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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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:

…

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 …

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 …

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 …

(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 …

(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…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

(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 …

(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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

(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 …

Off-term elections were held in Ethiopia over the weekend although they attracted little attention. The elections were a waste of resources since 99.9 percent of the candidates and the voters are members of the ruling party Woyanne. Out of the …

By Teodros Kiros

The defiant citizens of Libya fought against roaring tanks, piercing guns, and fast helicopters intent on destroying the resilient human bodies to silence, to perpetual acquiescence in the culture of tyranny.

Old men and women, boys and …

The wind of change that is sweeping the Middle East and North Africa has reached at the doorsteps of Ethiopia. Ethiopians through out the country and in the diaspora have resolved to embrace the change, and through a sustained and …

(Al Jazeera) — Former Libyan justice minister Mustafa Mohamed Abdel Jalil – who resigned from Gaddafi’s cabinet on Monday in protest at the killing of protesters – earlier told Al Jazeera he had led the formation of an interim government …

By Teodros Kiros

The great Machiavelli, the architect of political thinking spoke convincingly about virtu and Fortuna. Virtu is skill, the ability to be skillful and flexible, when time requires it; Fortuna on the other hand, is the tuning of …

Finally the Obama Administration starts to take action against Gaddafi today, albeit in a timid manner. What the people of Libya need is a no-fly zone so that Gaddafi will not be able to bomb them from the air and …

By Messay Kebede

While events of historic proportions are occurring in the Arab world, the question that haunts Ethiopians is whether similar uprisings are possible in present-day Ethiopia, that is, whether the inspiring impact of events in Arab countries would …

By Albert Michael

Today Africa, especially its North region, is in a storm. People of the region are experiencing the momentum of the storm by physical taking part in it. People outside the region have been feeling the flame and …

African Governments are “failing” Libyan citizens and all Africans

PRESS STATEMENT by Civicus

African Governments’ appalling lack of pressure to force Libyan Leader, Muammar Gaddafi, to halt the violence and step down, reflects persistent inadequacies in the African Union (AU). …

The brutal attack by mercenary forces against anti-Gaddafi protesters and civilians in Libya is now exposing refugees from Ethiopia and other African countries to vigilante attacks. The brutality of the mercenaries, many of whom were sent to Libya by planes …

Mahidere Andenet Radio Atlanta is celebrating its 15th anniversary Saturday, Feb. 26. You are invited to the celebration event:

Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 26, at 6:00 PM
Place: 2201 Lawrenceville HWY, Decatur GA 30033

More info: 404 580 4207

…

Libya opposition forces continue to capture mercenaries who have arrived by planes from other African countries to carry out Gaddafi’s threat of bloodshed. Some of the mercenaries were sent to Libya by Gaddafi’s long time friend and aid recipient Meles …

Ethiopians in the Diaspora have become the largest source of hard currency for the brutal dictatorship in Ethiopia bringing over $3 billion annualy. To keep the revenue flowing, companies that are affiliated with the ruling party are busy exporting poor …

The U.K. government is notorious for its anti-human rights foreign policy. Rejecting the call by France to impose no-fly zone over Libya so that Gaddafi would not commit genocide should not come as a surprise. No wonder people around the …

By Dejenie A. Lakew

The Temporal Sign and Demand of Society: Legitimacy of Political Power

A leader exercises power of leadership and service on a particular society. The power he/she has can be legitimate or otherwise. The legitimacy of the …

Libyan opposition forces, with the help of troops who joined the protesters, are tightening the noose around Gaddafi by taking more town today. Gulf News reports that the opposition is now controlling 90 percent of the country. Meanwhile, Algeria, Bahrain, …

The Washington Post and New York Times are reporting that anti-dictatorship protests in north Africa are spreading south.

* Anti-government demonstrations, which have spread across Northern Africa, seem to have moved across the rest of the continent to Cameroon, Gabon, …

On February 12 and 13, 2011, Ethiopians in Houston and Dallas, Texas, held public meetings with Dr. Birhanu Nega of Ginbot 7 Movement and Ato Neamin Zeleke of the Alliance for Freedom, Democracy and Justice. The meetings were held at …

Here is a small nation with a big heart standing up for justice. Thank you Peru.

(AP) — Peru’s government has announced it is suspending diplomatic relations with Libya to protest the violence unleashed by its leader Muammar Gaddafi against …

By Shimekit Debalke

Over the last couple of weeks or months, I have been carefully listening to, watching, and reading conflicting messages about the importance and timeliness of a popular uprising in Ethiopia to topple the TPLF-led regime.

