By Staff Reporter, Denver, Colorado
January 28, 2017

The Ethiopian Task Force in Colorado held a discussion session and book signing at the Denver Double Tree Hotel located at 4040 Quebec St, Denver, CO. on January 28, 2017. The session was chaired by Mr. Dawit Agonafir who introduced Dr. Aberra Molla of Colorado. Mr. Agonafir stated that he used Dr. Molla’s  Function key software for Amharic decades ago and is one of the current users of the his GeezEdit App for iPhone. He also quoted a recent invitation Dr. Molla received from a famous University that reads, “Your contribution to the advancement of Ethiopian society is perhaps unmatched in modern times; your digitisation of Amharic has allowed incredible advances within Ethiopia. Your influence has also extended to the realm of cultural heritage, as you are widely credited with being crucial to the repatriation of the Aksum Obelisk to Tigray; without your involvement this step forward in the protection of Ethiopian cultural heritage would likely not have occurred.” Colorado Ethiopians have also recognized his work by giving him awards twice.

Dr. Aberra demonstrated the hundreds of the Ethiopic glyphs he assisted with and fought for their recognition by Unicode and the various character sets utilized by different Ethiopian languages. These include Agew, Amharic, Basketo, Bilen, Dawro, Gamo-Gofa, Geez, Gumuz, Guragie, Meen, Oromo, Tigre and Tigrigna character sets and how each character is typed with one or two keystrokes with his patented method. He pointed out numerous common errors he has continued to correct and the advantages of using the syllabic Ethiopic over alphabetic alphabets. Dr. Molla stated that he has solved problems associated with the shortcomings of Ethiopic when he released his ModEth program for Microsoft’s DOS in 1987. Oromos are among the peoples that migrated to utilizing the English alphabet without grandfathering Ethiopic and he encourages the use of Ethiopic too because of numerous advantages.

The presentation was followed by Professor Fikre Tolossa’s talk about his new Amharic book (Ye Oromo ina Ye Amara Iwnetengaw Ye Zer Minch) whose English translation is entitled “The True origin of Oromos and Amharas”. Professor Fikre Tolossa is a poet, playwright, author and a researcher who has written and published over 60 books and articles in Amharic, English and German languages. His new Amharic book published in 2016 evidences that the Amharas and Oromos have a common origin in Ethiopia and goes back to about 4000 years. The book also refutes the allegation that the Amhara’s ruled Ethiopia by undermining Oromos and other ethnic groups. Professor Fikre presented evidence that the kings who ruled Ethiopia over the last seven centuries were ethnically Oromos and the book emphasized contributions of the Oromo to Ethiopian civilization. Professor Fikre also elaborated to his audience the fact that all Ethiopians in general and the Oromo and Amara in particular, originated from the same source. He stressed the truth that they descended from Ethiop, the founder of Ethiopia, and Deshet, a prophet and king in Gojam. Even though Ethiopians speak different languages at present, they share the same ancestors, he said.

References in the book include 47 books five of which are based on ancient manuscripts uncovered by an Ethiopian author, Meriras Aman Belay, and its contents include the Book of Enoch, and some other books of the Old Testament. Prof. Fikre has included in his book pictures of ancient phonetic Suba alphabets used by the ancient Ethiopians that predate the Biblical Queen of Sheba. The manuscripts, which narrate about 4500 years of Ethiopian history, were unearthed about 50 years ago in Nubia, Sudan. Among them was found a Suba and Geez dictionary. Since the ancient Oromos used Suba and Ethiopic, Prof. Fikre has argued that they should use Ethiopic instead of the Latin alphabets. Ethiopians are encouraged to order the book at P.O. Box 2850, Richmond, California  94802 for $30.00 including postage, for those who reside in the USA. The postage outside the USA is costly.

This presentation was followed by questions and answers and book signing.  A second separate session by Ato Ayalew Mengesha was about his experience as an Ethiopian government official before he recently settled in Denver. It was also followed by its own questions and answers.

Dr. Aberra Molla demonstrating the Ethiopic Unicode character set.

Professor Fikre Tolossa signing books.

William Davison, Feb. 12
The Guardian

A state crackdown has silenced ethnic Oromo people in Ethiopia, but grievances over land and rights, and a lack of political options, could reignite protests

Oromo people stage a protest against the government near the Hora Lake at Debre Zeyit. Photograph: Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In a muted show of defiance near Ethiopia’s capital city, a tall farmer glanced around before furtively crossing his arms below his waist to make the Oromo people’s resistance symbol.

