Somali authorities have handed over to Ethiopia a senior official of the ONLF rebel group, which is fighting for the secession of Ogaden from Ethiopia, the gro

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Somali authorities have handed over to Ethiopia a senior official of the ONLF rebel group, which is fighting for the secession of Ogaden from Ethiopia, the group said.

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The Economist
Aug 31st 2017| ADDIS ABABA

ELEVEN years ago Elsa, a middle-aged widow, won the lottery. The prize was not cash, but the deed to a spacious, three-bedroom flat in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Today she lives there with her four adult children. The deed, now laminated, hangs proudly on her wall.

Not for the poor anymore

Elsa is a beneficiary of Ethiopia’s public-housing scheme, one of the most ambitious in Africa. Since it began in 2006, some 250,000 flats have been built and transferred to people in Addis Ababa and other towns. Like Elsa, they are nearly all winners of a computerised lottery, which allocates flats as they become available. The government aims to build 50,000 a year in the capital over the next decade.

In theory, the programme should just about pay for itself. All land in Ethiopia is state-owned, which reduces upfront costs. Beneficiaries make a down payment to the government ranging from 10% to 40% of the price of the flat, which is set by the state. They then pay off the rest over a ten- to 20-year period. A state-owned bank holds the mortgage, providing generous terms.

But the prices charged by the government were too low to sustain the programme. So it has had to hike them. Now poor Ethiopians cannot afford the down payments for even the most subsidised units. Those who can often struggle to pay their mortgages. Many opt to rent out the flats and move elsewhere.

In the face of this fiscal reality, the government has changed its focus. In 2013 it introduced a scheme explicitly aimed at the middle class—those who could afford down payments of 40%—and announced that people who had saved the whole price of the property would skip the lottery and head to the front of the queue. While waiting, applicants have to keep putting money into a savings account. If they stop, they are tossed off the list, further weeding out the poor.

Ethiopia is not alone in its struggles. Public-housing programmes have a long history of failure in Africa. They have often focused on large-scale developments on the edges of cities—and proven unaffordable. A recent project on the outskirts of Luanda, the capital of Angola, offers flats starting at $84,000 in a country where the per capita income is just over $6,000 and the median is far lower. In Cameroon the government’s flagship housing programme is out of reach for 80% of the population, says the World Bank. South Africa has built some 3m houses since 1994, which are doled out free of charge, but most are in poor shape.

Officials in Ethiopia talk of moving away from public provision and of allowing foreign firms to participate in the housing scheme. To aid the poor, analysts recommend that the government give them land and help them to build their own homes. Boosting the amount of land available to private developers might also help. Because the government keeps a tight grip on supply, the price of land is steep. In the commercial centre of Addis Ababa a lease can now cost as much as $15,000 per square metre.

Despite the high prices, demand for public housing continues to rise. When a second round of registration for the homes opened in 2013 over 1m people, including Elsa’s 25-year-old daughter, Miqnay, signed up. But many have given up hope. Elsa doesn’t expect Miqnay to receive a flat within the next decade. Thousands who registered back in 2005 are still waiting. “Twelve years really is a joke,” says an exasperated employee at the official centre for commerce in Addis Ababa. “Everybody has concluded that the government cannot do it anymore.”

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• WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
• Atsede Nigussiem, 26, was at home in Tigrai, Ethiopia, when she was attacked
• Husband Haimanot Kahsai, 29, knocked on the door and poured acid over her
• Such is the severity of her injuries, she now has to eat and drink through a straw
• The victim is now awaiting a string of intense surgeries to try and save her face 

By Gareth Davies For Mailonline

A wife has been left blind and unable to speak after her mouth was melted shut when her own husband poured acid all over her face.

Atsede Nigussiem, 26, was at home in Tigrai, Ethiopia, when she opened the door to estranged partner Haimanot Kahsai, 29.

Without warning he launched a sickening acid attack leaving his wife in agony as their five-year-old son Hannibal Kahsai slept inside.

