Editor’s Note — The Obama administration has cynically betrayed the people of Ethiopia by inviting Meles Zenawi to Camp David. Zenawi has arrested, tortured and brutalized thousands, including journalists and political opponents; he has stolen many elections; he has gunned …
By Graham Peebles | Eurasia Review
Arrested, jailed and beaten, tortured and imprisoned, this is the recipe for justice that the Ethiopian government serves up to dissenting voices. Men and women peacefully exercising their democratic right, demanding their human rights, …
Alemayehu G Mariam
Warlord Charles Taylor Caged!
After 420 days of trial (over nearly four years), 115 witness, over 50,000 pages of testimony, and 1,520 exhibits, Charles Taylor, warlord-turned-president of Liberia, was found guilty on 11 counts by the U.N. …
PRESS RELEASE
Alliance for Liberty, Equality, and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE) Let us struggle in unison for our dignity and freedom! May 4, 2012 Alliance for Liberty, Equality and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE) has been closely monitoring the development of …
Alemayehu G Mariam
Reeyot Alemu
The past two weeks have been glorious days for Africans. Eskinder Nega, the heroic Ethiopian journalist was honored with Pen America’s Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award. The award honors writers throughout the world who
…NEW YORK (AP) — An imprisoned Ethiopian journalist and blogger who could face the death penalty for advocating peaceful protests in his Horn of Africa homeland was honored Tuesday with PEN America’s “Freedom to Write” award.
Eskinder Nega was arrested …
Alemayehu G Mariam
Eskinder Invictus!
On May 1, 2012, Eskinder Nega, Ethiopia’s foremost journalist and political prisoner, will be awarded the “Freedom to Write Award”, the highest honor given out by Pen America, one of the great international free press
…EDITOR’S NOTE: The Woyanne regime-controlled Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported today that several employees, including Pakistani nationals, working for Al Amoudi in the southwestern Ethiopian region of Gambella have been killed and wounded by an armed group last night. Read …
By William Davison
(Bloomberg) – Gunmen attacked the camp of an agricultural company owned by a Saudi billionaire Al Amoudi in southwest Ethiopia, killing at least one person, Federal Affairs Minister Shiferaw Teklemariam said.
The assault on Saudi Star Agricultural …
Muslims outraged by heavy-handed government interference
Ethiopian Muslims angered by the heavy-handed interference of the government, staged one of the largest rallies following Friday prayers on April 27, 2012. In a move that appears designed to attract Western money and …
Alemayehu G Mariam
Blaming the Victim
Last week, dictator Meles Zenawi hectored his rubberstamp parliament in Ethiopia about the forced expulsion (or as some have described it “ethnic cleansing”) of Amharas from southern Ethiopia and zapped his critics for their …
Removing the Al Amoudi and Woyanne thugs from the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) is a major victory that must be replicated in all other Ethiopian organizations and places of worship. The fight is hard, but we are …
Editor’s Note:
Meles Zenawi has a lot to hide. There is much stealing and naked brutality that needs to be kept under wraps. There is torture, imprisonment, murder and the trafficking of women for profit. Western donors, who sustain the …
By Yilma Bekele
I feel energized. Our freedom tree is bearing fruits. It is the result of the tireless effort of thousands if not millions of us working together in harmony. Due to the miracle of the Internet such as …
Ethiopian Review editor Elias Kifle discusses with Netsanet Le Ethiopia Radio about boycott campaign against Ethiopian Airlines and other TPLF-controlled enterprise. Listen below:
…
Several Ethiopian media organizations issued a worldwide call for economic boycott against the ethnic apartheid dictatorship in Ethiopia.
The call was made by 12 major Ethiopian electronic and print media at a teleconference that was held on Saturday, April 12, …
Editor’s Note: The average Ethiopian has to work two weeks to afford one chicken. Meles Zenawi’s economic nirvana is creating a living hell for Ethiopia’s 99 percent, while creating unprecedented wealth for a tiny ethnic minority.
