ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — Kenenisa Bekele was philosophical about the lack of publicity given to his own brilliant Olympic double compared to the exploits of Usain Bolt.
Bekele 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres victories in the Bird Nest’s stadium in Beijing, both in Olympic record times, saw him become the first athlete to achieve the feat since fellow Ethiopian Miruts Yifter 28 years ago in Moscow.
But Bekele, despite his delight at winning the 5,000m title for the first time and retaining his 10,000m crown, insisted today Bolt fully deserved all of the accolades that made him the Games’ track and field golden boy.
Talking about Bolt’s 100m and 200m successes, both in world record times, Bekele said: “Ours were different races and we can’t be compared.
“(But) he’s very strong and he really ran special races in Beijing. To break two world records that is very special. (They) were very tough to make, but he did it.”
Bolt, not surprisingly, is grabbing the headlines again before tomorrow night’s AF Golden League meeting in Zurich, where over 100m he will meet six of the opponents he thrashed in Beijing when roaring to the world’s quickest time ever of 9.69seconds.
Whether the 22-year-old Jamaican can, for the third occasion this year, lower the record even further cannot be ruled out despite his strenuous Olympic schedule, where he was also in Jamaica’s world record-breaking 4x100m relay team.
“It was a long trip to get here, but I’m not tired at all,” said Bolt. “I’ve done a little training since I got here.
“I’m trying to get the blood pumping again in preparation for Friday evening.”
Bekele revealed chasing his four-year-old 5,000m world record does not figure in his plans because of tiredness.
After arriving back home early yesterday morning, he and other Ethiopian medallists celebrated with their fans – more than a million turned out for the trip from Addis Ababa airport to the capital’s city centre.
“It’s very different,” said Bekele, who then rushed off to Zurich. “I don’t think about world records. After Beijing I’m too tired for a fast race. Maybe I will just go for winning.”
However, teenager Pamela Jelimo, the 800m gold medallist, plans to have a shot at Jarmila Kratochvilova’s 25-year-old world record of 1min 53.28sec.
“I’m going to try for the world record here, I’m not feeling tired after the Olympics,” said the 18-year-old Kenyan, who in Beijing set a third world junior record of 1:54.87sec.
Jelimo, who along with Croatian high jumper Blanka Vlasic is the only contender to win the IAAF Golden League US dollars 1million jackpot, will be paced in the early stages of the attempt by the experienced Russian Svetlana Klyuka, who finished fourth in China.
Vlasic, who lost her unbeaten streak of 34 victories and the Olympic gold medal to Tia Hellebaut, will renew her rivalry with the surprise Belgian winner.
Cuba’s Olympic 110m hurdles champion, Dayron Robles, also insisting he is in top shape, could make an attack on the world record of 12.87sec he achieved in mid-June.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This seems to be a drama orchestrated by Amare Aregawi’s own party, Woyanne. The company, Dashen Brewery, that sued Amare is owned by the ruling party, Woyanne. Even the car that transported him to Gondar is not a police car. He was taken bay a car owned by the company that sued him. But if any thing, this incident exposes how repressive the new press law is. Any individual or company can cause the arrest of a newspaper editor.
AFP — Ethiopian authorities Woyanne released a newspaper editor detained last week after it reported on a labour dispute at a local brewery, a media watchdog says.
Amare Aregawi was held for five days in a prison 750 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in a statement.
He was released yesterday on bail of 300-birr (around 31-dollars).
RSF urged Ethiopian government to “amend the newly-adopted media law in order to eliminate prison sentences for press offences.”
Aregawi’s private Amharic language weekly Reporter published an article last month citing two former employees of the brewery as saying they were wrongfully dismissed.
The brewery company had sued the paper for libel.
Ethiopia was only removed from RSF’s blacklist of media offenders in May, having been labelled “an enemy of the internet” along with Zimbabwe.
(Bloomberg) — Rebel fighters in Darfur said they’re planning a new attack on Sudan’s capital because the government isn’t committed to peace in the war-torn region.
The rebel faction known as the Justice and Equity Movement, led by Khalil Ibrahim, also welcomed the International Criminal Court’s announcement yesterday that it plans to indict Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir on war crimes charges. “It’s a great moment for the people of Darfur,” Tahir el Faki, the movement’s legislative commander, said in a phone interview from Darfur.
On May 10, JEM rebels entered the town of Omdurman, across the Nile river from Khartoum. Sudan’s official news agency said more than 200 people were killed in the assault, the Associated Press reported on May 13. At least 100 people were arrested after the attack, including Islamist opposition leader Hassan al- Turabi, according to New York-based Human Rights Watch.