Such is the severity of her injuries, she has to eat and drink through a straw and spends all day crying – one of the few things she can still do.

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Kenya general election 2017
BBC News

Kenya opposition stronghold celebrates at the decision

Kenya’s Supreme Court has annulled the result of last month’s presidential election, citing irregularities, and ordered a new one within 60 days.

The ruling makes Kenya the first African country where an opposition court challenge against presidential poll results has been successful.

The election commission had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes.

But the opposition said voting systems had been hacked, causing massive fraud.

Latest reactions

Eight things about the Kenyan elections

Chief Justice David Maraga said the 8 August election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

He said the verdict was backed by four of the six Supreme Court judges.

The announcement drew cheers from opposition supporters both inside and outside the courtroom.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

What did the judges say was wrong?

Justice Maraga said the election commission had failed “to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution”.

He did not elaborate on any irregularities, but said the court would provide details in a full judgment within 21 days.

Dissenting judges said that the Nasa opposition alliance – which had petitioned the Supreme Court – failed to prove claims that the polls had been rigged.

International election monitors from the EU, the African Union and the US said there had been no major fraud on election day and urged opposition candidate Raila Odinga to concede.

The election sparked days of sporadic protests, in which at least 28 people were killed. The vote had raised fears of major political violence – as was the case after a disputed poll in 2007.

Image copyrightEPA

How have the two sides reacted?

Mr Odinga said the ruling marked “a historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa”.

He added that he had “no faith at all in the electoral commission as currently constituted” and called for the prosecution of its members.

A lawyer for President Kenyatta said the decision had been “very political” but had to be respected.

Senator Irungu Kang’ata, who is from Mr Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party, told Kenyan TV: “The judgement is fake. There is an admission on the part of the chief justice that he has only read a part of the evidence. ”

One of the two dissenting judges, Jackton Ojwang, said: “There is not an iota of merit in invalidating the clear expression of the Kenyan people’s democratic will.”

A huge victory for Odinga – by Dickens Olewe, BBC News

Raila Odinga will feel vindicated against accusations that he was just being a bad loser in challenging President Kenyatta’s win.

However, this historic decision is a massive indictment of the electoral commission. It is therefore no surprise that the opposition Nasa coalition is now calling for a new team to manage the next elections.

This is also a setback for the international, and some local, election observers, who profusely praised the election as free, fair and credible.

People will be watching for the reaction of former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was the head of the mission for US NGO The Carter Centre, whose positive assessment of the election was used in court.

Regardless of the winners and losers following the ruling, this is a proud moment for Kenya. The litigation and debate on the merits of the election was done at the Supreme Court and not on the streets.

Chief Justice Maraga said it best in his opening statement: “The greatness of a nation lies in its fidelity to the constitution and the strict adherence to the rule of law.”

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al-Adha celebration (photo: ENA)

Addis Ababa – Ethiopian Muslims are celebrating the 1438th Eid al-Adha festival across the nation.

Eid al-Adha is considered as the holier of the two Muslim holidays celebrated worldwide each year.

It honors the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael, as an act of obedience to God‘s command.

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BY SERAWR

Europe’s softening stand on Eritrea has sparked fear with in the TPLF, a minority clique now ruling Ethiopia, according to a report broadcasted last week by the Ethiopia Satellite Television, ESAT.

Photo: Meeting between Eritrean President and German delegation led by the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd Müller at State House, Asmara – December 2015.

The complete failing of the TPLF’s long standing policy against Eritrea that emanates from the border conflict and its own claim of Eritrea’s continued supports to Ethiopian freedom forces, has left the regime confused, the report stated citing information and documents it received from sources who work at Ethiopia’s UN branch in New York.

The report describes how the policy was drafted by a member of the TPLF and former General Director of International Organizations, who is now Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the Sudan, Mr Mulugeta Zewde, in collaboration with few TPLF officials and academics – reflecting the organization’s distrust of the other Ethiopian ethics.