One chicken costs US …
Dictator Meles Zenawi explains his campaign to evict tens of thousands of Ethiopians of the Amhara ethnic group from Benchi-Maji zone of southern Ethiopia. As expected, his explanation [watch the video below] is full of lies. There can be no …
Africa’s Free Press Problem
By Mohammed Keita | New York Times
AS Africa’s economies grow, an insidious attack on press freedom is under way. Independent African journalists covering the continent’s development are now frequently persecuted for critical reporting on the …
Alemayehu G Mariam
Last week I had an opportunity to address a town hall meeting in Seattle sponsored by the Ethiopian Public Forum in Seattle (EPFS), a civil society organization dedicated to promoting broad dialogue, debate and discussion on Ethiopia’s …
A U.S. court ordered Al Amoudi thugs to stop using the name Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA) and any reference to it. After the ESFNA board kicked out the Woyanne-Al Amoudi cadres and thugs from the organization, they …
By Yilma Bekele
Most locations are just bland places. There is not much variation in the topography. Look at Google satellite map of Africa and you will see what I mean. Endless flat land, a stretch of desert, an occasional …
By Elias Kifle
The Woyanne junta continues to commit horrible atrocities against Ethiopians with impunity. The recent ethnic cleansing campaign against the Amhara, Gambella and Afar people is not surprising because nothing has been done when khat-addicted dictator Meles Zenawi …
Top PEN Prize to Honor Eskinder Nega, Jailed Ethiopian Journalist and Blogger
Leading Free Expression Advocate on Trial for Terrorism
New York City, April 12, 2012—PEN American Center today named Eskinder Nega, a journalist and dissident blogger in Ethiopia, …
By Elia Kifle
The recent ethnic cleansing of 78,000 Ethiopians of the Amhara ethnic group from southern Ethiopia by the Woyanne junta is a horrible crime. Ethiopian Review has been reporting similar ethnic cleansing campaigns against other Ethiopian ethnic groups, …
By Aklog Birara, PhD
“The people occupying the plateau of the Blue Nile are conscious of a glorious past and proudly call themselves Ethiopians.” – Elise Reclus, Philosopher
Ethiopian ethnic-based political elites, most prominently, the champion of ethnic politics and …
By yilma Bekele
On November 11, 2011, Yenesew Gebre was driven to kill himself on behalf of all suffering Ethiopians. He killed himself out of love for his people and country. He made the ultimate sacrifice to wake us up …
On the weekend of March 24, 2012, the Woyanne ambassador in Washington DC, Girma Birru, held a meeting with over 70 exiled Ethiopian physicians who reside in the US. As reported by Ethiopian Review previously, the objective of the meeting …
The security and intelligence chief of the ruling Woyanne junta in Ethiopia, Getachew Assefa, is reportedly suffering from sever depression.
Getachew, who is a central committee member of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and head of the notorious criminal …
They drag the Ethiopian girl by the hair in broad daylight in front of the Ethiopian embassy on a major street full of people, throw her in a car and take off. This is a great shame on us Ethiopians …
Aklog Birara, PhD
Those of us who enjoy freedom from constant purges, harassment, intimidation and fear need to remind ourselves each day that the Ethiopian people continue to suffer from poor and repressive governance-induced hyperinflation, hunger and malnourishment that is …
MIDROC Thrives at Privatisation Tender:
Al-Amoudi targets expansion of his companies’ presence in agricultural, mining sectors
By Elleni Araya | Addis Fortune
Companies under the umbrella of Mohammed International Development Research and Organisation Companies (MIDROC) Ethiopia and its affiliates …
By Yilma Bekele
The embattled former tyrant president of Yemen Ali Abdullah Saleh is going to settle in Ethiopia. Ethiopia will be his home in exile. Ethiopia was not his first choice. He wanted to settle in Oman his neighbor …
By Yilma Bekele
‘Prime Minster Meles Zenawi said on Wednesday Ethiopia could pardon politicians and journalists arrested under a 2009 anti-terrorism law.’ That news was reported widely including inside Ethiopia. Normally what we hear outside and what the people are …
By Yilma Bekele
‘…. he was feared far beyond his might and respected far beyond his support, both which in the end proved meager. … would play one official off of another, promoting sons above their fathers, pitting the members …
By Yilma Bekele
Did you see what was coming out of North Korea this week? Someone referred to it as the ‘world’s largest display of uncontrollable grief.’ Kim Jung un ‘the Brilliant Comrade’ succeeded his father Kim Jung il ‘the …
Author and journalist Tesfaye Gebreab has written a review of Woyanne propaganda chief Bereket Simon’s new book that was financed by Saudi-Ethiopia billionaire Al Amoudi. In the book review, Tesfaye points out several falsehoods and exposes the writer for what …
In famine-stricken Ethiopia, a Saudi company leases land to grow and export rice
By Public Radio International
Famine has swept through much of Ethiopia in the past year, but a new project will see a Saudi Arabian country convert one …
By Wondwossen Mezlekia
Last month, coffee buyers across the globe had a rare glimpse into Ethiopians’ day-to-day experience, where haphazard policymaking is used by the government to interfere in and control people’s business whenever it feels like it. A new …
Hundreds of Ethiopians who took part in the 2011 Great Ethiopian Run in Addis Ababa two weeks ago Sunday turned the annual event into a protest rally against Meles Zenawi’s dictatorship as the video below shows. The Federal Police arrested …
Alemayehu G. Mariam
Portrait of A Poor Country
Lately, the portrait of Ethiopia painted in the reports of Transparency International (Corruption Index) and Global Financial Integrity shows a “Land of Corruption”. That contrasts with an equally revolting portrait of Ethiopia …
By William Davison
(Bloomberg) — Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, lost $3.3 billion to illicit outflows such as bribery and corruption in 2009, Global Financial Integrity said.
