July 2007
H.R. 2003 is dead
“This bill will not be considered by the full committee for now, but this does not mean the matter of progress in political and other rights in Ethiopia is closed…” - Tom Lantos
[Good! Now we can stop begging the U.S. and start focusing on the struggle at home, such as supporting Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front, OLF, ONLF and the other freedom fighters.]
Woyanne artillery killed two children and a father in Somalia
Two children and their father were killed when Woyanne troops fired artillery shells into a residential area after a land mine exploded as their convoy patrolled a northern part of the central Somali town of Belet Weyne…
Obstacles facing Kinijit and possible solutions
Ethiopian Review, after consulting with several Kinijit supporters and well-wishers, recommends the following steps… continue reading
Tribute to Fallen Heroes
In the early morning hours of July 29, Ashenafi Mekonnen and Getenet Abate lost their lives to a drunk driver. But a few hours earlier, we were together in a church community hall talking and laughing about the ordinary pleasures of life… - Alemayheu G. Mariam
Meles is using chemical weapon against Somalis
The United Nations accused the Meles regime of using chemical weapons against Somali insurgents. During a battle on April 13 between the Woyanne military and the Islamic Courts Union fighters, the Woyanne forces resorted to using white phosphorus bombs…
Woyanne prevents Kinijit leaders from taking over their party’s leadership
The Woyanne-controlled election board prevents the recently freed Kinijit leaders from taking over their party’s leadership…
Congressman Tom Lantos directed not to mark up H.R. 2003
Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos was directed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer not to mark-up H.R. 2003 on July 31. Preliminary investigations suggest that neither Chairman Tom Lantos nor Chairman Donald Payne were consulted prior to issuance of the directive…
Woyanne turns its critics into untouchables
For example, telephone and power lines to Dembi Dollo were cut off. The opposition party’s office was vandalized and closed. After an elementary school teacher campaigned for the opposition party, riot police went after his 16-year-old daughter. They broke both her wrists, bludgeoned her in the abdomen and held her for a month… - The Globe and Mail
Kinijit Int’l Leadership dissolves itself
The Coalition for Unity and Democracy Party’s International Leadership announced yesterday that it is handing over political leadership back to the recently freed top leaders of the party in Addis Ababa…
H.R. 2003 - The Final Push
The Coalition for H.R. 2003 calls on all Ethiopian Americans to rise up once again and deliver victory in the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights in Ethiopia. We are up against the mighty lobbying firm of DLA Piper. If we don’t rise up now and show our support for H.R. 2003, they will use their enormous power to crush our efforts to defend human rights in our country… read more
Dr Yacob Hailemariam vows to finish what he started
Despite spending 21 months in prison with a life sentence looming, former Norfolk State University professor Yacob Hailemariam said he has no regrets about his activism in his home country Ethiopia. “Believe me, it is one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life,” Dr Yacob said in a telephone interview from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital… - The Virginian-Pilot
Webcast: United States House of Representatives‘ Africa Subcommittee approves H.R. 2003 - watch video
Richard Gephardt has been called on to block passage of H.R. 2003
Former Majority Leaders in the U.S. Congress, Richard Armey and Richard Gephardt, are working hard to block congressional action against the Meles regime. The duo work with the firm of DLA Piper, which federal disclosure records show is being paid at least $50,000 per month [World Bank loan?] by the Woyanne government… - Harper’s, July 25, 2007
Meles expels the Red Cross from the Ogaden region
The Red Cross has been given seven days by the Meles regime to leave the Ogaden region. The Red Cross has been carrying out water and sanitation projects there… - BBC, July 24, 2007
Problematic Ally: The moral hazards of dealing with Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi
The U.S. is on a slippery slope, at the bottom of which lay a completely amoral foreign policy… - Washington Post Editorial
July 23, the birthday of a great leader
As we remember the 115th birthday of Atse Haile-Selassie today, it comes naturally to us to compare this dignified, wise leader who earned worldwide honor and admiration for himself and his people, with the current drug-addict mass murderer and his gang of ravenous tribal bandits who turned Ethiopia into beggar republic. What a comparison!