The policy that was crafted with the singular goal of bringing regime change in Eritrea by enabling referral of Eritrean leaders to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under the guise of human rights, extending the UN sanction and strengthening the actions of the international community against Eritrea, has become effectively ineffectual.

The report also revealed that the TPLF regime is blaming some specific European countries for the failure of its Eritrea policy. The TPLF carried out a frantic diplomatic campaign to make the now defunct recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea (COIE) enforceable.…

The fact that European countries including Norway, Germany, and Switzerland, have started a common work with Eritrea on the migration problem, and their push in the softening of the European Union stance on Eritrea has become a major headache for the minority TPLF regime in Ethiopia.

The report also stated that the Commission’s report that claims the use of “forced labor” by companies doing business in Eritrea and its subsequent recommendation to hold individuals and groups accountable did not satisfy many members of the European Union; hence the EU has cooled down on the ideas of taking action against Eritrea.

Furthermore, the support Eritrea received from China, Arab countries, some Latin America countries, Egypt and partly the Sudan, has made the issue less significant at the UN. This has extremely infuriated the TPLF officials.

The report noted that the TPLF made attempts using Djibouti and Somalia to pass a very strong resolutions against Eritrea at the UN, which also failed miserably.

The ESAT report also explained how the number of countries that supported the Commission’s resolutions against Eritrea has reduced considerably in 2017 in comparison with the earlier years.

While the Netherlands, Croatia, Belgium, Austria, Canada, Poland, Greece, Ireland and Romania, were the only countries that supported the Commission’s resolution in 2017, there were 2 major sponsors and 19 associate sponsors in 2016, and 7 major sponsors and 16 associate sponsors in 2015.

Having failed at the world stage and in particular with the softening stand of the European countries, the minority regime in Ethiopia is turning to the African Union to draft a way to take action against the Eritrean government.

The ESAT report outlined, the main objectives of the TPLF anti-Eritrea policy was to take action against Ethiopian opposition forces that based inside Eritrea.

The report concluded by revealing that the TPLF is still exerting its utmost effort to revert Europe’s softening stance on Eritrea.

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Lambadina (Photo credit: lambadinamovie.com)

As a new generation of young people who were born abroad to Ethiopian parents comes of age, several voices have emerged to tell the story of their heritage through music, literature and film. The Texas-born, 29-year-old filmmaker Messay Getahun is a rising star among them, with his debut motion picture,Lambadina, making the rounds of film festivals across North America and picking up numerous nominations and awards over the past two years. The film was selected as “Best Film” at the Pan-African Film Festival in Los Angeles, as well as the Montreal International Black Film Festival and the San Francisco Black Film Festival. Finally, after much anticipation, Lambadina will premier in several theaters across Addis Ababa in September. Simultaneously, the movie will debut online for viewers around the world on the new Ethiopian streaming video site- VXEthiopia.com.

Lambadina is a story of a young man named Joseph who endures difficult circumstances during the turmoil of the Derg regime in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — including the loss of his father and the love of his life. Years later, when he is granted permanent residency in the United States, he sets out to find the woman he fell in love with as a young man. The movie has been very well received by Ethiopian diaspora audiences at special screenings in cities including Dallas, Minneapolis and Seattle. But for Messay, who also stars in the film, it has always been his primary goal to release the film in Ethiopia.

“My ultimate desire in in making this film wasn’t just to make a film, but to tell our Ethiopian story to the Western world,” he adds.

As the Ethiopian cinema industry continues to grow, the diversity of the global Ethiopian experience is increasingly being seen in the films that are being produced. With its high production quality and youthful energy, Lambadina raises the bar for Ethiopian filmmaking while presenting a heartwarming story to which audiences around the world — Ethiopian or not — can relate.

For information on upcoming screenings, please visit lambadinamovie.com.

Source: Selamta, The Magazine of Ethiopian Airlines

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Kenya’s Supreme Court has declared the results of last month’s presidential election invalid, and ordered it to be re-run.