“We are going to pursue this criminal government militarily,” El Faki said today. “We are in Darfur right now. The commanders are here with Khalil Ibrahim discussing. We are coming back to Omdurman to finish the job.”
The war in Darfur, a region in western Sudan almost the size of France, has killed as many as 300,000 people and forced 2 million to flee their homes. The conflict began when rebels seeking a larger role in Sudan’s political life and bigger slice of the country’s expanding oil wealth attacked the government. The authorities in Khartoum responded by dispatching military forces and arming militias, commonly known as the Janjaweed, to attack areas accused of supporting the rebels.
UN Staff Relocated
Yesterday, the United Nations began relocating non-essential staff from Darfur to neighboring countries following an attack on a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force last week in which 7 soldiers died and 22 were injured.
The relocation “is due to the deteriorating security situation of the past month,” Josephine Guerrero, a spokeswoman for the force, known as Unamid, said in a telephone interview today from Khartoum. “All critical Unamid operations are ongoing and the forces are on the ground.”
The World Food Program has already relocated about 140 staff members from Darfur, said Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the UN agency.
“The vast majority of staff will remain to continue with the delivery of food to the people,” she said, adding that in June alone, WFP had delivered food aid to 3.3 million people, a figure she said will increase this month.
`Carry Out Mission’
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urged “Sudan and the president to ensure that UN peacekeeping operations are able to carry out their mission.” Speaking in Berlin today at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Ban added, “Peace and justice are both very important principles and they should go hand in hand.”
Al-Bashir’s indictment on any of the 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes would be the ICC’s first involving a sitting head of state. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court in The Hague yesterday to issue a warrant for al- Bashir, 64, whose government vowed to oppose attempts to arrest him. It may take up to two months before the court decides on Moreno-Ocampo’s request, his spokeswoman, Florence Olara, said by phone today.
The African Union criticized the ICC’s announcement, saying an indictment won’t help resolve the crisis in Darfur.
The AU’s Peace and Security Council “expressed its strong conviction that the search for justice should be pursued in a way that does not impede or jeopardize efforts aimed at promoting lasting peace,” the Addis Ababa-based organization said in an e- mailed statement late yesterday.
`Fragile Peace’
AU Peace and Security Council Commissioner Ramtane Lamamra was due to arrive in Khartoum last night for consultations with al-Bashir and other Sudanese officials. Jean Ping, chairman of the AU commission, has held talks with the UN and the Arab League and called for an urgent meeting of African foreign ministers to discuss al-Bashir’s possible indictment.
An ICC indictment would pose “major risks for the fragile peace and security environment in Sudan, with a real chance of greatly increasing the suffering of very large numbers of its people,” the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based human rights group, said in an e-mailed statement.
Though the ICC was acting well within its mandate, its move could risk damaging the fragile peace agreement between north and south Sudan and hinder the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Darfur, the group said.
Yasir Arman, a spokesman for Southern Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, said a negotiated settlement between Bashir and rebels in Darfur may prevent the ICC from issuing the indictment.
To contact the reporter on this story: Benedict Moran in Khartoum via Johannesburg at [email protected]; Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at [email protected].
The top leadership of Unity for Democracy and Justice Party (UDJ), including the chairperson, Wzt. Birtukan Mideksa, went to the resort town of Sodore (130km southeast of Addis Ababa) on Monday to relax and also try bring harmony among the different factions of the leadership that are currently at loggerheads.
The Sodore retreat had often turned into series of heated debates particularly between those who believe that Kinijit made the right decision NOT to enter the rubber-stump parliament, and those who violated the party’s decision and resent that they are being looked down on by the others as untrustworthy.
Meanwhile, the top leaders of UDJ are currently being courted by the American Ambassador Donald Yamamoto and other Western ambassadors to take part in the 2010 elections without any preconditions.
As we reported last week, Ambassador Yamamoto invited Wzt. Birtukan and four other top leaders of UDJ to a lunch on July 8 to discuss elections.
According to Ethiopian Review sources, Yamamoto told the UDJ leaders that he will stay as ambassador until after the 2010 elections and has tried to assure them that the road will be paved for them to freely participate in the elections.
The ambassador admitted that there is a one-party system in Ethiopia, and the U.S. Government wants to movement toward a multi-party system, according to ER sources.
The American ambassador also told the UDJ officials that the U.S. policy towards Ethiopia is being transformed, in that terrorism is no longer a dominant factor in the decision making process. He advised Wzt. Birtukan and friends that the U.S. will start focusing on good governance and human rights, and that UDJ needs to take advantage of this transformation of U.S. policy.