Woyanne violence in Somalia forced 10,000 to flee the capital last week alone
This is according to figures compiled by the UN refugee agency… - UNHCR, July 23, 2007
Poem by Semeneh Meshesha about Ethiopian news web sites - [Amharic, pdf]
High-level U.S. official accused the Meles regime of shooting down protestors
The Meles government responded to street protests with lethal force and illegally detained opposition leaders and tens of thousands of their supporters… - Barry F. Lowenkron, Assistant Secretary of state for Democracy
The Meles regime blocks food to Ogaden
Woyanne is blockading emergency food aid and choking off trade to large swaths of a remote region in the eastern part of the country that is home to a rebel force, putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk of starvation, Western diplomats officials say. “It’s a starve-out-the-population strategy,” one Western humanitarian official who wanted to remain anonymous told The New York Times. “If something isn’t done on the diplomatic front soon, we’re going to have a government-caused famine on our hands.”… - The International Herald Tribune, July 21, 2007 [Isn’t this genocide by starvation?]
Jailed Kinijit leaders and journalists are released - ER, July 20, 2007
Woyanne troops opened fire at a crowed of Somalis
One person was killed and number of other people has been wounded after Woyanne troops opened fire at a crowd of Somalis in Mogadishu on today… - SMN, July 21, 2007
The Washington Post exposes the real criminals
The prisoners released today were among an estimated 30,000 people arrested in a widespread crackdown on opposition supporters following Ethiopia’s 2005 elections, when the opposition made major gains despite accusations that the vote was flawed. Most of those arrested were released but the top leadership of the country’s main opposition party, along with journalists, an elderly professor and the Addis Ababa mayor remained jailed. While Meles accused the opposition leaders of inciting violent protests following the elections, a government report later found that the protesters were unarmed and that Ethiopian security authorities had used excessive force, spraying crowds with bullets, targeting protesters with sharpshooters and hunting others down in their homes. At least 193 people were killed during the crackdown–some shot once in the head, execution style… - The Washington Post, July 20, 2007
Kinijit leaders to be released this afternoon
Family members of the jailed Kinijit leaders and the journalists are heading to Qaliti prison this morning to receive them when they finally get out today… - ER, July 20, 2007 - 3:30 AM EST
Mortars rock Woyanne-sponsored talks in Moqadishu
At least six mortar shells on Thursday slammed near the area where the Somali national reconciliation conference reopened in Mogadishu… - Xinhua, July 20, 2007
H.R. 2003: Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007 passed the first hurdle
The U.S. Congress Subcommittee on Africa has approved H.R. 2003 today… - ER, July 18, 2007
Amnesty Board visits jailed opposition leaders
The Amnesty Board led by Minister of Justice Assefa Kesito visited Kinijit leaders in Qaliti prison… - ER, July 18, 2007
U.S. exasperated by the Woyanne regime
Both the Bush administration and Congress are growing exasperated over Ethiopian regime’s backsliding from democracy… - AP, July 18, 2007
Ethiopian protester released from Washington DC jail
Lishan Akuma was released this afternoon after appearing in court… - ER, July 17, 2007
Ethiopian protestors in Washington DC arrested
The protesters demanded the immediate release of opposition leaders and journalists who were sentenced to life in prison by a kangaroo court yesterday. Three of the protestors were arrested… - ER, July 17, 2007
Political prisoners case referred to Amnesty Board
ETV reported that it has received an information from the Prime Minister’s office today that the jailed leaders had sent a letter asking forgiveness from the government… - ER, July 16, 2007
Court sentenced Ethiopia’s opposition leaders to life
The kangaroo court in Ethiopia today sentenced the elected leaders of Ethiopia and others to life in prison… - ER, July 16, 2007
Protest rally in Washington DC , Monday
Ethiopians in the DC area will march on July 16 demanding the release of the elected leaders of Ethiopia - poster
Yidres le meleyo lebashu - Fekade from Germany, July 12, 2007 [Amharic]
‘Yederasiw Helm’ - poem by Girma Damte [Amharic]
Lorenzo Taezaz and the Italo-Ethiopian war
Re-posted to commemorate the 61st anniversary of the passing of this dedicated public servant and hero… - Daniel Kindie, July 12, 2007
Woyanne sends reinforcements to Somalia
Hundreds of Woyanne troops were en route to Mogadishu on Thursday as violence escalated in the Somali capital. “I saw more than 20 military trucks pass through,” said a resident in Afgoye, a town 30km south of the capital… - Garowe Online, July 12, 2007 [The brave Somali freedom fighters are grinding down the Woyanne blood thirsty military machine that is used to mowing down unarmed civilians back home. The respect we Ethiopians have for Somalis is increasing by the day. What a brave people!]
