Monthly Archives: March 2011

Distinguished scholar Prof. Aleme Eshete passed away

We have been informed that distinguished Ethiopian historian and political science scholar Professor Aleme Eshete has passed away. Prof. Aleme has been living in Italy for the past several years. He has published several influential papers on Ethiopian history, including …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Say NO to Woyanne officials visit in north America

PRESS RELEASE
Global Civic Movement for Change in Ethiopia

This is a call to all patriotic Ethiopians to say No to the TPLF/EPRDF officials’ visit to North America searching for investment from the Diaspora community. We are not against investing …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Syrian cabinet resigns, political prisoners released

(VOA) — Syria’s state media say the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Naji al-Otari has resigned and the country’s president has accepted the resignations.

The reports say President Bashar al-Assad accepted the Cabinet resignations on Tuesday, following more than a …

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Tinsae Ethiopia calls for nationwide actons to remove Meles

PRESS RELEASE

Tinsae Ethiopia calls for the end of Meles Zenawi’s regime

Last month, the newly formed Tinsae Ethiopia Patriots Union has distributed “Beka!” (Enough!) pamphlet in Amharic, Oromgna and Tigregna using its network through out Ethiopia (read here).…

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Ethiopia: Country For Sale!

The Deal of the Century

Supposing someone offered you the following land deal, would you take it or walk away believing it is too good to be true?

For £150 a week (USD$245), you can lease more than 2,500 sq

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Libyan freedom fighters retake Ajdabiya, advance on Brega

Libyan freedom fighters retook the strategic eastern town of Ajdabiya which they lost over a week ago, as air strikes by coalition warplanes pound forces loyal to Gaddafi.

(VOA) — Libyan rebels chanted and fired their automatic rifles into the …

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Beka! – Shambel Belaineh (video)

Popular Ethiopian artist Shambel Belaineh has released a new song titled ‘beka!’ (enough) that calls on Meles Zenawi’s regime in Ethiopia to resign. Watch below:

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U.K. to abolish anti-press freedom law

EDITOR’S NOTE: Ethiopian Review is one of the victims of the U.K.’s anti-press freedom law that the new prime minister is trying to abolish. (See here).

New York Times Editorial

The British government is, at last, moving to reform …

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German parliamentarian speaks out on repression in Ethiopia

A member of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, Mr Thilo Hoppe, has asked his government to review its policy toward Ethiopia. The following is the statement he released:

Development cooperation with Ethiopia should be reviewed

Thilo Hoppe, Member of the German …

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Syria’s president releases protesters detained by police

SYRIA (BBC) — Syrian President Bashar al-Assad later ordered the release of everyone arrested during the “recent events”, state media said.

Assad’s regime have also pledged to introduce reforms to meet the demands of protesters, after days of violence in …

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Yemen president starts to negotiate terms for resigning

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the country’s top general are hashing out a political settlement in which both men would resign from their positions within days in favor of a civilian-led transitional government, according to three people familiar with …

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Growing unease in Ethiopia – VOA

A sign of the government’s growing unease has been a partial resumption of jamming of VOA language service broadcasts to Ethiopia. The broadcasts are often jammed before Ethiopia’s elections, but the jamming stops after the voting. … [continue reading

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Why is Meles going after OPDO?

Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi is going after officials and members of the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) with a vengeance these days. So far over 150 officials and hundreds of members have been thrown in jail charged with corruption.

Ethiopian …

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African dictators try to snuff out flames of discontent

By By MICHELLE FAUL and ANGUS SHAW | Associated Press

Ethiopia’s 20-year government announced a cap on basic food prices within days of President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali’s flight from Tunisia. Opponents said Saturday the government has rounded up …

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Sugar and cooking oil disappearing in Ethiopia

Residents in Addis Ababa and other Ethiopian cities have to wait over 8 hours in line to buy sugar, cooking oil and other food items, according to Ethiopian Review sources. The photos below show a sugar line at a store …

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Clearing people and forests for agribusiness

The Meles dictatorship in Ethiopia continues to displace people from their land and destroy ancient forests to grow crops and flower for export, as the video below shows:

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Meles talks about military action against Eritrea – VOA

VOA’s Peter Heinlein from Addis Ababa is reporting that Meles Zenawi’s regime in Ethiopia has changed its policy toward Eritrean to “actively advocate the overthrow of the government in Eritrea.”