The UDJ officials also met with French diplomats and held similar talks.
In all of this, the party seems to have forgotten about the people as if they have no say. Currently, UDJ is completely detached from the people of Ethiopia.
Mr Bashir served in the army and rose to power in the 1990s
The unprecedented decision by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to seek charges against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity has thrown a sharp light on his part in the conflict in Darfur.
Some 250,000 people have died and two million fled their homes since 2003.
But Mr Bashir has always accused the international community of exaggerating the scale of the crisis.
Speaking in 2004, he said the Darfur issue was a “traditional conflict over resources… coated with claims of marginalisation”.
“Strangely the Darfur crisis, according to them [the UN], has become the worst humanitarian disaster in the world. The report about the crisis occupies the best part of the influential media by those who have a hidden agenda,” he added.
Accusations
However, organisations like Human Rights Watch have documented atrocities in the western Sudanese region.
[African Union] troops… are completely capable of playing their role without international intervention
Omar al-Bashir, 2006
Three years ago, Human Rights Watch described the Sudanese government as pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing said to be “strategic and well-planned”.
“Khartoum has relied on the civilian administration, the Sudanese military and Janjaweed militias to implement a counter-insurgency policy that deliberately and systematically targeted civilians in violation of international law,” it said.
And these allegations were renewed earlier in 2008, when the government was accused of aerial bombardment and ground attacks that drove thousands from their homes.
Human rights organisations accuse President Bashir of overseeing these atrocities – allegations that have now resulted in the current indictment.
Noose tightening
Mr Bashir is first and foremost an army man.
After joining the Sudanese armed forces in 1960, he served with the Egyptian army during the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
In June 1989, he led a group of officers who overthrew the government of Sadiq al-Mahdi, appearing on TV to say that the coup was designed to save Sudan from rotten politicians.
The joint UN/AU peacekeeping mission to Darfur was much-delayed
As chairman of a Revolutionary Command Council, he led the country, making links with radical Islamists, including Hassan al-Turabi.
The relationship did not last, though, and Mr Turabi was purged and jailed.
Critics of President Bashir say that he has ruled Sudan in the interests of those northern Sudanese who live along the River Nile.
Anyone from the south of the country, or from a peripheral area like Darfur, has had little say in the running of the country.
The uprising in Darfur has been ruthlessly repressed. And suggestions that the United Nations might send international forces to the region were strongly resisted.
Instead, Mr Bashir has insisted that only African forces be deployed to try to Darfur.
“The AU [African Union] troops, after their experience and real practice in resolving conflict in Africa, are completely capable of playing their role without international intervention,” he said in 2006.
“We renew our call to the international community, as well as our Arab and African brothers, to provide the necessary financial support to these troops and to increase the participation of Arab and African troops in the mission by the required numbers, so that the AU can continue playing its role.”
The United States has been at the forefront of pressing for action on Darfur. But – strange as it might seem – it has also maintained close intelligence links with the Sudanese government.
In 2005, for example, the head of Sudanese intelligence was flown in a CIA jet to Washington. And US officials have worked closely with Sudan on anti-terrorism issues.
But the judicial noose has been gradually tightening around Mr Bashir.
In June, the International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo briefed the UN Security Council on Sudan’s refusal to arrest two government officials for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Now the court has decided it will go higher – and indicted President Omar al-Bashir himself.
Sudan ‘will block genocide case’
Sudan has said it will do all it can to block the work of the International Criminal Court, which has accused the nation’s leader of genocide in Darfur.
President Omar al-Bashir’s most senior adviser told the BBC the allegations were designed to generate hostility between tribal groups in Darfur.
Ghazi Salaheddin said that if the ICC pursued the case it could jeopardise relations between Sudan and the UN.
Meanwhile, the UN is withdrawing about 200 non-essential staff from Darfur.
The UN said the decision to pull back staff from the joint UN-African Union Darfur mission, Unamid, came after recent violence and as a precaution after the genocide accusation.
In the capital, Khartoum, the UN told its staff to stay at home as thousands of Sudanese took to the streets rallying in support of their president.
Mr Bashir, who says the accusations are lies, is accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.
Judges at the ICC, an independent body, are yet to decide if there are reasonable grounds to issue an arrest warrant against Mr Bashir.
Some 300,000 people have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur since 2003, while more than two million people have fled their homes, the UN estimates.
Sudan’s government denies mobilising Arab Janjaweed militias to attack black African civilians in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003.