Mispricing of trade transactions to facilitate money laundering accounted for $1.9 billion of …
[Updated with some corrections]
By Elias Kifle
An Ethiopian man named Yared (his real name is withheld for his safety) went to Ethiopia a few months ago to sell his family house after his parents moved to the …
By Janice Winter
COP17 is being hailed as “groundbreaking” as a deal was agreed after 14 days of difficult and, at times, deadlocked talks. One of the most contentious issues for Africa was the Green Climate Fund, which will go …
The following is a list of 20 richest Ethiopians in 2011. The list is compiled by Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit. Except for a few of the individuals in the list, most of them, particularly the TPLF members, have enriched themselves …
At a press conference with representatives of Ethiopian Review and other media on Sunday, the newly elected president of Ethiopian Sports Federation in North American (ESFNA), Ato Getachew Tesfaye, announced that the 2012 soccer tournament will be held in Dallas, …
Alemayehu G. Mariam
Ethio-Corruption, Inc. (Unlimited)
“The people of Ethiopia are being bled dry. No matter how hard they try to fight their way out of absolute destitution and poverty, they will be swimming upstream against the current …
Ethiopians Can Indeed Unite if they Choose, Six (a) of Six
Aklog Birara, PhD
The road ahead calls for sea changes in mindset
I should like to set the framework for the set of specific suggestions promised in Part Five …
The 2011 Ethiopian Review Top 20 Non-Ethiopians Who are Best Friends of the Struggle for Freedom in Ethiopia.
By Elias Kifle
Meles Zenawi regime’s propaganda chief Bereket Simon released a 4-part documentary video this week that accuses journalists and opposition politicians of plotting to carry out terrorist acts (One only needs to read what the U.S. Gov’t says …
By Abebe Gellaw
After the news about the first known politically motivated self-immolation in Ethiopian history spread across the globe like wild fire, the shock-wave the rare tragedy caused has been unprecedented. As much as 29-year old Yenesew Gebre’s self-sacrifice …
The 2011 Ethiopian Review Top 20 Dumbest Politicians in Ethiopia
1. 
Hailemariam Desalegn, deputy prime minister of the Woyanne regime, comes from the Wolayita ethnic group in southern Ethiopia, allows himself to be used by his boss Meles Zenawi …
Why Ethiopians Must Unite, Part Five (a) of Five
Aklog Birara, PhD
“Give a man a fish and he will eat it for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a life time.”
Confucius
In …
Ethiopia’s khat-addicted dictator is once against embarking on a military adventure in Somalia. The 2006 invasion ended in total disaster and defeat for Woyanne, causing the slaughter of over 30,000 Somali civilians and displacing 2 million people. This time Meles …
(Bloomberg) — The managing editor of an independent Ethiopian newspaper fled to the U.S. because he fears his pardon by the government will be revoked.
“I wanted to live in my beloved country,” Dawit Kebede said in an …
Give me Liberty or Give me Death!
On 11/11/11, Yenesew Gebre, a 29 year-old Ethiopian school teacher and human rights activist set himself ablaze outside a public meeting hall in the town of Tarcha located in Dawro Zone in Southern …
Woyanne prosecutor presents what it claims as audio/video ‘evidence’ at Elias Kifle et al kangaroo court hearing in Addis Ababa on Wednesday, 16 November 2011 – DW Radio. Listen below:
…
Aklog Birara, PhD
“Ethiopia’s long-awaited democracy has stalled over the last half decade…Today; there are fewer constraints on the EPRDF’s power than at any time in its 20 year rule.”
Leonardo Arriola, Countries at the Cross-roads, 2011
The above sums …
By Alemayehu G Mariam
Remember June and November, 2005
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it,” cautioned Albert Einstein. Because …
By Aklog Birara, PhD
In part three of this series, I indicated that there are major social and economic hurdles ordinary Ethiopians face each day that should compel Ethiopian opposition groups within and outside the country and the rest of …
(AFP) – Ethiopian authorities The Woyanne junta charged 24 people with terrorism offenses Thursday including an opposition politician and a journalist, a government spokesman said.
