear of repercussions, he said.
Combating threats in Somalia
CNN reached several people in the nation who expressed their concerns about his whereabouts, but did not want to be quoted for fear of retribution.
“People are afraid to talk about it. This is a police state,” Hailemichael said. “They are talking about it, but they are looking over their shoulders. In bars, in taxis, coffee shops, that’s all people are talking about. But they are afraid.”
His absence was more evident last month when Ethiopia hosted an African Union summit in its capital of Addis Ababa. Zenawi, a key player in talks on the tensions between Sudan and its rival neighbor South Sudan, did not attend.
“Some people are worried, some people are crying,” said Jomanex Kassaye, 30, who lives near Addis Ababa. “While some people are worried about the instability that might occur … others are happy that he may be gone.”
Kassaye said, while he is not a fan of the leader, he wants him to leave through a democratic process.
“I need him to go because there is no democracy, no freedom of speech, no food, no justice, no accountability,” he said. “But not like this. If he leaves like this, we will have another dictator who will take over power and stay for too long.”
Ethiopia, which is a key Western ally often lauded for effective use of aid money, is surrounded by unstable nations such as Somalia and Eritrea. Zenawi has been credited with working toward peace and security in the region.
The Ethiopian army has sent peacekeepers to battle Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab in Somalia. More recently, the prime minister was working to broker a peace deal in the negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan, which split last year but still have unresolved issues.
In an attempt to quash the rumors, the government censored a newspaper that tried to report information about his health, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
“This weekend, the government ordered the state-run printing company not to produce the latest edition of the weekly Feteh, which was to have carried front-page coverage of Zenawi’s condition,” the media advocacy group said on its website.
Zenawi, a former guerrilla leader, is part of a group that toppled dictator Haile Mengustu Mariam in 1991. The shrewd politician is credited with economic progress and maintaining peace in the nation surrounded by volatile countries.
However, human rights groups have accused his government of a heavy hand and a series of abuses, including limiting press freedoms and cracking down on opposition political parties.
Last year, Ethiopia found two Swedish journalists guilty of supporting terrorism and sentenced them to 11 years.
Today is the 55th day since Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi has disappeared. The regime’s spokesman Bereket Simon says Meles will return before September 11, which is Ethiopian New Year. But who believes Bereket the pathological liar?
A latest puzzling development is TPLF founder and former chairman Sebhat Nega’s interview with ESAT yesterday to talk about Meles Zenawi. How did Sebhat agree to be interviewed by ESAT, a media organization that is labeled a ‘terrorist group’ by Meles Zenawi? ESAT’s line of questioning is also disquieting, to say the least. Listen below:
Founder and former chairman of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (Woyanne) talks to ESAT about Meles Zenawi’s condition and who is going to replace him. Listen below.
Today is the 54th day since Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi has disappeared. The Woyanne regime’s propaganda chief Bereket Simon told Australian reporter over the weekend that Meles will return from his ‘vacation’ before Ethiopian New Year on Sept. 11.