A member of parliament defected
Ato Jemal Derie Kalif, a member of Ethiopia’s parliament from the Ogaden region, has defected and is currently seeking political asylum in Germany… - ER, July 12, 2007
EPPF makes leadership change
Ethiopian People’s Patriotic Front has announced that it has made a change of leadership… - ER, July 12, 2007
Kinijit senior official Andargachew Tsige on BBC
- listen, July 11, 2007
Ethiopians in the Ogaden Need Our Help
We must strongly condemn the widespread killing, rape, torture, arbitrary detention and destruction of property that the Woyanne troops are perpetrating against Ethiopians in the Ogaden region… - Obang O. Metho, July 11, 2007
Woyanne-backed Somali regime cannot deflect Somalia abuses
Seven months after disrupting what was widely recognized as a “semblance of peace” that enabled Mogadishu to experience glimpses of normalcy, the Transitional Federal Government that rode into the Somali capital on Woyanne tanks is continuing on its brutal and self-sabotaging path… - Abdulkadir Abdirahman, July 11, 2007
The Meles regime finds imposing death sentences easier than carrying them out
Author and human rights attorney Michael Clough calls the charges against opposiiton leaders unwarranted. “The only reason the U.S. is not speaking out harshly against this is because of the Meles regime’s role as an ally of the U.S. in the war on terror. If this same thing happened in any country that the U.S. was not supporting, we would be denouncing it in the most extreme terms,” he said… - VOA, July 10, 2007
Woyanne preparing to invade Eritrea
Analysis by Melaku Yismaw [Amharic], July 9, 2007
Prosecutor demands death sentences for prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia
Reacting to today’s court proceedings in Ethiopia in which the prosecutor demanded death sentences for all 38 defendants, Amnesty International expressed shock and called for the court to reject the prosecutor’s demand… - AI Jul 9th, 2007
Microphone unplugged on Ethiopian human rights advocate at an ESFNA event in Dallas
Yeharwork Gashaw, an Ethiopian human rights advocate, was allowed to take the stage for 5 minutes to speak about her organization, Ethiopian Women for Democracy, at the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America event in Dallas last Friday. When she started talking about political prisoners, the microphone was unplugged and the whole stadium went quiet… - Dula Abdu, July 9, 2007
Woyanne regime seeks death for Ethiopian opposition officials, journalists
Woyanne prosecutors demanded the death penalty today for 38 opposition officials convicted by the kangaroo court of trying to overthrow the government, treason and inciting violence… - ER, July 9, 2007
Maan Yawqal (Who knows) - poem by Getachew Abera, July 9, 2007
Fallout from war on terror hits Ethiopia
Woyanne crackdown in the Ogaden has put the U.S. in an awkward position. Washington is still resisting Woyanne’s request to list the ONLF as a terrorist group. And last week, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa convened a large meeting of humanitarian organizations to discuss ways of getting aid into the war zone… - The Chicago Tribune, July 9, 2007
Woyanne and Somali puppet government troops loot Mogadishu’s main market
A Reuters reporter saw troops firing heavy machineguns from their trucks in Bakara market … Government troops are firing indiscriminately after several hand grenades were thrown at them. Some of the troops are looting shops… - Reuters, July 8, 2007 [Jendayi Frazer’s mercenaries doing what they do best — killing, looting and pillaging]
Kinijit youth league formed
Kinijit North America has formed a Kinijit Youth League on Thursday at a conference in Dallas… - ER, July 7, 2007
St. Mary Church in Washington DC threatens Ethiopian Review with a lawsuit
Debre-Selam Kidist Mariam Church priests in Washington DC threaten to sue Ethiopian Review over a statement from members of the Church that was posted on the web site… - ER, July 6, 2007
U.S. State Department rejected Woyanne requests that it list the ONLF as a terrorist organisation
At the same time, U.S. officials have privately expressed concern about the serious rights abuses, including murders, rapes, and the burning of villages, committed by the Woyanne army… - IPS, July 6, 2007
Gonder loses land again - this time to Sudan
The Meles dictatorship this week has agreed to give Sudan a large tract of fertile land near Atbara River in the Gonder region. The agreement was not reported by any of the state-controlled media in Ethiopia. Even the rubber-stamp parliament was not informed about it… - ER, July 5, 2007
Nuzaze ZeYared
Yared Tibebu writes on the ongoing crisis in Kinijit Diaspora - Yared Tibebu, July 5, 2007 [Amharic, pdf] Informative, but not wholly convincing.