Ethiopia’s government outlawed the gesture made famous by Olympic men’s marathon silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa – who formed the “X” above his head at last year’s Rio games – when it enacted a draconian state of emergency in Octoberin an attempt to stem 11 months of protests. Although that decree has suppressed unrest, the farmer thinks demonstrations will start anew.

“The solution is the government has to come with true democracy. The people are waiting until the state of emergency is over and then people are ready to begin to protest,” he said.

While the emergency has led to at least 25,000 people being detained, security forces aren’t visible on roads flanked by fields with workers wielding curved sickles to harvest crops. Beyond that seeming normality, there is pervasive discontent with authorities accused of responding to claims of ethnic marginalisation by intensifying repression.

“The protests will come again because the government is not responding to the demands of the people in the right way,” said another young Oromo man in Ejere town. Like others, he answered via a translator in the Oromo language, and asked for his views to be kept anonymous.

Farmers in the restive West Shewa district of Oromia dismissed the political response so far, which has amounted to replacing regional leaders. Despite positive noises from the new Oromia president, many seek a wholesale change of government. “People need new faces and a new system,” the Ejere man said.

The problem for activists is how to translate popular anger stemming from grievances into political change. The security apparatus has shown it can quell protests and a de facto one-party state offers few opportunities for opposition activities.

Longstanding complaints by the Oromo about state exploitation coalesced around opposition to a metropolitan development plan in November 2015. In January the government suspended the blueprint for the integrated development of Addis Ababa with surrounding Oromo areas, but that didn’t stem the revolt. Some demonstrations were peaceful; others involved torching investments and government offices. Security forces gunned down as many as 600 protesters, according to the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia.

Now the demands are less policy-oriented due to outrage over repression. Allegations of ethnic bias are prevalent, though it is Oromo officials who are culpable for local failings. The claims centre on a view that the Tigrayan ethnic group benefit disproportionately from a system said to be controlled by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which founded a coalition that has ruled the country since 1991. Activists, many of whom are based abroad, also allege that Ethiopia’s territorial expansion in the late 19th century dispossessed Oromo, who at roughly 35 million people-strong nonetheless remain Ethiopia’s largest community.

Under a multinational federal system introduced in 1995, the Oromo group runs its own region, but people complain the resource-rich state is economically exploited, and their leaders subservient to the TPLF in the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). “There’s an Oromo saying: what the husband says, the wife cannot change,” said another opponent apropos of the political dynamic.

Land, which is state-owned in Ethiopia, is a particularly emotive issue. An aggressive, government-driven approach to development, combined with corrupt officials and investors, led to Oromo families losing farmland without receiving adequate compensation over the past two decades, particularly on the sought-after fringes of the capital.

Around Guder town, 80 miles (130km) west of Addis Ababa, farmers believe Oromo officials enriched themselves by selling plots on the edge of town to developers and using the proceeds to build houses near the capital. One man interviewed can’t give a specific example of an unfair eviction near Guder, but he’s worried about the trend. “People have a fear about what happened in the Addis Ababa area,” he said.

Other common concerns are mundane, and acknowledged as legitimate by officials: people want an improved road, or better supplies of water and electricity. Despite evident progress, Ethiopia, where the population of close to 100 million is Africa’s second largest, still lies 174th out of 188 countries on the UN’s 2015 human development index, below South Sudan and Afghanistan.

The evolving and multi-layered grievances are an acute test for the government, as well as a conundrum for major donors, such as the UK’s Department for International Development, which remains silent on the EPRDF’s repression as it lauds its development record. While efforts to improve public services, create jobs and reduce corruption may make headway, there’s little chance of the desired systemic reform.

That was reinforced by the arrest in November of Merera Gudina, the most high-profile Oromo opposition leader not in jail or abroad. He was accused of breaking emergency rules by communicating with a banned nationalist opposition leader at a European parliament hearing in Brussels.

Across West Shewa, locals said there had not yet been any changes in community leaders and the government hadn’t reached out to discuss the problems with them. Some said they were no longer interested in what officials had to say.

In Addis Ababa, the federal communications minister, Negeri Lencho, an Oromo professor of journalism, offers a different view. “The change belongs to the people. The reform belongs to the people. The reform includes increasing awareness of people to defend their interests,” he said.