‘No jurisdiction’
In a BBC interview, Ghazi Salaheddin said Sudan did not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction and it would be rallying support among its allies to try to block proceedings.
Efforts to indict a sitting head of state would set a dangerous precedent, he said.
Allegations of genocide by the ICC’s chief prosecutor were designed to generate hostility between tribal groups in Darfur, Mr Salaheddin said.
“On the allegation of genocide, an international commission sanctioned by the United Nations has come and investigated the situation in Sudan and has concluded that there was no genocide. So genocide is out of the question,” he said.
Mr Salaheddin denied the government of Sudan was blackmailing the international community by failing to provide security guarantees for peacekeepers and humanitarian staff.
He said that Sudan would be seeking support from its allies in the Arab League, which is meeting on Saturday to discuss how to respond to the ICC’s accusations.
The UN runs large-scale humanitarian operations in the region and has thousands of peacekeepers in Darfur as part of a joint mission with the African Union (AU).
African Union dilemma
In its first reaction, China expressed grave concern over the ICC prosecutor’s decision to seek the arrest of Omar al-Bashir.
A foreign ministry spokesman said the court should try to help bring stability to Sudan and not to undermine it.
He said China would continue to consult with other members of the UN Security Council about whether to block the ICC but would not speculate on possible results of talks.
Meanwhile Russia called for “restraint” from all sides.
Russia’s ambassador to the UN said Sudan and the UN must “exercise restraint and find solutions that will help the people of Sudan and resolve the crisis in Darfur”.
The US, which is not part of the ICC, offered some praise on Monday for prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s charge.
“In our view, recognition of the humanitarian disaster and the atrocities that have gone on there is a positive thing,” state department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
But the African Union urged caution. Speaking on behalf of the AU chairman, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Bernard Membe said the ICC should suspend its decision on whether to seek Mr Bashir’s arrest until problems in Darfur were resolved.
The Peace and Security Commissioner for the AU, Ramtane Lamamra, has flown to Sudan for a meeting with Mr Bashir and other members of the government.
The AU Commission expressed concern that “hard-won gains made in the search for peace and reconciliation in the Sudan” could be jeopardised.
Foreign ministers of the 15 countries currently serving on the AU’s Peace and Security Council are expected to meet in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital where the AU is based, next week.
The charges against President Bashir put African countries in an acutely difficult position, says the BBC’s Liz Blunt in Addis Ababa.
They supply almost all the troops for the joint AU/UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, and are also the countries most likely to be called upon to carry out any arrest warrant, she says.
Dr Berhanou Abebe, a polyglot and the most distinguished Ethiopian French scholar, passed away on July 1, 2008, while on assignment to monitor the elections in Zimbabwe as a representative of the African Union. The following is a brief biography about him and a condolence letter from the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy.
Birth: Dr. Berhanou Abebe Gedel was born on October 14, 1932 in Addis Ababa from his father Ato Abebe Gedel and his mother, Wzo. Yeshiemebet Wolde-Aregay.
Education: When he came of age, Dr. Berhanou was introduced into the nascent realm of modern education in Ethiopia. He was subsequently educated in the some of the best schools found in and outside of the country, and in the process reached the pinnacle of scholarship. His life in the world of scholarship was very impressive as can be seen from the following list:
Dr. Berhanou Abebe attended the Teferi Mekonnen and Alliance Française schools from 1939 to 1946, completing his elementary education with “Great Distinction.” Subsequently he joined the Lycée Guebre Mariam School for his secondary education and he obtained the Baccalauréat in 1953 with “Great Distinction.”
After the Baccalauréat, he left for France for further studies where he stayed from 1953 to 1967. During his fourteen years stay in France he was educated in a number of higher learning institutions and graduated in different disciplines.
1954 – 1957 Law Faculty at the Institute of Comparative Law and obtained an L.L.B. Besides, he worked with Professor Tubiana on various research projects and as instructor.
1957 to 1960 he joined the Institute of Law Studies in Paris and worked on various research projects and he attended the first international conference on Ethiopian. He also attended under the auspices of the United Nations, a special training in International Service.
1961 to 1963: Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Sorbonne and studied the Historical Ethnology of East Africa and the Science of Administration. He successfully completed the study with “Very Great Distinction” and awarded a Licence és Lettres.
1962 to 1964 Dr. Berhanou pursued his studies at the internationally well-known university of Sorbonne and obtained his Doctorate Degree on the evolution of land ownership in Shoa covering the period from the 19th to the 20th century.