News agencies quoted Ethiopean Prime Minister dictator Meles Zenawi as

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Officials, top army general in Yemen resign

The country’s United Nations ambassador, Abdullah Alsaidi, has resigned, Reuters reports. Alsaidi is the latest member of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government who has stepped down from their positions, in protest of the violence and killing of pro-democracy protesters. On …

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Protesters in Syria burned down ruling party’s office

SYRIA — Protesters in the city of Deraa burned the house of the ousted district governmor as well as the ruling party’s HQ and a local culture ministry office. Al-Arabiya also reported that Syrian army tanks arrived in the city …

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Ethiopia: Broken Contract, Broken Faith, Broken Country

Alemayehu G. Mariam

Over the past week, Meles Zenawi has been waxing eloquent on contract and leasehold law. Asked by a local journalist whether the winds of change blowing in North Africa could make a detour to Ethiopia, he said …

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U.S. fires 110 Tomahawk missiles against Gaddafi forces

BENGHAZI, Libya (NBC) — The United States launched its first missile attack on Libyan air defenses on Saturday, NBC News confirmed, as America and its allies began military action to enforce a no-fly zone.

A senior U.S. military official said …

Posted in Ethiopia News

French fighter jets flew over

(Bloomberg) — French military jets flew over Libya, ready to enforce an air-exclusion zone to halt Muammar Qaddafi’s attacks on rebels, as Western leaders met in Paris to consider their next steps.

The planes were in the air not far …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Over 200 opposition members arrested in Ethiopia

Meles Zenawi’s regime in Ethiopia has so far this week rounded up and thrown in jail over 200 members of Medrek, a coalition of eight opposition parties.

Most of the detainees are from the Oromo People’s Congress (OPC) and the …

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Syria security forces clash with protesters

(Al Jazeera) — Protests have erupted in at least three towns across Syria in the most serious case of unrest in decades for a country that has been ruled with strict emergency laws for almost half a century.

(BBC

Posted in Ethiopia News

Meles Zenawi purges senior Oromo officials

Ethiopia’s paranoid dictator has purged several senior Oromo officials in the Oromo People’s Democratic Movement (OPDO), an affiliate party of the ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (Woyanne).

Some of the senior officials who have been arrested recently include Zelalem Jemaneh, …

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The Abyssinian character

The following are a couple of excerpts from an interesting book about the Abyssinian Character by a Russian Traveler Alexander Bulatovich who traveled to Ethiopia around 1896. The book was translated and edited by Richard Seltzer in 2000.

Ethiopia Through

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Only an Ethiopian uprising can save the economy

By Teodros Kiros

A careful study of world uprisings has convinced George Katsiaficas, the leading expert on social movements, that uprisings empower people and unleash their hitherto untapped passions and energies that fuel dormant economies and revive them in extraordinary …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Obama appears to prefer a Gaddafi victory

Ethiopian pro-democracy forces need to closely examine the Obama Administration’s policy toward Libya that is based on short-sighted naked self interest and examine their strategy accordingly. The following is an insightful analysis by David From that was posted on The

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ato Meles and his never-ending threats

By Yilma Bekele

The people’s uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been the talk of Ethiopians both at home and the Diaspora for the last month and half. We are surprised by the sudden fall of the …

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Revolution and Ethiopian youth

By Teodros Kiros

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has accused a little known Muslim extremist group of staging a wave of church burnings to provoke communal tensions in the Horn of Africa country. Meles expressed concern about regional instability, but

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This is Your Revolution – Lead It!

Imagine having no opportunity to dream and strive to reach your full potential. Imagine watching your future pass by while living an unfulfilled life because you are one of the unlucky ones to be outside the circle of the well-connected …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The Moral Hazard of U.S. Policy in Africa (Part I)

Note: In ongoing commentaries, the author examines the Obama Administration’s policy in Africa.