Despite this gulf between officials and public, serious dialogue is unlikely, according to Zelalem Kibret, an Ethiopian blogger who was arrested in 2014 and is currently a visiting scholar at the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University.

“The government will not go for any type of concession while the opposing force is weak. The activists also seem unwilling, since they are aimed at ousting the regime. I think the brutality that was unleashed by the regime for the last 12 months pushed every moderate voice to the fringe,” he said.

If the movement were to opt for incremental gains through the ballot box, opposition parties would have to compete in local elections scheduled for 2018, but that presents formidable political and logistical obstacles. As well as holding all seats in the federal parliament and regional chambers, the four-party EPRDF and allied organisations occupy all of up to 100 seats on each one of more than 18,000 village councils, and also on roughly 750 larger administrations, said Zelalem. With opposition leaders and activists exiled, imprisoned, or fearing arrest, already weak parties are in no shape to loosen the coalition’s hold.

“The EPRDF is still the only strong political force in Ethiopia. I doubt the protesters have any solid bargaining power other than sporadic demonstrations that are likely to be quashed easily. It is an impasse. Most probably the regime will stay in power for many years,” Zelalem said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, who has not spoken to Nigerians since he left the country about 18 days ago, will today speak to US President Donald Trump.

Mr. Trump is expected to speak with the presidents of Nigeria and South Africa this afternoon.

He is scheduled to speak by phone to Zuma today at 5:10 pm, after speaking to Buhari first.

ESAT Daily News Amsterdam February 13,2017

Ethiopia spends $1.8 million, a year, for lobbying on one of firms it retains. 

Ethiopia spends $1.8 million for lobbying only on one firm

(kichuu) – Ethiopia has hired SGR LLC Government Relations and Lobbying firm to lobby on behalf of the Ethiopian government to U.S. policy makers, congress, the media and business leaders.

According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) database seen by nazret.com, Ethiopian government will pay $150,000 per month for the said service.  The agreement was signed last month by Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S., Girma Biru (Signed as Girma Geda) and Greg Lowman, a partner at the lobbying firm. Scroll down to see the document below.

The agreement signed says “SGR will work with the client to develop and execute a public affairs plan to enhance the dialogue and relationships with policymakers, media, opinion leaders and business leaders”. It is not clear if this includes paying for ‘opinion leaders’ to write favorable commentaries in major newspapers in the United States.

Ethiopia is not new to lobbying the U.S. government, according to Newsweek, it wrote in 2010 that Ethiopia’s lobbying had helped to defuse charges that the government has turned increasingly authoritarian. In a memo sent to congressional offices, DLA Piper, which represented Ethiopia then, argued, “The terms ‘political prisoners’ and ‘prisoners of conscience’ are undefined and mischaracterize the situation in Ethiopia,” and should be removed from a bill that condemned the Ethiopian regime for detaining opposition activists.

What is FARA?

According to Sunlight Foundation, in 1938, Congress passed the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires those working on behalf of a foreign government or a quasi-government agency to disclose information about their activities. Congress passed the act as a response to the Nazi propaganda that was entering the United States during World War II, and was supposed to give members of Congress and the American people more knowledge about foreign interests trying to influence U.S. politics.

FARA requires that someone register with the Department of Justice within 10 days of agreeing to be an agent. Then that individual must file reports every six months detailing their activities.

ESAT News DC Feb 13 2017

Lake Turkana Water Levels down, further drop expected

(Nairobi) – Dropping water levels in Kenya’s Lake Turkana following the development of dams and plantations in Ethiopia’s lower Omo Valley threaten the livelihoods of half a million indigenous people in Ethiopia and Kenya, Human Rights Watch said today.

Based on publicly available data from the United States Department of Agriculture, Lake Turkana’s water levels have dropped by approximately 1.5 meters since January 2015, and further reduction is likely without urgent efforts to mitigate the impact of Ethiopia’s actions. Human Rights Watch research based on satellite imagery shows that the drop is already affecting the shoreline of the lake, which has receded as much as 1.7 kilometers in Ferguson Gulf since November 2014. The Gulf is a critical fish breeding area, and a key fishing ground for the indigenous Turkana people.

Source – www.hrw.org

” UAE Military Base Boosts Berbera International Trade Hub andSomaliland-Ethiopia’s Relations and Economic Growth “

By Mohamed Farah Abdi
on Ethiomedia.