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Kenya’s Supreme Court has annulled the result of last month’s presidential election, citing irregularities, and ordered a new one within 60 days.

The election commission had declared incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta the winner by a margin of 1.4 million votes.

Raila Odinga, Mr Kenyatta’s opponent, said the commission was “rotten” and demanded resignations and prosecutions.

President Kenyatta said he would respect the court’s decision but also branded the judges “crooks”.

Other elections in Africa have been annulled or cancelled but this appears to be the first time on the continent that an opposition court challenge against a presidential poll result has been successful.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the 8 August election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

He said the verdict was backed by four of the six Supreme Court judges.

The announcement drew cheers from opposition supporters both inside and outside the courtroom.

The court ruling did not attribute any blame to President Kenyatta’s party or campaign.

What did the judges say was wrong?

Justice Maraga said the election commission had failed “to conduct the presidential election in a manner consistent with the dictates of the constitution”.

He said the commission had committed irregularities “in the transmission of results”, adding that the court would provide details in a full judgment within 21 days.

Dissenting judges said that the Nasa opposition alliance – which had petitioned the Supreme Court – failed to prove claims that the polls had been rigged.

The election sparked days of sporadic protests, in which at least 28 people were killed. The vote had raised fears of major political violence – as was the case after a disputed poll in 2007.

How have the two political sides reacted?

Mr Odinga, 72, said the ruling marked “a historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension for the people of the continent of Africa”.

He said: “It is now clear that the entire [electoral commission] is rotten.

“It is clear that the real election results were never shared with Kenyans. Someone must take responsibility.”

Image copyrightAFP

Mr Odinga added: “We won the elections and we are going to win them again.”

President Kenyatta, in a televised address, said that it was “important to respect the rule of law even if you disagree with the Supreme Court ruling”.

He called for calm, saying: “Your neighbour will still be your neighbour, regardless of what has happened… My primary message today to every single Kenyan is peace. Let us be people of peace.”

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Mr Kenyatta, 55, added: “We are ready to go back again to the people with the same agenda that we delivered to the people.”

The president was more combative later at a rally of supporters in a market in Nairobi.

He referred to Justice Maraga and his fellow judges as wakora (crooks in Swahili), saying they had “decided to cancel the election”. He warned the chief justice that as the poll had been annulled he was now the president again, not president-elect.

“Do you understand me? Maraga should know that he is now dealing with the serving president,” Mr Kenyatta said.

“We are keeping a close eye on them. But let us deal with the election first. We are not afraid.”

And the electoral commission?

Chairman Wafula Chebukati noted the ruling and said there would be “changes to personnel” ahead of the new election.

He invited the director of public prosecutions “to prosecute any of our staff that may have been involved in violations”.

But he ruled out resigning, saying he had not been accused of wrongdoing.

What have the international monitors said?

After the election, international monitors from the EU, the African Union and the US had said there was no major fraud on polling day and urged Mr Odinga to concede.

On Friday, Marietje Schaake, the head of the EU Observer Mission, said the court ruling represented “a historic day for Kenya and we have always said that people who feel aggrieved should seek the path of the courts”.

She said the monitors had at the time pointed to irregularities and encouraged the Kenyan authorities to deal with them.

Ms Schaake said the monitors were awaiting the full details of the ruling.

A huge victory for Odinga

Dickens Olewe, BBC News

Image copyrightAFP

Raila Odinga will feel vindicated against accusations that he was just being a bad loser in challenging President Kenyatta’s win.

However, this historic decision is a massive indictment of the electoral commission. It is therefore no surprise that the opposition Nasa coalition is now calling for a new team to manage the next elections.

This is also a setback for the international, and some local, election observers, who profusely praised the election as free, fair and credible.

People will be watching for the reaction of former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was the head of the mission for US NGO, the Carter Centre, whose positive assessment of the election was used in court.