Moral Hazard and Moral Bankruptcy

The concept of ‘moral hazard’ in politics may be used to explain a situation in which a government is insulated and immunized …

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Al Amoudi gives $240,000 to his bootlickers in ESFNA

Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Ato Al Amoudi has given $240,000 to his thugs who have hijacked the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA), according Ethiopian Review sources.

Al Amoudi is a major financial backer of the ethnic apartheid junta in …

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Bill Clinton calls for Libya no-fly zone

NEW YORK (Reuters) — Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said the United States should enforce a no-fly zone over Libya to allow a fair fight between insurgents and troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The international community has been …

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Obama’s disgraceful policy toward Libya uprising

The commentary below by The New Republic‘s Leon Wieseltier reflects the frustration and anger of many pro-democracy activists around the world at U.S. President Barack Obama’s shameful refusal to help Libyan freedom fighters.

Barack Obama’s policy toward the Libyan …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Libya rebels push back Gaddafi forces in Ras Lanuf

Reuters is reporting that Libyan freedom fighters today have pushed back Gaddafi forces in Ras Lanuf. Yesterday it was reported that Gaddafi forces took over the eastern Libyan town after heavy bombardments with fighter jets, helicopters and tanks.

“There has …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Saudi Arabia police open fire at protesters

Police in Saudi Arabia opened fire Thursday to disperse a protest in the Eastern Province, injuring at least one person.

The rare violence raised concern about a crackdown ahead of more planned protests after Friday prayers in different cities throughout …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Obama intelligence chief says Gaddafi will defeat rebels

James Clapper, the US national intelligence director, has told U.S. Senate today that Muammar Gaddafi will defeat the rebels. That seems to be the Obama Administration’s wishful thinking. Some senators were furious at Clapper’s comments and asked for his resignation.

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What is Beka? – VOA interview with Neamin Zeleke

The VOA interviews Ato Neamin Zeleke about the new worldwide Ethiopia civic movement that is working to help remove dictator Meles Zenawi from power. The civic group’s lead slogan is BEKA (enough). Listen to the interview below [Mp3).…

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BEKA slogan covers VOA web site

The Voice of America (VOA) web site’s Amharic section is filled with BEKA, a slogan in Facebook that demands the removal of Ethiopia’s dictator Meles Zenawi. Hundreds of Ethiopians have turned the slogan into their profile picture in Facebook and …

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Ethiopian Review 2011 plans

Ethiopian Review is celebrating its 20th year of service and commitment by organizing various activities this year. Through a series of events, we are prepared to showcase Ethiopian Review’s proud past and promising future.

Ethiopian Review has clear vision and …

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A message to Woyanne diplomats – from a former diplomat

By Lebenu Andinet

In the Time of Deceit Telling the Truth is a Revolutionary Act” – George Orwell

As a former Woyanne Diplomat I am writing this piece to call upon all Ethiopian diplomats and civil servants to stand for …

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Sudan opposition plans to stage protest Wednesday

Sudanese opposition groups are defying warnings by security forces not to hold the protest rally they scheduled for Wedensday.

The legal affairs official in the opposition alliance Kamal Omer, from the Popular Congress Party (PCP), said that they only notified …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopian businessman pleads guilty to bribing DC officials

A well-known Ethiopian business man in the Washington DC area acknowledged in federal court last Wednesday that he distributed more than $250,000 in bribes in a scheme to obtain lucrative licenses to operate cab companies in the District and to …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Social media flooded with anti-Meles slogan

Facebook is currently being flooded with BEKA, a slogan that calls for the end of Meles Zenawi’s dictatorship in Ethiopia.

Initiated by a couple of youth groups, during the past few days hundreds of Ethiopians have changed their profile photos …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia: The Sun Also Rises

By Alemayehu G. Mariam

Creeping Youthbellion and Youthvolution in Africa and the Middle East

“When the sun rises, it rises for everyone,” goes the old saying. The sun that rose over tyranny in North Africa will not set at the …

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Wife of Ethiopia’s tyrant on Dubai shopping spree

Last Saturday, Azeb Mesfin, the wife of Ethiopia’s blood thirsty dictator Meles Zenawi, flew to Dubai on another shopping spree, according to Ethiopian Review sources.