“They are accused under the anti-terrorism law of being members of a terrorist network and …
Why Ethiopians must unite
Part three of five
Aklog Birara, PhD
“In addition to its complete dominance of local and national government institutions, a number of large businesses are linked to the ruling party, either directly or through family members.” …
By Aklog Birara, Ph.D.
(Part two of five)
In part one, I provided basic socioeconomic arguments of why unity of purpose and action among opponents of the TPLF/EPRDF is no longer an option for those who wish to see a …
Review by Prof. Theodore M. Vestal
The book ‘Ideology and Elite Conflicts: Autopsy of the Ethiopian Revolution, by Prof. Messay Kebede, is the best and most thorough analysis of the causes and implications of the Ethiopian Revolution to …
Yet another shameful drama is currently taking place involving Al Amoudi’s concubines (የጭን ገረዶች) who misrepresent themselves has officials of the Ethiopian Sports Federation in North America (ESFNA). During the past couple of days, the concubines have been holding a …
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a good news for the tens of thousands of Ethiopians whose land has been confiscated and given to Karturi, an Indian Company, to grow crops for export. The Karturi farm has no benefit for most Ethiopians. …
Federal Police Joint Anti-Terror Task Force in Ethiopia has caught the suspect that is responsible for causing the death of 9 ruling party musicians.
The suspect, a 2-year-old bird named Al’ula, has been positively identified by the driver of the …
The Ethiopian government is using sweeping anti-terror laws to crack down on journalists critical of the regime. In the last three months, six journalists have been
By Aklog Birara, PhD
It will be an understatement to state that, regardless of ethnic, religious, gender, age or ideological affinity, Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin discuss their country of origin with passion and genuine interest. Broadly, they share …
Alemayehu G. Mariam
“It is time to stop hating Ethiopia.”
In November 2006, in her farewell cable to her replacement Donald Yamamoto and the Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Fraser, former Acting U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Vicky Huddleston warned: “…
Alemayehu G. Mariam
“If I Were the U.S.”
The old saying is that there is no honor among thieves. Is it also true that there is no honor among dictators? Perhaps that is a distinction without a difference. But Meles …
PRESS STATEMENT
September 18, 2011
CONCERNED by the recent wave of arrests of political leaders, men and women of the Arts, journalists and human rights activists; We concerned Ethiopians and members of various support groups of Ethiopian civic and political …
STATEMENT from the Alliance for Liberty, Equality, and Justice in Ethiopia (ALEJE)
The latest round of repression by a desperate dictatorial regime cannot deter our resolve to struggle our freedom
The political behavior of Ethiopia’s ethnic minority regime and the …
The Woyanne junta in Ethiopia continues to commit gross injustice against Ethiopians with impunity. Meles and gang are not paying any price for their crimes. That must stop, and it can be stopped only when a large number of Ethiopians …
By Yilma Bekele
East Europe suffered under Soviet domination for over fifty years. While West Europe was marching forward, East Europe was engulfed in darkness and hopelessness. The Arabs with all their vast population and abundant natural resources stumbled around …
Things are falling apart by the day for the khat-addicted delusional dictator in Ethiopia who is trying to stave off popular uprising by rounding up every one who is critical of his regime. The latest to be arrested are a …
By Alemayehu G. Mariam
When the going gets tough…
When the going gets tough, the tough go looking for distractions and diversions.
The past few weeks have been tough going for dictator Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia. Secret cables released by …
Ethiopia’s khat-addicted dictator continues to throw wild accusations of terrorism against journalists and critics even as Wikileaks is exposing (read here) that the regime has been orchestrating bombings and blaming them on others.
Yesterday, Meles Zenawi’s injustice minister …
Ethiopian Review and other media have been blaming Ethiopia’s khat-addicted dictator and his Woyanne junta for the so-called “terrorist bombings” in Addis Ababa (read here). From its jungle days, Woyanne is known for exploding bombs in civilians areas …
EDITOR’S NOTE: Meles and his propaganda chief Bereket fabricate any thing, come up with all kinds of wild charges to silence independent information sources. It’s a regime that compares the Voice of America (VOA) to Rwanda’s Radio Télévision Libre Mille-Collines…
At a recent party at Sheraton Hotel in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, Azeb Mesfin, the wife of Ethiopia’s tyrant Meles Zenawi, slapped Saudi billionaire Al Amoudi in front of hundreds of guests, according to Ethiopian Review Intelligence Unit sources.