Regardless of the winners and losers following the ruling, this is a proud moment for Kenya. The litigation and debate on the merits of the election was done at the Supreme Court and not on the streets.

Chief Justice Maraga said it best in his opening statement: “The greatness of a nation lies in its fidelity to the constitution and the strict adherence to the rule of law.”

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Celebrations after new election announced 00:51

Nairobi (CNN)Kenya’s Supreme Court has invalidated the result of last month’s contentious presidential election and ordered a new vote, the first time in Africa that a court has nullified the vote of a sitting leader.

The court upheld a petition filed by opposition candidate Raila Odinga, who claimed the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta on August 8 was fraudulent.

“The presidential election was not conducted in accordance with the constitution, rendering the declared results invalid, null and void,” Chief Justice David Maraga said, ordering fresh elections within 60 days.

Kenya’s opposition presidential candidate Raila Odinga (C) reacts to the Supreme Court ruling in Nairobi on Friday.

In a decision that surprised many observers, including Odinga and his supporters, four out of six justices agreed with opposition arguments that the electoral commission had committed irregularities that invalidated the poll. It also raised questions for international monitors, who had declared the election fair.

Odinga was jubilant as he welcomed what he called a “precedent-setting ruling” by the court.

Kenya election result annulled: Live updates

“For the first time in the history of African democratization, a ruling has been made by a court nullifying the election of a president,” he said. “This indeed is a very historic day for the people of Kenya and by extension the people of the continent of Africa.”

In a televised address to the nation, Kenyatta said he disagreed with the court’s ruling but would respect it.

“I disagree with it because as I’ve said, millions of Kenyans queued, made their choice, and six people have decided that they will go against the will of the people,” he said.

Kenyatta said his primary message was for all Kenyans to keep the peace. “Your neighbor will still be your neighbor regardless of whatever has happened,” he said. “Regardless of their political affiliation, regardless of their religion, regardless of their color, regardless of their tribe.”

Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, flanked by his wife, speaks following the Electoral Commission’s official announcement of the election results on August 11 in Nairobi.

Street celebrations

As news of the court’s decision spread, cheers and celebrations could be heard in parts of the capital, Nairobi. In its Kibera slum, an opposition stronghold where some post-election violence erupted last month, hundreds of supporters danced and sang in the streets, some chanting “Uhuru must go!”

“It does mean a lot to me. I am sure Kenya will be at a better place, I am really happy about the decision,” Roseyln Aoko told CNN.

“I am really happy about today. I have not even had lunch since I heard the results,” said 36-year-old Margaret Akinyi.

Supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga celebrate in Uhuru Park, some carrying Kenyan flags and posters of Odinga.

But it’s not yet clear if the ruling will spark public protests.

Although Kenya’s 2013 election was mainly peaceful, the country plunged into widespread violence in the aftermath of the 2007 vote. More than 1,000 people were killed in months of bloodshed after Odinga — defeated by then-President Mwai Kibaki — claimed the vote was rigged.

After Kenyatta was declared the winner last month by 54% to 45% for Odinga, sporadic violence erupted in some areas, claiming the lives of at least 24 people nationwide.

Odinga is a longtime challenger for the presidency who has yet to claim the country’s top office. Kenyatta, the 55-year-old son of the country’s founding President, has already served one five-year term.

Supporters of Kenya’s opposition leader Raila Odinga celebrate in the streets of Nairobi on Friday.

Kenyatta lawyer: ‘Very political decision’

Kenyatta’s lead counsel, Ahmednassir Abdulahi said in court that his client wanted to see the full judgment to understand how the alleged irregularities would “obliterate” his 1.4 million vote winning margin.

“My lord it’s obvious, and I’m not afraid to say, that this is a very political decision you have made this morning but we will live with the consequences,” Abdulahi said. He added that the will of the people would prevail.

Four out of six justices agreed with the opposition petition. The Supreme Court has seven members but can conduct proceedings as long as five judges are present.

The court has not yet published its full written ruling explaining why the election was invalid but has 60 days to do so.