For the record, I wrote a short piece on Somaliland Times in the 1990s why Somaliland should be recognized as an independent nation if we follow Eritrea independence mechanism or criteria. Both of them have similar history. The only difference is the Arab Tyrants card of United Somalia a member of Arab League got the upper hand at United Nations.

We know that Somaliland has not yet been recognized as an independent nation like Eritrea and Somalia which is recovering from tribal war is under the African Union protection as we speak. Somalia will not accept the independence of Somaliland while itself is divided as a “Federal”weak states makes it even more difficult to come with one voice let alone be a military threat.

Ethiopia which has immersed itself into Somalia militarily since 2006 is doing its best to create Somalia which is weak. The regime in Ethiopia itself is weak from self inflicted Tribal Federation it has legalized since 1995.

Tribal Kilils/States like Oromia and Ogaden are calling for “self administration” and many in the Diaspora Egypt backed are calling for declaration of Oromo Republic. Landlocked Ethiopia natural enemies who would like to exploit this division are seen by many Ethiopians as mortal enemies.

Ethiopia during the battle of Adwa in 1896 faced similar “neighbors” like the one facing now. Italy occupied Eritrea is now Free Eritrea by unfriendly Isaias who has a bold idea for uniting Somalia like the Arab tyrants.

Somaliland was under British colonialism and the rest of Somalia under Italian colonialism. French Somalialnd or Djibouti under France. Ethiopia was surrounded by European foreign powers to subjugate her. The difference then and now is Ethiopia has King/Emeye Menelik who rally its people to fight foreign aggressors using the port of Djibouti.

France was jocking to extend its influence beyond tiny Djibouti and Menelik has to be friendly with France to import weapons to fight the foreign aggressors. The current regime is playing similar game with Somaliland at Berbera.

Tiny Djibouti is now a military station for foreign powers, USA, France, China etc. Any of this country has an influence on what Ethiopia import do defend itself. That means Ethiopia national security is under “Unfriendly”countries. Their interest can change depending the ruling power in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia can be blackmailed easily.

The situation in Somaliland is not different from Djibouti. The only difference is Djibouti is internationally recognized country. She can do what she wants legally. Somaliland is in difficult position but no one can stop the current military base agreement with UAE.

Somaliland and the Ethiopian regime has been friendly since 1991. Landlocked Ethiopia can not use the port of Assab because of the 1998-2000 war and it seems unlikely things can change in the near future. That is where the port of Berbera becomes very crucial.

Until the relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea changed for the benefit of the two people which has more in common than separate them the value of Berbera both in economic and military terms remains important.

Ethiopia which is now weak divided into Tribal Kilils has to tackle her problem and come out strong like she did 121 years ago. Defeating fascism followed by federation with Eritrea under King Haileselassie that brought peace and regional stability for more than four decades.

Horn of Africa will not prosper in division and conflict. Outside forces should not be allowed to export religious war into our region like they did in Middle East. Horn of Africa does not need Saudi/UAE and Iran supported conflicts in our land like the one unfolding in Yemen. Horn of Africa should not be Yemen.

UAE and Saudi Arabia move should always be checked because their Dollar is not clean. The only way to come and check foreign forces is for Ethiopia and Eritrea to use all their resources including port for the benefit of their growing population which will increase dramatically in the coming decades. Ethiopia and Eritrea survival can only be guaranteed by Bold and Visionary leaders who took a valuable lesson from our Disunity following the 1998-2000 Stupid War.

Throughout the confusion of Donald Trump’s campaign and the chaotic events of his early days in the White House, one controversy has clung to the Trump train like glue: Russia.

The sudden departure of Michael Flynn from his role as national security adviser on Monday was the latest in a string of controversies tying the administration to apparent Russian interests.

Mr Flynn resigned after misleading the president, and Vice-President Mike Pence, over whether he discussed sanctions with Russia’s ambassador in the weeks before Mr Trump took office – which would violate a law that prohibits private citizens from conducting diplomacy.

Early warning signs

It was back in May 2016 that the first reports emerged of hackers targeting the Democratic Party. Over the next two months, the reports suggested US intelligence agencies had traced the breaches back to Russian hackers.

In July, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, Wikileaks published 20,000 internal emails stolen by the hackers. US intelligence officials said they believed with “high confidence” that Russia was behind the operation, but the Trump campaign publicly refused the accept the findings.

Instead, at a press conference, Mr Trump caused outrage by inviting Russian hackers to target Hillary Clinton’s controversial personal email server, saying: “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing”.

