The Ethiopians and their recent history. By Yilma Bekele
We all repeat by rot that our country is three thousand years old. It has always been like that ever since I remember. Not a single year more or one day …
The Ethiopians and their recent history. By Yilma Bekele
We all repeat by rot that our country is three thousand years old. It has always been like that ever since I remember. Not a single year more or one day …
Ethiopian under the Woyanne junta continues to rank at the bottom among other nations in every development scale. Most Ethiopians live under obscene poverty where children in the capital city scavenge for food in trash dumps. In this information age, …
October is international Breast Cancer Awareness month. Throughout the month, public and private organizations in many countries promote programs and activities aimed at breast cancer risk reduction, early detection, treatment and research. It is well-established that breast cancer is one …
Proving them wrong – the Ethiopian way. By Yilma Bekele
They say all kinds of bad stuff about us. It is said so many times and so often some of us start to believe the lie. That is always the …
Voice from the grave. By Yilma Bekele
Meles Zenawi is dead. Meles Zenawi is alive. I am afraid in our case both statements are true. We saw the tyrant being buried or placed six foot under and the extraordinary sendoff …
Bahr Dar and the wonderful art of silence. By Yilma Bekele
Last Sunday May 12 a Federal police officer opened fire and murdered twelve or eighteen people depending on who is doing the counting in the City of Bahr Dar …
Educorruption and the miseducation of Ethiopian youth
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,” said Nelson Mandela. For the late Meles Zenawi and his apostles (the Melesistas) in Ethiopia, the reverse is true:
…Mengistu Hailemariam and our moral compass. By Yilma Bekele.
Today I felt like crawling under the blanket and just hide. I know that is what children do. They think hiding under the blanket makes them invisible. It give them a …
Triumph of Evil?
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, said Edmund Burke. But what happens when evil triumphs over a good young woman journalist named Reeyot Alemu in Ethiopia? Do good …
Flight of the Eagle and pursuit of the Dragon
In June 2011, during her visit to Zambia U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton pulled the alarm bell on a creeping “new colonialism” in Africa. While dismissing “China’s Model” of authoritarian
…Graziani and the TPLF, an Ethiopian saga. By Yilma Bekele
‘The Duce will have Ethiopia, with or without the Ethiopians’. Rodolfo Graziani
I am writing this as a proud Ethiopian because Graziani’s promise to the Fascist dictator was thwarted by …
The great American poet Walt Whitman said, “Either define the moment or the moment will define you.” Will the election of Uhuru Kenyatta as president of Kenya define President Barack Obama in Africa or will President Barack Obama use the …
Year of the Cheetahs
2013 shall be the Year of Ethiopia’s Cheetah Generation.
“The Cheetah Generation refers to the new and angry generation of young African graduates and professionals, who look at African issues and problems from a totally different
…2012 is gone. 2013 is on the way. Let us ring in redress to all humankind.
I wish a happy and prosperous new year to all of my readers throughout the world. To those who have unwearyingly followed my columns …
UPDATE – December 28, 2012: Ethiopian Review sources are reporting that armed forces chief of staff Gen. Samora Yenus is back in a Germany hospital. In August, we reported that Samora, looking frail, returned to Addis Ababa to attend …
Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE)
December 25, 2012
Dear Colleagues and Friends;
As many of our fellow Ethiopians of …
Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, has expressed frustration with the Tigrean People Liberation Front (TPLF) to a group of close friends he recently met. One long time friend of the prime minister (who wants to remain anonymous) told Ethiopian …
Another Groundhog Year
In December 2008, I wrote a weekly commentary lamenting the fact that 2008 was “Groundhog Year” in Ethiopia:
It was a repetition of 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004… Everyday millions of Ethiopians woke up only to find themselves
…Today, 16 members of the European Parliament issued a public letter to Ethiopian Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn expressing their grave concern regarding the continued detention of imprisoned journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega.