One of the most contested aspects of the election was the apparent discrepancy between the electronic results as transmitted and the manual count.

Kenyan Supreme Court judges uphold an opposition petition challenging the result of the August 8 presidential election in Nairobi.

The head of Kenya’s electoral body, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, suggested that discrepancy was the basis for the court’s ruling.

“The focus of the decision is in the transmission of presidential results. Therefore there were no aspersions cast on the voting and the counting of the votes,” chairman Wafula Chebukati said.

Chebukati said the commission was committed to ensuring that the new election “is done in accordance with the constitution, the relevant laws” and urged the prosecution of any staffer found to have broken the law. He also said he had no plans to step down.

“The commission urges all Kenyans to remain calm and restrain themselves from any political rhetoric that may undermine the stability and cohesion of our country,” he added.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga smiles and waves to a crowd of his supporters as he leaves the Supreme Court on Friday

In his address after the ruling, Odinga said he had “no faith” in the electoral commission. “They have committed criminal acts. Most of them actually belong in jail and therefore we are going to ask prosecution for all the electoral commission officials who have committed this monstrous crime against the people of Kenya.”

Speaking later at a rally, he also condemned the international election monitors who said there had been no major issues.

“With this courageous verdict we put on trial the international observers who moved so fast to sanitize fraud. Their role must be examined as it is highly politicized and currently puts status quo and stability ahead of a credible election,” he said.

Rights group Amnesty International’s country director Justus Nyang’aya said the “ruling demonstrates the independence of Kenya’s judiciary and sets an example for the rest of the world.” He urged all parties to comply with the judgment and called on police to exercise restraint in their handling of celebrations or protests.

Election monitors

Most of the demonstrators in last month’s post-election were supporters of Odinga, who had called the vote rigged. National election officials dismissed the accusations, however, saying the vote was free and credible.

How Kenyans are using tech to stop election fraud and violence

More than 400 international election monitors were also deployed across the country to monitor voting, the tallying process and the post-election period.

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, who served as an election observer for the Carter Center, said then that while there were “little aberrations here and there,” the election was not rigged.

In one unexplained incident, the head of information technology for Kenya’s Integrated Electoral Management System, Chris Msando, was found murdered days before the vote. His department is responsible for voter-identification and result-transmission technology.

Any unrest in Kenya could have ripple effects far beyond the nation of 47 million people.

As the largest economy in East Africa, Kenya is a crucial trade route to the continent and provides an important buffer of stability in a region that includes the fledgling Somali government and the politically tense Sudan and South Sudan.

Trading on Kenya’s stock exchange, the Nairobi Securities Exchange, was briefly suspended following the ruling but has since resumed.

CNN’s Farai Sevenzo reported from Nairobi and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN’s Briana Duggan and Katie Polglase contributed to this report.

 

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ESAT HR – Interview with Blogger Seyoum Teshome. 1 Sep 2017

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ESAT Latest News September 01, 2017

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BBN Daily Ethiopian News September 1, 2017

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By Matebu Benti, Ph.D.

The political crisis in Ethiopia is getting various dimensions.  The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has divided the country along ethnic lines.  With its infamous Article 39 of the constitution, TPLF has made secession of ethnic groups a constitutional right.  In its 25 years of brutal rule, TPLF-led EPRDF has been inculcating toxic propaganda and hate into young Ethiopians to pit one ethnic group against the other.  The cruel ruling of TPLF being with its divisive and hate-filled strategy has brought the country to the current state of political crisis.  TPLF has been setting Ethiopia for destruction.  The current most pressing problem in Ethiopia is the systemic and multidimensional human right abuse by the TPLF-led regime.

Such threat to the people of Ethiopia and the unity of the country can be averted when Ethiopians stand united, find a common ground, and fight tyranny, brutality, and get rid of the TPLF dictatorial regime and the system it established.  On the contrary, some self-proclaimed Oromo political leaders, who present themselves as academics, are repeating the very thing they claim to oppose and worsening the suffering of Ethiopians.  They are echoing the TPLF strategies that are being used to divide and rule Ethiopia.