Image copyrightAP

Image captionMr Flynn dines with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in December 2015

The first casualty

About the same time the hacking scandal was beginning to unfold, Mr Trump’s then campaign manager, Paul Manafort, was accused of accepting millions of dollars in cash for representing Russian interests in the Ukraine and US, including dealings with an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While Mr Manafort was running the campaign, the Republican Party changed the language in its manifesto regarding the conflict in Ukraine, removing anti-Russian sentiment, allegedly at the behest of two Trump campaign representatives.

Mr Manafort was investigated by the FBI and quit as Mr Trump’s campaign chairman. Like Mr Flynn, Mr Manafort, a political operative with more than 40 years’ experience, was supposed to marshal some of the chaos and controversy around Mr Trump, but ended up falling prey to it.

At odds with the intelligence

In October, the US intelligence community released a unanimous statement formally accusing Russia of being the perpetrator behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

Mr Trump continued to argue against the finding, claiming in a presidential debate that it “could be Russia, but it could also be China, it could also be lots of other people. It also could be somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds”.

The same day that the intelligence agencies released their finding, the explosive “Access Hollywood” recording emerged of Mr Trump’s obscene remarks about women in 2005. An hour later, Wikileaks began dumping thousands more leaked Clinton emails.

Mr Trump continued to refuse to acknowledge the consensus that Russia was behind the hack.

‘I always knew Putin was smart!’

In December, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security published a report of the US intelligence findings linking Russia to the hack.

In response, President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats and levied new sanctions on Russia. The world awaited Mr Putin’s response but he chose not retaliate. Mr Trump, by then the president-elect, sided with the Russian president, tweeting: “Great move on delay (by V. Putin) – I always knew he was very smart!”

Mr Putin’s decision not to respond in kind struck many as a canny PR move, but reportedly set off suspicions among US intelligence officials that Russia was confident the sanctions would not last.

The same month, Mr Trump picked Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state, arguably the most important job in the cabinet. The biggest hurdle for Mr Tillerson’s confirmation? Close ties to Mr Putin.

As CEO of the ExxonMobil oil company, Mr Tillerson cultivated a close personal relationship with the Russian leader, leading many to speculate on whether he was fit to serve as America’s most senior foreign diplomat.

Mr Tillerson was sworn in as secretary of state on 2 February.

Image copyrightAP

The ‘compromising claims’ dossier

In January, Buzzfeed published a dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence official and Russia expert, which alleged that Moscow had compromising material on the then-president-elect, making him liable to blackmail.

Among the various memos in the dossier was an allegation that Mr Trump had been recorded by Russian security services consorting with prostitutes at a Moscow hotel.

Mr Trump dismissed the claims as fake news.

CNN revealed that President Obama and President-elect Trump had been briefed on the existence of the dossier by intelligence officials, and Buzzfeed went one further, publishing the entire thing.

The document went off like a hand grenade tossed into the already febrile political scene and generated a backlash against Buzzfeed for publishing what were essentially unverified claims.

Image copyrightREUTERS

The evidence against Flynn

In February, the most concrete and damaging Russia scandal finally surfaced, months after suspicions were raised among intelligence officials.

A Washington Post report said Mr Flynn had discussed the potential lifting of Mr Obama’s Russia sanctions with the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, before Mr Trump took office.

Mr Flynn, who had appeared regularly on Russian propaganda channel RT and once attended dinner with Mr Putin, resigned as Mr Trump’s national security adviser, saying he had “inadvertently briefed the vice-president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding my phone calls with the Russian ambassador” late last year.

It is illegal for private citizens to conduct US diplomacy.

Mr Trump has made no secret of his regard for Mr Putin and his desire to establish closer ties with Russia. But the more pressing question, and one which the president just can’t seem to shake, is just how close those ties already go.

Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa, rear, of Ethiopia, hugs his wife Iftu Mulia, his daughter Soko, right, 5, and son Sora, left, 3, while picking up his family at Miami International Airport on Tuesday. (WILFREDO LEE/AP)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Ethiopian marathoner hid behind a column at the Miami airport as he carried a bouquet of red roses.

Feyisa Lilesa’s daughter spotted him first and ran in for a hug. Then, his young son and lastly his wife.

On Valentine’s Day, the Olympic silver medalist who became an international figure when he crossed his wrists in protest at the finish line in Rio de Janeiro finally reunited with his family. He was a little late (traffic), but what’s a few extra minutes when he’s already waited six long months to see them.