Some people …

By Teodros Kiros

We Ethiopians know what we do not want, but some of us know what we do not want,  as well us what we want and could want.  When we ask for regime change, we do so with …

There is a good news coming out of the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress. Doug Bandow of Forbes Magazine reports that Congress is cutting foreign “aid” by 41 percent this year. This a great news for the people of Ethiopia and other …

Listen to the death threat in the audio clip below to understand how members and supporters of the genocidal tyrant in Ethiopia are filled with fear of an imminent uprising. Nothing has started yet but they are already having a …

A South African news site, Business Day, is reporting that among the mercenaries who are shooting at Libyan protesters are troops who have been sent to Libya by Ethiopia’s tyrant Meles Zenawi for training.

Meles Zenawi has a mercenary …

Several members of Libya’s mission to the United Nation, including the deputy ambassador, have today called on Gaddafi to resign. They also appealed to the U.N. to take action to prevent genocide by Gaddafi’s mercenary forces. When the imminent uprising …

Al Jazeera TV is reporting that military aircraft fired live ammunition at crowds of anti-government protesters in Libya’s capital Tripoli today. Some Libyan air force pilot landed their fighter jets in Malta and told authorities that they are defecting because …

Al Arabyia, Press TV, and a representative of Libyan opposition group have reported that Muammar Gaddafi has left Libya. Germany’s news web site TT.com also reports, quoting opposition groups, that Gaddafi has fled.

On Monday, Gaddafi’s son, Seif al-Eslam, …

(AFP) — Protesters in the Libyan capital Tripoli sacked state broadcast offices and set branches of the People’s Committees that are the mainstay of the regime ablaze overnight, witnesses told AFP on Monday.

“The headquarters of Al-Jamahiriya Two television and …

Maybe it is fear of coming down on the wrong side of a coup that has left the Obama administration reluctant to criticize Qaddafi’s crackdown. When asked by a reporter if Qaddafi is a dictator, “State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley …

* In Benghazi, the starting point of the revolt, three witnesses said that special military forces called in as reinforcements had instead helped the protesters take over the local army barracks. “The gunshots you hear are the gunshots of celebration,” …

Ethiopia’s tyrant Meles Zenawi has jammed Al Jazeera today, according to residents in Addis Ababa. Meles has also been jamming Ethiopian Satellite TV (ESAT). In an anticipation of imminent revolt in Ethiopia, the Meles regime has been taking preemptive measures, …

The American embassy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa has invited opposition groups for discussion on current developments in the region, Addis Neger reports:

The embassy says that public uprisings, originating in Tunisia and Egypt, are expanding throughout the region

Manama, Bahrain (Los Angeles Times) — Protesters celebrated Saturday in Bahrain when police and soldiers withdrew from Manama’s symbolic Pearl Square, allowing young Shiite Muslims eager for a larger role in Bahraini society to take back their central stage.

“The …

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Residents of Yemen’s second largest city say after 10 days constant protests, security forces have disappeared from the streets, threatening to plunge Aden into chaos.

Residents of thbe port city say groups of men are attacking, …

By Robert Fisk

Rumours burned like petrol in Bahrain yesterday and many medical staff were insisting that up to 60 corpses had been taken from Pearl Square on Thursday morning and that police were seen by crowds loading bodies into …

By Mohamed Keita | CPJ

As news of Middle Eastern and North African protests swirl around the globe, satellite television and the Internet prove vital sources of information for Africans as governments fearful of an informed citizenry and a free …

Deutsche Welle Amharic Service reports that 40,000 residents of Ethiopia’s southern town of Awassa have been asked to vacate their homes. The Woyanne ruling junta’s local puppet administration issued the order saying that the houses the residents own have been …

By Alex Thurston

As protests continue across the Arab world, rumblings of political discontent have sounded in sub-Saharan Africa as well. These rumblings range from serious protests in Gabon and Sudan to pro-revolution newspaper columns in countries like Nigeria. Revolution …

Tens of thousands of people held a massive protest rally in Djibouti against the regime of President Ismail Guelleh. Opposition leaders say that the police fired live bullets at peaceful protesters yesterday.

(Bloomberg) — Djibouti opposition groups will …

Libya, one of the most repressive regimes in Africa, is unable to stop the wave of popular uprisings against dictators that is sweeping through northern Africa and the Middle East. The Libya pro-democracy protesters are taking their activities outside of …