Azeb arrived at the airport around 11 AM local time accompanied by a few close …

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The Voices of 2005

By Teodros Kiros

The dark days of November 2005

It was 5 years ago on “November 1, 2005, that the ruling Tigrean People Liberation Front (Woyanne) under the leadership of Meles Zenawi unleashed a new form of terror on the …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The General Will of the Ethiopian People

By Teodros Kiros

Jean Jacques Rousseau, the extraordinary political philosopher, famously argued:

Sovereignty is purely and simply the exercise of the general will, and can in no circumstances therefore be alienated. And I affirm further that the sovereign is purely

Posted in Ethiopia News

Mass protest hits Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia security forces have been deployed in huge numbers across the region. King Abdullah is also reported to have told neighbouring Bahrain that if they do not put down their own ongoing Shia revolt, his own forces will. In …

Posted in Ethiopia News

The silence of Ethiopian People

By Teodros Kiros

Silence is enigmatic. Silence speaks without speaking, hears without hearing, and sees without seeing. On the surface these enigmas are contradictory. How can silence hear without hearing, and see without seeing?

Those contradictions are the essence of …

Posted in Ethiopia News

British money to prop up Ethiopia’s dictatorship

Britain has decided to give upwards of $250 million a year to shore up the Zenawi regime under the guise of helping the Ethiopian people.  There is ample evidence that much of foreign aid to the Zenawi regime is used

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Interpol issues security alert against Gaddafi, 15 others

INTERPOL has issued [see here] a global alert known as an Orange Notice against Colonel Al-Qadhafi and 15 other Libyan nationals, including members of his family and close associates, in a bid to warn member states of the danger …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia’s tyrant incites religious clash; 5 churches burned

Every time the ethnic apartheid junta in Ethiopia faces domestic crisis, it resorts to inciting ethnic and religious animosity and clashes among Ethiopians. During the 2005 election-related revolt, Meles and gang had tried to instigate hostility between Amhara and Oromo

Posted in Ethiopia News

UK high court decides in Al Amoudi vs. Elias Kifle

U.K.’s High Court of Justice has issued an order in favor of Saudi billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi in his libel lawsuit against Ethiopian Review editor Elias Kifle. (click here to read the order)

Bloomberg’s Kristen Schweizer wrote this about …

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Colonizing Ethiopia through land grab

By Fikre Tolossa

Land grab in Africa: The case of Ethiopia

(a speech delivered at the Commonwealth Club of California on March 1, 2011)

In the un-glorious past, European colonizers grabbed by force any African lands they had their eyes …

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Arab League to impose no-fly zone over Libya

(Reuters) – The Arab League said on Wednesday it could impose a “no fly” zone on Libya in coordination with the African Union if fighting continued in the north African state, Secretary-General Amr Moussa said on Wednesday.

“The Arab League …

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Libya opposition forces repel Gaddafi counter attack

(AP) — Opposition forces pushed back an attack by the Libyan dictator’s forces trying to retake a key coastal oil installation in a topsy-turvy battle Wednesday in which shells splashed in the Mediterranean and a warplane bombed a beach where …

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International Criminal Court launches Libya investigation

The launching of an investigation by the Int’l Criminal Court (ICC) into charges of crimes against humanity in Libya is a hopeful sign that the international community will no longer tolerate dictators who brutalize their people. The ICC must be

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopians Unite Against the Meles Dictatorship

The winds of change that is sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa cannot be stopped by Meles Zenawi and his thugs. As the African saying goes, “No one can stop the rain.”

No amount of wind bagging about …

Posted in Ethiopia News

Ethiopia’s tyrant Exporting Terror

On February 27, 2011, Jon Swaine, penned a piece in the Telegraph entitled, ‘“Libya: African mercenaries ‘immune from prosecution for war crimes.’” As the title indicates, Swaine seems to be concerned about the UN Security Council’s lack of specific call

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Bereket and Seif El Gaddafi – birds of a feather

By Yilma Bekele

“When a leader’s only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against his own people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule and needs to do what is right for his country by leaving …

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The interim Libyan gov’t resumes oil exports

(The Telegraph) — According to the European Union, 80 per cent of Libya’s oilfields are now under the control of the opposition forces.

For the first time in over a week, oil was shipped from the eastern port city of …

Posted in Ethiopia News