Arrested in 2011 and detained without access to …
By Jacob Heilbrunn | The Daily Beast
With her decision to withdraw from consideration as secretary of state, Susan Rice—and her greatest champion, President Obama—is finally bowing to the inevitable. Her supporters concocted any number of reasons to promote her …
By Yilma Bekele
Good news is always welcome. Then there is the extraordinarily good news that jars you from your slumber. And when the good news happens right around Christmas there is nothing one can do other than put more …
EDITOR’S NOTE: While Ethiopia’s regime cooks up fantastic numbers to show double digit growth, the realities on the ground are more sobering and depressing. The political elite is addicted to foreign handouts and human trafficking. In an economy where unemployment …
By Salem Solomon | New York Times
ON Sept. 2, Ambassador Susan E. Rice delivered a eulogy for a man she called “a true friend to me.” Before thousands of mourners and more than 20 African heads of state in …
Matriarch of the Unholy Trinity
The Precarious State of Religious Freedom in Ethiopia
In a weekly column entitled “Unity in Divinity” this past June, I expressed grave concern over official encroachments on religious freedom in Ethiopia. I lamented the fact that religious freedom …
Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, has made a cabinet reshuffle today and appointed Debretsion Gebremichael, the notorious spy and member of Meles Zenawi’s death squad, as a deputy prime minister. Another TPLF politburo member, Teodros Adhanom, is appointed as …
By Michael Hirsh | National Journal
For a president who rarely shows emotion, Barack Obama’s surprisingly personal blast at Republican critics of Susan Rice, his U.N ambassador, suggested two things. One, Obama genuinely admires Rice and thinks she’s being unfairly …
On September 2, 2012, Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., delivered a nauseatingly sentimental oration at the funeral of Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi. She called Meles “selfless and tireless” and “totally dedicated to his work and family.” She …
By Aklog Birara, PhD
This paper is third of a series on Ethiopian fascinations concerning the “Arab Spring.” Beyond these current fascinations, there are strategic economic and diplomatic dimensions that require deeper analysis and understanding with regard to relations between …
Ethiopian Review has been informed by a credible source in Asmara that Eritrea’s president Isaias Afwerki is planning to step down within a year along with most of the senior leadership and transfer power to younger leaders.
Asked about possible …
Former TPLF regime foreign minister and current ambassador to China, Seyoum Mesfin, is said to be receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Bellevue, Washington, according to an Ethiopian Review source.
Ethiopian Review has been informed that Seyoum was admitted …
By Rainey Reitman | Electronic Freedom Foundation
November 19, 2012
Eskinder Nega, an award-winning journalist who has been imprisoned for over a year, appeared briefly in court to appeal the …
Thanksgiving Holiday is this week and here is Ethiopian Review’s 2012 Top 5 Political Turkeys, as a warm up to the much anticipated Ethiopian Review’s 2012 Person of the Year, which will be announced around the end of December.
5. …
ADDIS ABABA (IRIN) – Tensions have been simmering over several months between Muslims and the government, with thousands holding demonstrations in protest at the government’s alleged interference in religious affairs; the government has blamed the protests on a small …
In a 2001 article, Samantha Power, currently a Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, referred to Ambassador Susan Rice and her colleagues as “Bystanders to Genocide” for failing to intervene and try to stop the Rwanda genocide. Samantha writes:…
The King is dead long live the King
By Graham Peebles
November 14, 2012
It is a new-year in Ethiopia, (belated) happy 2005 one and all. With it comes a new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, deputy PM under Meles Zenawi …
BY Handino, M., Lind, J. and Mesfin, B |UK Institute of Development Studies
October 2012
Meles Zenawi, the long-serving Ethiopian Prime Minister since 1995 and leader of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) …
By Elias Kifle
President Barack Obama has been a terrible disappointment for many Ethiopians and freedom loving people who supported him and voted for him in 2008. It is unforgivable that the Obama Administration had befriended, supported and praised the …
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — As midday prayers came to an end at the Grand Anwar mosque in Ethiopia’s capital, worshippers continued on to what has become a regular second act on Fridays — shouting anti-government slogans.