1965-1967 He obtained le Doctorat d’Etat es Lettres (the Highest level of Academic distinction in France from the University of Sorbonne on the social history of 19th and 20th century Ethiopia with a special emphasis on the reign of Emperor Menelik II. While conducting his research in Paris for two years the French Government made available all the relevant documents located in various French institutions.
1967 he returned to his beloved country Ethiopia.
An Ethiopian Polyglot: Dr. Berhanou was a veritable polyglot who had a mastery of the following Ethiopian and foreign languages: Amharic, Geez, Tigrigna, Oromifa, French, English, Italian, Latin, Classic Greek, and Arabic.
Research and Publications: Dr. Berhanou Abebe Gedel has published a number of very valuable research based works in the course of his long period of dedicated service, such as on the Annales d’Ethiopie. Furthermore, he has made presentations at national and international historical, linguistic, and cultural symposia on Ethiopia and Africa. Also, he has served as the Secretary of the All African Pre-history Council. For his contributions, Dr. Berhanou has received innumerable letters of appreciation as well as awards of merit.
To name but a few of his published works:
The Rise of Land Tenure in Ethiopia (1971)
The History of Monasticism in Ancient Ethiopia (1981)
History of Ethiopia (2002)
In addition, on the occasion of the 200th Anniversary of the French Revolution, he has translated and published the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 in Amharic. Together with his colleagues, he has prepared a French-Amharic and an Amharic-French Dictionaries in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
Professional Membership
The French Society of Natural History (Member)
Association of African Railways (Founding member and Acting General Secretary)
Awards
Commandeur de l’Ordre de Hailesellassie (Ethiopie)
Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (France)
Chevealier de l’Ordre du Merite (France)
Commandeur des Arts et lettres (France)
Officer des Palmes Academiques (France)
Professional Contributions
Dr. Berhanou Abebe is one of the few Ethiopians who made unique professional contributions in the fields of history, international relations, social studies, administration, and science and technology. He displayed utmost competence and leadership quality in executing a number of activities, including research and public services. Some of Dr. Berhanou Abebe’s contributions are summarized below.
· From 1958 to 1965, he taught Ethiopian languages, history, and culture in the Department of Eastern Languages at Paris University.
· Upon his return to his home land he join the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, in the former Haile Seleasie I University, and served as a researcher and instructor.
· In 1968, with a letter written by the Ministry of Pen and the Emperor’s kind permission, he was appointed to serve as a General Manager of the Haile Selassie I Prize Trust. He served the Trust for close to six years.
· With the kind permission of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, he served as a member of the National Education Commission beginning in 1968.
· In 1961, he served as a member of the Amharic Language Academy.
· He was assigned by the Ministry of Pen to serve as a Deputy Manager of the Franco-Ethiopian Railway Company from 1972 to 1974.
· In 1974/5, he was an official of the Ministry of Communication and Posts.
· From 1975 to 1980, he served as the Head of the Department of Heritage Conservation in the Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs. In 1976, the same Ministry assigned him to serve as a member of the Council of Science and Technology.
· From 1980 until his retirement in 1997, he taught in the Department of History and Heritage Management at Addis Ababa University.
· Starting 1981, he served as an External Relations Officer of Addis Ababa University
After retiring from Addis Ababa University, Dr Berhanou Abebe continued to serve his nation and the continent with his usual dedication, upright character, and good repute and thus put to work the rich experience he had acquired over the years.
To mention a few of his latest engagements, he served as: He contributed to the study commissioned by the African Union on the Rwandese Genocide along with Mrs Johnson Sirleaf who is the current President of the Republic of Liberia.
AU observer in the negotiations meant to mediate the various conflicting factions in the DRC
Representative of the Global NGOs Forum for the Central African Republic formed in Geneva
Board member and Vice President-Nominee of the upcoming St Thomas Aquinas Catholic University which is soon to be inaugurated by the Ethiopian Catholic Church
AU observer of the recent elections in Zimbabwe.
Dr Berhanou passed away on July 1, 2008 due to a sudden natural cause while on line of duty in Zimbabwe. His death is a great loss not only to his family members, relatives, close friends and colleagues but also to the country and continent he loved. We have lost a man of great stature and impeccable character! But his remarkable deeds, character and memories shall remain with us forever!
Dr. Berhanu was married to Wzo. Fikirte Seyoum and is survived by three children. We extend our condolences to his family and friends and pray to our Heavenly Father that he may favor His son to inherit the Kingdom of God.
[African Union] troops… are completely capable of playing their role without international intervention 
