Monthly Archives: April 1992

EPRDF implicates OLF in massacre

OLF is implicated in brutal killings near Dre Dawa. Ethiopian television reported that OLF supporters killed and severely injured several innocent civilians from the towns of Bedeno and Belange by throwing them off from a mountain cliff alive. The victims …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopian Radio reported renewed conflicts between OLF and EPRDF forces

Shortly after the signing of the Mekele ceasefire agreement, Ethiopian Radio reported renewed conflicts between OLF and EPRDF forces in some parts of Southern Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) on April 19 quoted Hayalom Araya, the southern commander of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Lost Ark, Aksum Obelisk

The well-known British author Graham Hancock has been actively researching what happened to the Ark of the Covenant containing the Ten Commandments. While Hancock does not fully accept the traditional account of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, he is nevertheless convinced …

Posted in Ethiopia News

U.S. Congress passed the Horn of Africa Food Security and Recovery Act

In a bid to encourage leaders in the Horn of Africa who have been meeting on humanitarian issues in Addis Abeba, the U.S. Congress this week approved new legislation designed to alleviate hunger in the region.

The Horn of Africa …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Over a million people are facing severe famine in Southern Ethiopia

Over a million people are facing severe famine in Southern Ethiopia. At least 7,000 people have already died and more are dying everyday. The famine has been caused by two years of failed rains and widespread civil strife mainly in …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The first Horn of Africa Summit meeting was held in Addis Abeba

The first Horn of Africa Summit meeting was held in Addis Abeba on April 9. The heads of state of Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and the leader of the provisional administration of Eritrea attended the meeting.

An agreement was reached …

Posted in Ethiopia News

A foreign aid worker was murdered in the town of Gode, Ethiopia

A foreign aid worker was murdered in the town of Gode on April 1. Lourenco Mutaca, a Mozambican working with the U.N. High Commission of Refugees, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen. A few days later the government announced that …

Posted in Ethiopia News

OLF – EPRDF signed ceasefire agreement

Concerned about the conflict between the EPRDF and OLF, the U.S. government and the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) arranged a meeting in Mekele which reportedly produced an immediate ceasefire agreement in mid-April. The two sides stressed the need to …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Haile-Girogis Brook is named Ethiopian ambassador to China

Newly-appointed Ethiopian ambassador to China, Haile Girogis Brook, presented credentials to Chinese President Yang Shangkun in early April. Ato Brook arrived in Beijing on March 23.

In early March, the newly-appointed Chinese ambassador to Ethiopia, Jin Sen, presented his credentials …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia agrees to devalue Birr

Minister for Foreign Economic Relations Abdul-Mejid Hussein said on April 16 that Ethiopia has accepted a World Bank recommendation to devalue the birr. He told Reuter the details and timing of the devaluation, the first in more than two decades, …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopian Somalis Agree to Unite

Twelve Ethiopian-Somali clans have reportedly agreed to organize themselves under a single political group. A conference has been scheduled for July in Dre Dawa to draft the group’s political program and establish a committee to promote development and humanitarian assistance …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Bombings in Addis Abeba

At least 17 people were wounded as bombs exploded in early April in downtown Addis Abeba. The blast, which took place at the National and Adam Hotels also caused other property damages.

Mulugeta Seyoum, commander of the Second Police Station, …

Posted in Ethiopia News

An Ethiopian man hijacked an Ethiopian Airlines plane to Aden

An Ethiopian man hijacked an Ethiopian Airlines plane to Aden on April 2. The hijacker later surrendered. The Boeing 727, which was on a domestic flight, was carrying 135 passengers and eight crew members. The plane was allowed to land …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Barcelona Olympics

Ethiopia will take part in the 25th Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain in July, according to the Ethiopian Sports and Culture Ministry. The last time Ethiopia participated in the games was 12 years ago in the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

According …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The EPRDF-OLF Confrontation

The widely reported tension between the EPRDF and OLF ever since the new government came to power turned to armed conflict last month. In a broadcast statement the EPRDF gave warning to the OLF that “a point has been reached …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopian Review Editor’s Note – April 1992

In this month’s issue we present Sultan Ali Mirha. He is currently one of the most intriguing political leaders in Ethiopia. The article about the Sultan is intended to introduce him to our readers. In a future issue we shall …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Journey to Massawa

By Paul B. Henze
April 1992

The Escarpment Highway
We went to Massawa for an overnight visit during our first weekend in Asmera. The escarpment route from Asmera to Massawa is now free of checkpoints and military patrols. As of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Give credit where it is due

By Tekeste Wolde Meskel
April 2002

In the past year, Ethiopia has seen great changes. Seventeen years of civil war came to a sudden end and the dictatorship of Mengistu Haile Mariam was wiped out to the great relief of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Does the Past Have Any Authority in Ethiopia?

Harold G. Marcus
Ethiopian Review, April 1992

The primacy of politics in Africa has led to serious distortions of the historical record. This is no where more evident than in Ethiopian studies. The misrepresentation commenced with the student activism of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Amharic Speakers and the Question of Nationalities

By Getatchew Haile
April 1992

Ethiopian Ethnicity
The issue of ethnicity in Ethiopia is not well understood. Tragically, I suspect present rulers misunderstood the problem of ethnicity when they divided the country “along ethnic lines.” For example, when they designated …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The people Amha Selassie deserted

By Getachew Garedew
April 1992

Is Asfaw Wossen (Atse Amha Selassie) capable of providing any type of leadership in Ethiopia today? To fully address this question, it is necessary to understand Asfaw Wossen’s political history and past activities.

Prior to …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia: The Looming Showdown

Faisel A. Roble
April 1992

There are enough indications to suggest that Ethiopia is once again headed towards a civil war. A recent article in the Los Angeles Times which painted a bleak picture of the possibility of peace disturbed …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The politics of Sultan Ali Mirha – From pastoralism to nationalism

Ethiopian Review
April 1992

We began our journey north on the highway leading out of Addis Abeba. Sultan Ali Mirha, the septegenerian leader of the Afar people had agreed to grant us an interview. As we left Addis Abeba we …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia: rebuilding an economy in ruins

By Bulcha Demeksa

Economic recovery or development in an environment of conflict, insecurity and fear is virtually impossible. The coalition government of Ethiopia therefore must impartially and peacefully mediate between the warring parties in order to create a peaceful atmosphere …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s contribution to Ethiopian civilization

Fikre Tolossa
Ethiopian Review, April 1992

There was a time when almost all progressive Ethiopians condemned the Ethiopian Orthodox church believing it to be partly responsible for the country’s under- development. Indeed, there would not have been Ethiopian civilization without …

Posted in Ethiopia News