The demonstrations this …
You are hearing it from the horse’s mouth: the group ruling Ethiopia under the moniker of EPRDF is corrupt head to toe, according to a pro-regime newspaper. The mastermind of the group is the Tigre Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF). The …
By Messay Kebede
Scholars loyal to the Woyanne regime, often for the sake of ethnic solidarity, but with some scruples left for the objectivity of scholarly studies engage in a risky project when they undertake the assessment of Meles Zenawi’s …
In a new report released this month, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst revealed that Ethiopia loses over a billion dollar every year through capital flight and in 2010 alone, USD $3.4 billion have vanished. It is not secret who …
Nigerian TV commentator Adeola also updates you on the first lady of Ethiopia who refused to leave the national palace after her husband Meles Zenawi died 3 months ago.
…
By Mohammed Osman
A couple of days after Ethiopia’ new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn voiced his government’s stubborn stance towards the legitimate demands of the country’s Muslims, the faithful continued their nationwide protests against government interference in religious affairs.
The …
It’s been 3 weeks now since the widow of Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi has been refusing to leave the prime minister’s residence in the National Palace. Azeb Mesfin, popularly known as ‘the mother of corruption’, is causing a major embarrassment …
It’s been 2 weeks now since the widow of Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi has been refusing to leave the prime minister’s residence in the National Palace. Azeb Mesfin, aka the mother of corruption, is causing a major embarrassment for the …
By Alemayehu G Mariam
Respeaking Truth to the Powerless
For several years now, I have been “speaking truth to power”. In fact, the tag line for my blog page is “Defend Human Rights. Speak Truth to Power.” It is a
…By Elias Kifle
Ethiopia’s ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), has been undergoing major overhaul after its former chairman Meles Zenawi died in July. For the first time in the coalition’s 23-year-old existence, the top leadership went …
“Meaningful Reforms, Reconciliation and the Restoration of Justice”
SMNE Urges New Prime Minister to Take Bold Steps That Will Lead the Country to a New Ethiopia
An Open Letter to Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn,
September 26, 2012
His
By Melakou Tegegn
Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi died in August after ruling the country from 1995 to 2012. Contrary to regime claims of economic development, he will be remembered for crushing all dissent to his rule.
Discussing Meles’ legacy is …
By Peter Heinlein | Voice of America
NEW YORK — Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has pledged to maintain the controversial policies of his predecessor, Meles Zenawi, who died last month. The Ethiopian leader outlined his views on foreign and …
By Yilma Bekele
There is no place on planet earth that begs for change like our country Ethiopia. There is no need to itemize all the areas where we stand at the tail end of human achievement. That is the …
It’s been 7 days since Ethiopia’s prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in, but he is yet to move in to the official residence of the prime minister at the National Palace. The problem is that Azeb Mesfin, widow of …
By Selam Beyene, PhD
The eulogy delivered in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa by Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, on the occasion of the funeral and mysterious death of dictator Meles Zenawi will probably go down in …
By Nicolas Beger | New Europe Online
On 25 July, the European Union adopted its strategic framework on human rights and democracy and appointed Stavros Lambrinidis its first special representative for human rights, seeking to “enhance the effectiveness and …
By Elias Kifle
After I wrote a commentary a few days ago saying that we Ethiopians need to give the new prime minister some time to prove himself worthy of our support, I have received a flood of responses from …
Obang Metho speaks about Land, Water and Resource-Grabbing and Its Impact on Food Security in Africa
At the 1st Africa Congress on Effective Cooperation for a Green Africa in Bremerhaven, Germany
Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE)
Thank you …
By Yilma Bekele
Mr. Charles Krauthammer is an American syndicated columnist, political commentator and is considered a highly influential conservative voice. He is critical of President Obama’s policies and supports the election of Mr. Romney to be President. As a …
The former ruling party in Ethiopia, Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), has elected a replacement for its deceased leader Meles Zenawi. The new chairman is Tigray Region president Abay Wolde, and the vice-chairman is radio jammer Debretsion Gebremichael.