As he made his way out of the airport, his daughter rode on the luggage and his son perched on his shoulders, carrying the flowers he brought as a gift.

Eth

“The biggest gift is us seeing each other again — and me seeing them again,” Lilesa said through a translator in a phone interview Tuesday. “It’s all been very tough.”

The 27-year-old eventually settled in Flagstaff, Arizona, after making an anti-government gesture during the Olympic marathon that drew global attention to the deadly protests in his home region of Oromia. He never returned home after Brazil out of fear of what might happen to him. He’s constantly been worrying about the family he left behind in Ethiopia. His nearly 6-year-old daughter, Soko, and 3 ½-year-old son, Sora, always asked when they will see him again.

Finally, he was able to answer.

Lilesa remains in the U.S. on a special skills visa. His family arrived on visas as well, secured through his attorney.

February 15, 2017

Ato Nesibu Sebhat

“I want to write so that the reader… can say, ‘You know, that’s the truth. I wasn’t there, and …but that’s the truth.’”, Maya Angelou Critic’s note: The critical analysis contains “competing nouns”. Thus, for clarity and specificity, I used a person or a thing name repeatedly instead of a pronoun. The images in this analysis were adapted from Google Images. Reading Ato Nesibu Sebhat’s book titled “ፍጹምነ ውእምነ ቴ” bugged me so much because its stories are incoherent with his situation that he was a detainee, and some of his dishonestly presented stories are personal to me. Hence, I objectively and critically analyzed his assertions concerning the Higher-15’s detention camp’s reign of terror in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.…..Read More……

……..

ማህደረ ዜና

EPRDF And Opposition Parties Discussion in Ethiopia – DW Amharic

ESAT Latest Ethiopian News February 15, 2017

A remotely-controlled bomb struck a military convoy carrying Ethiopian soldiers in central Somalia, resident said on Wednesday.

A villager who wished to remain anonymous, told local media that a vehicle was targeted in the roadside explosion that ripped through the Ethiopian army convoy  the sourthern city of Beledweyne.

After the IED explosion, there was no gunfire heard, according to residents. No casualties reported yet.

AMISOM and Al shabaab did not comment on the attack.

February 14, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The 18th session of the conference on development of the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian borders will be held on Thursday in Mekelle, capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, said governor of Gadaref State.

A road leading to Ethiopia-Sudan border (Photo Jamminglobal.com)

The two-day conference, which is held alternately between Sudan and Ethiopian regions, will discuss issues pertaining to farming in the joint borders, trade exchange and smuggling.

Governor of Gadaref State Mirghani Salih Sid Ahmed told the official news agency SUNA, that the conference would be held with the participation of the border states of Gadaref, Blue Nile, Sennar and Kassala from the Sudanese side and Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara regions from the Ethiopian side.

He pointed that his state has completed its arrangements to participate in the conference, saying they would seek to retrieve the agricultural lands confiscated by Ethiopian farmers..

According to the governor, Gadaref state delegation will focus on issues to promote bilateral ties between the two countries besides ways to enhance trade exchange particularly after establishing the free-trade zone at Al-Galabat border area.

Sid Ahmed added that their delegation would raise the issue of preventing Ethiopian farmers from growing Sudanese lands according to the 2004 agreement between the two countries.

Farmers from two sides of the border between Sudan and Ethiopia used to dispute the ownership of land in the Al-Fashaga area located in the south-eastern part of Sudan’s eastern state of Gedaref.

Al-Fashaga covers an area of about 250 square kilometers and it has about 600.000 acres of fertile lands. Also there are river systems flowing across the area including Atbara, Setait and Baslam rivers.

Sudan and Ethiopia agreed in 2004 to demarcate the 1,600 km-long border after tension over the distribution of disputed land to Ethiopian farmers following the intervention of the Ethiopian army to clear some Sudanese villages on the border.

However, the Ethiopian opposition accuses the ruling party of abandoning Ethiopian territory to Sudan.

Also, the border between the two countries is considered a major passageway for illegal migrants and human trafficking activities.

Ethiopia and Sudan are engaged more and more in joint economic projects particularly on the border areas for the benefit of the people from the two sides.

In the past, Sudan worked for a tripartite regional cooperation including Eritrea but the border conflict between Asmara and Addis Ababa prevents for the time being such realization.

(ST)

Patriotic Ginbot 7 event in New York City, Saturday February 17, 2017

USA TODAY     Oren Dorell