The unmitigated death and destruction of Zenawi’s army in Somalia
In today’s Africa, and in the shadows of Kwame Nkrumah, we have murderous thugs such as Meles Zenawi, Abdullahi Yusuf, Ali Mohamed Gedi, et al, who are murdering, maiming, looting and displacing the people of Somalia as they collect rewards for their crimes against humanit… - Amina Mire, July 5, 2007
Holy Synod launches radio broadcast to Ethiopia
Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s Holy Synod in exile announced that it has launched a radio broadcast to Ethiopia on Monday, July 2, 2007… - ER, July 5, 2007
Poem dedicated to the poor people of Tigray - Fikre Tolossa, July 5, 2007
Crackdown in eastern Ethiopia punishes civilians
Woyanne authorities have imposed a trade blockade on the Ogaden region since June, with few goods (including food) permitted into the area, particularly the coastal towns of Hargeysa and Bosaso. The attacks on villages and the economic blockade may be part of a strategy to force thousands of people from rural areas to larger towns and deny the ONLF a support base… - Human Rights Watrch, July 4, 2007
Meles Zenawi gives agricultural lands in Western Ethiopia to Sudan
A joint Sudanese-Ethiopian committee would start today to hand over agricultural lands to residents of more than 17 Sudanese villages located near Atbara River along the Ethiopia-Sudan border… - ST, July 4, 2007
Top 10 Ethiopian web sites
A web information company ranks EthiopianReview.com as the number one Ethiopian web site… - ER, July 3, 2007
ONLF fighters killed 43 Woyanne soldiers
Rebels in Ethiopia’s remote eastern Ogaden region killed 43 Woyanne regime soldiers in an ambush on a military convoy… - Reuters, July 3, 2007 [Bravo ONLF!]
Andargachew Tsige gets Kinijit’s message across at the African Union Summit in Ghana
A major newspaper in Ghana gives prominent coverage to a message from Kinijit to the African Union summit in Accra, Ghana… - ER, July 3, 2007
A prominet Ethiopian religious leader passed away
Abba Melake-Selam Siday Ayele, treasurer of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Holy Synod in exile and founder of the Medhane-Alem Cathedral of Columbus, Ohio, passed away …
Fear of torture or ill-treatment of Ethiopian teachers
The four Ethiopian Teachers’ Association members who were arrested in December 2006, are now known to have been released in March, but three have since been rearrested. The fourth ETA official, Tilahun Ayalew, is in hiding. They are at risk of torture or ill-treatment… - Amnesty International, July 2, 2007
Somali insurgents attack Woyanne forces
Gunmen fired rockets at a Mogadishu police station and Woyanne troops in the latest in a string of attacks on government positions… - Reuters, Jul 2, 2007
Kinijit representatives meet the press
Kinijit International Leadership officials Dr Moges Gebremariam and Ato Berhane Mewa held a press conference with several Ethiopian media representatives on Saturday… - ER, July 2, 2007
Kinijit high-level official attends African Union Summit in Accra, Ghana
Ato Andargachew Tsige, a senior Kinijit official, is currently in Accra, Ghana, to attend the annual African Union Summit… - ER, July 1, 2007
Kinijit youth league founding conference to be held in Dallas, Texas - KNA, June 30, 2007
Blockade of the Ethiopian embassy in Wash. DC
Ethiopian political and civic groups will block the Woyanne embassy in DC on Monday, July 2, to demand the immediate and unconditional release of the elected leaders of Ethiopia. The rally starts at 9 AM this coming Monday…