…
By Elias Kifle
The sudden death of dictator Meles Zenawi has created an unexpected opportunity for the ruling junta, EPRDF, to reverse course and make peace with the people of Ethiopia whom it had been terrorizing and brutalizing for the …
By Messay Kebede
A friend recently sent me a video presenting Sebhat Nega’s defense of the TPLF constitution. My friend was rightly amazed at the dismissive and arrogant nature of the defense. My reaction wandered a bit in the direction …
By Alemayehu G Mariam
It seems Ethiopia finally has a new prime minister. Two days ago, the leaders of the ruling EPDRF party approved Hailemariam Desalegn, the current deputy prime minister [DPM], to replace the late Meles Zenawi as party …
With selection of Hailemariam Desalegn from Wolaita and Demeke Mekonnen from Amhara as prime minister and deputy prime minister, Meles Zenawi’s and TPLF’s dream of ruling Ethiopia for at least 50 years has ended today.
Meles Zenawi had never intended …
By William Davison
ADDIS ABABA (Bloomberg) — Ethiopia’s ruling party, EPRDF, confirmed acting Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn as the successor to the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
Meles, who led Ethiopia for 21 years and who oversaw one of Africa’s …
Ethiopia’s ruling junta, EPRDF, convened today to choose a successor to the late dictator Meles Zenawi. Today’s meeting has just ended, but there is no official announcement on any decision yet. The meeting was chaired by acting prime minister Hailemariam …
Hon. Ana Gomes talks about the death of Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi, the delay to swear in his successor, and the political prisoners in Ethiopia. She also confirms that Meles died in July, much earlier than what the regime claims, …
The death of dictator Meles Zenawi has left the Ethiopian ruling junta, TPLF, in disarray. Because Meles did not put a succession plan in place, TPLF and its umbrella organization, EPRDF, are now engulfed in a dangerous power struggle that …
The World Economic Forum’s 2012-2013 Global Competitiveness Report has been released, and Ethiopia under the TPLF/EPRDF junta ranks at the bottom ten in several categories. The worst of all is technological readiness where Ethiopia ranks 140 out of 144 countries. …
The drunkard billionaire sheik Mohamed Al Amoudi, best friend of the late Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi, is back to partying, getting drunk and making a fool out of himself.
…
By Olaana Abbaaxiiqii
On August 20, following Ethiopia’s meticulously choreographed funeral for former dictator, Meles Zenawi, which was designed to buttress his legacy, a friend asked me to listen to the United States Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice’s encomium …
We are learning that the division within the ruling junta EPRDF is deepening by the day and by the hour as they squabble over who will replace Meles Zenawi continues. Making things even more complicated is that widow of the …
Analysis
By Graham Peebles | Ceasefiremagazine.com
In the wake of the death of Ethiopia’s long-serving PM, Meles Zenawi, two weeks ago, Graham Peebles argues this could be the best opportunity in a generation for Ethiopians to secure a more equal, …
The U.S. Gov’t went to “the end of the earth” to find a kill bin Laden, a monster who murdered 3,000 of its citizens. When Joe Biden, at the Democratic Convention this evening, presented the killing of bin Laden as …
The ruling junta in Ethiopia, Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is preparing to replace the late dictator Meles Zenawi. However, there seems to be no clear choice so far, as the various factions within TPLF vie for control. According to …
Ethiopia’s ruling junta, EPRDF (a coalition composed of TPLF, OPDO, ANDM, and SEPDM), is engulfed in leadership crisis after it failed to agree on a new chairman in the wake of Meles Zenawi’s death.
Meles died without putting in place …
The Ethiopian ruling party EPRDF that is made up of 4 organizations held its executive committee meeting on Tuesday, but the meeting was adjourned after the 35 participants failed to agree on a number of issues.