Azeb, …
Alemayehu G. Mariam
In 1987 when Time Magazine featured a famine-stricken Ethiopian mother on its cover page, it failed to ask the most important question of all: What should Ethiopians do and not do to help themselves?
It is the …
Pastor Daniel Gebraselassie, head of Prison Fellowship Ministry in Ethiopia informs U.S. Embassy officials in Addis Ababa that the Meles dictatorship has been perpetrating severe tortures against detainees. The information comes from the recently leaked secret U.S. diplomatic cables that …
By Elias Kifle
The burning of Ethiopian woman, Shweyga Mullah, by the family of Libyan madman Gaddafi has shocked the world. The bestiality of the Gaddafis in subjecting a fellow human being to such unspeakable cruelty is horrifying to any …
(VOA) — Ethiopian government Woyanne and rebels in the restive Ogaden region have confirmed a deadly clash this week in an area where a Chinese firm is exploring for oil. Each of the two side’s respective versions of …
New York (CPJ) — The Committee to Protect Journalists holds Ethiopia responsible for the well-being of two journalists detained without charge or legal access since June under the country’s far-reaching anti-terrorism law.
Police arrested Woubshet Taye, deputy editor …
Syria and Ethiopia–two peas in a pod. By Yilma Bekele
Tahrir Square, Misrata, Darra, Homs are becoming a household name. They are home of the brave and the bold. History will show epic battles were fought in this locations and …
Wikileaks: Secret diplomatic messages sent from the American Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by U.S. diplomats
2010-02-13 ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT HOSTS DIASPORA INVESTMENT FORUM
2010-02-13 JANUARY REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT NEWSLETTER, EAST AFRICA
2010-02-12 Ethiopia: Information on Child Labor and Forced Labor
2010-02-10 …
Wikileaks yesterday released the following U.S. diplomatic dispatch from Addis Ababa dated 15 and 22 November 2005.
==============
http://wikileaks.org/cable/2005/11/05ADDISABABA3852.html
SUBJECT: VOA’S AMHARIC SERVICE CONDEMNED BY GOE – NEED FOR PROOF
¶1. This cable contains an action request. See paragraph
¶12. …
Alemayehu G. Mariam
On December 21, 1987, Time Magazine on its cover page featured a downcast and crestfallen young Ethiopian mother as a symbol of famine victims in that country. Time asked two …
By Yilma Bekele
How to manage and resolve conflict has always been our Achilles Heel. That is part of the reason why we stumble from one crisis to another. Last week was a perfect example of an attempt to try …
Part II of III
By Aklog Birara*
Part one identified similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Tunisian popular revolutions on the one hand and conditions in Ethiopia on the other. Differences aside, the Ethiopian admiration for an interest in …
Reuters is reporting that Eritrea’s president Isaias Afwerki is heading to Ugandan capital Kampala this week for a 3-day state visit. There is a wide-spread speculation that Uganda’s dictator has invited Isaias to broker a peace deal with Ethiopia’s khat-addicted …
By Aklog Birara*
Part I of 111
I tend to think that, in Sub-Saharan Africa, Ethiopian fascination with the Tunisian and Egyptian popular revolutions exceeds any other. This admiration emanates from wishes and aspirations among Ethiopia’s youth and the small …
By Aklog Birara
Part II of III
Part I identified similarities and differences between the Egyptian and Tunisian popular revolutions on the one hand and conditions in Ethiopia on the other. Differences aside, the Ethiopian admiration for and, interest in …
According to a reliable source, Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi is wanted for questioning by the United States authorities to investigate about possible links with questionable groups. It appears that al-Amoudi has not visited the United States in years. Ethiopian Review …
Case Reference [2011] EWHC 2037 (QB)
Court QBD
Judge HHJ Richard Parkes QC
Date of Judgment 29 Jul 2011
Summary
Libel – assessment of damages
Facts
The Defendant is the publisher and editor in chief of the Ethiopian Review, …
(BBC) An Ethiopian-born billionaire has won £175,000 in libel damages over allegations he had hunted his daughter down so she could be stoned to death.
Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi was born in Ethiopia, but now spends his time at …
By Yilma Bekele
There is an Amharic saying that comes to mind when you think of the current revelations regarding VOA and its dealings with Ethiopia and Ethiopians. Thanks to Ato Abebe Gelaw’s investigative work we are able to see …
By Alemayehu G. Mariam
Life and Times of Democracy in Africa
The long march of democracy in West Africa seems to be well underway. In July 2009, I wrote a weekly commentary marveling about Ghana’s multiparty democracy. Wistfully, I asked …