The TPLF was represented …
Ethiopian superstar athlete Haile Gebreselassie had been observed squeezing tears from his eyes on the day dictator Meles Zenawi’s death was officially announced on August 21. We all understood that Haile was faking it, and we suspected the reason. Did …
By Messay Kebede
Beyond the pathetic and at times ridiculous theatrics of Ethiopians ordered not only to mourn but also to show visible signs of a boundless grief over the death of Meles Zenawi, henceforth advertised as a great and …
Alemayehu G Mariam
It is time to bury the hatchet and move forward in Ethiopia! Nelson Mandela taught that “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” …
Ambassador Susan Rice, who led the U.S. delegation to Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi’s funeral on Sunday, has said this:
Of course he had little patience for fools, or idiots, as he liked to call them.”
There is no doubt that …
By Selam Beyene
In the absence of a legitimate autopsy report, a death certificate or a credible official statement relating to the reason behind the hospitalization and eventual death of the former ruler of one of the most populous countries …
The speech given by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice today at Meles Zenawi’s funeral was full of lies that she brought dishonor and shame to the United States. Her speech was also an insult to the people of Ethiopia who have …
By Joel Brinkley | San Francisco Chronicle
Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia’s dictator, died last month – in a Brussels hospital. Why didn’t he get medical care at home? Look at the state of his people’s health, and you’ll understand.
The government …
The Reporter, a TPLF-affiliated local newspaper, reports that the late Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi has been buried, even though the burial will actually take place tomorrow, Sunday. This is how the TPLF media fabricates news. They prepare news about events …
The late Ethiopian dictator Meles Zenawi’s funeral Sunday has been scaled down because of security threats, according to an Ethiopian Review correspondent in Addis Ababa.
The gathering for the funeral at the Addis Ababa Holy Trinity Cathedral has also been …
By Yilma Bekele
I am hoping this is the last discussion about our emotional response regarding the disappearance then death of Ato Meles Zenawi. As controversial and in your face individual he was alive his death has brought drama, division …
By Yilma Bekele
The Ethiopian TPLF Prime Minister Meles Zenawi died three weeks ago. He died at St-Luke University Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. His Party kept him in the freezer while trying to determine what to do regarding the rules …
By Yilma Bekele
It has been forty-eight days since we saw or heard from Meles Zenawi. Some are convinced the tyrant is dead while the regime insists he is recovering, on vacation or just hanging out, depending on Ato Bereket’s …
By Yilma Bekele
I knew something was missing. It kept nagging at me, the little voice in side kept saying ‘you know you have been here before.’ I was driving south on the 580 Freeway when it hit me. It …
By Yilma Bekele
It has been two weeks now since our conversation has been revolving around the dictator. We know for sure he is not well but beyond that no one has come up with any credible explanation for his …
By William Davison | Bloomberg
Ethiopia’s government ruling junta said that Prime Minister khat-addicted dictator Meles Zenawi is ill after he failed to attend an African Union summit, and an opposition group reported he may have died in a European …
The Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit has learned that Meles Zenaw’s daughter Semhal Meles, who was in Washington DC during the Summer, has gone back to Ethiopia yesterday. According to our source, many of Meles Zenawi’s close relatives and friends have …
Reliable sources have informed Ethiopian Review that Ethiopia’s long time dictator Meles Zenawi is in a coma and may have died earlier today.
Meles was transported to Belgium 3 days ago and has been receiving treatment at Saint-Luc University Hospital…
Alemayehu G Mariam
To paraphrase an old expression, “There are two things that are quintessentially important in any society. The first is free speech and I can’t remember the second one.”
Free speech is the bedrock of
…Bye, Bye Meles?
July 15, 2012
Aiga Forum, the website closely associated with Ethiopia’s intelligence services, just posted an emotional, tear-soaked, braggadocio-filled piece that appears to be the obituary of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.
The article titled “Meles ad …