Knowing that Ethiopians have high regard to academicians, these individuals are harboring under their academic rank and academic institutions and engaging in fighting Ethiopia and Ethiopian unity through their noxious and hate-mongering propaganda that they disseminate on the Oromo Media Network (OMN).  These individuals’ political platform is just hate to Ethiopia and Ethiopian unity.  Among these bad actors are Dr. Tsegaye Ararsa, the former EPRDF cadre trainer at the TPLF-run Civil Service College and TPLF loyalist, who deceitfully claim to be currently a professor at University of Melbourne; Dr. Abbas Haji Ganamo, the Ryerson University, Professor Ezekiel Gebissa, Kettering University ; and Jawar Mohammed, OMN; and  Etana Habte, a student at University of London  These individuals are using OMN and targeting the young Ethiopians from Oromia region who are suffering under the oppressive and brutal power of TPLF.

While thousands of Ethiopians are being heinously killed, tortured, and imprisoned by the TPLF-led EPRDF, these OMN pseudo intellectual groups, are exploiting the current dire situations in Ethiopia, manipulating the psychology of the victims, waging a propaganda war on what they call Amhara, Ethiopia, and Ethiopian unity.  It would be a big mistake to let these individuals and OMN unabated and to let them continue their hate movement that could lead to ethnic strife in Ethiopia and destroy the country and the future of the young generation.

Should we give a free pass to these individuals who reside in western countries and poison the whole political discourse in Ethiopia by ethnicizing every grievance?  Blind acceptance of this toxic propaganda or being aloof of this negative campaign is tantamount to contributing to their destructive agenda.  It is akin to letting our house being destroyed by fire.  We should not let the divisive fabrication thrive and our country lead into ethnic conflict.  Ethiopians from different corners of the country, regardless of their ethnic origin, should speak out when such individuals impose their evil views on the already suffering Ethiopians.

OMN and these individuals apply the following strategies to disseminate hate and mobilize people in Oromia areas towards their sinister goal, which is a separation of the Oromigna-speaking Ethiopians from the rest of Ethiopia.  From their practice, we can see this hate group, and OMN uses the following strategies:

1. Creating a political movement on the basis of Islam and ethnic lines. Jawar Mohammed, the current Executive Director of OMN, as can be seen on the video, appealed to Muslims, and tried to mobilize Oromos on the basis of Islam.  In his words, this what he said:   “እኔ ባለሁበት 99 በመቶ ሙስሊም ነው። ደፍሮ ቀና የሚል የለም አንገታቸውን ነው በሜንጫ የምንለው።  …. ኦሮሞ በተነካ ቁጥር እስልምና ይነካል። እስልምና በተነካ ቁጥር ኦሮሞ ይነካል። የኦሮሞ ህዝብ መጠናከር የእስልምና መጠናከር ነው።   አክሱም ላይ መስጊድ የምትሰሩት ኦሮሞ ሲጠናከር ነው።” This translated as, “Where I live[d] 99% is Muslim.  No one can have the courage to stay upright.  If they [referring to Christians or Amharas] have the courage to do so, we will hit their neck with a sword.  Whenever Oromo is affected, Islam is affected.  The strength of the Oromo people is the strength of Islam.  You can build a mosque at Axum when Oromo get stronger.”  This is an obvious campaign to create a political Islam, which is extremely dangerous move.  Political movement around radical Islam is destroying many countries.  Radicalizing the Muslim Oromos in Ethiopia will be a catastrophe not only for Ethiopia, a model country, for Christians and Muslims to have peacefully lived together for centuries but also for the entire geographic region.
2. Fighting Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. This is a recent one being pushed by Dr. Tsegaye Ararsa.  This is what Tsegaye Ararsa put on his Facebook: “ If Alithad or its third generation offspring (Alshabab) was a political Islam in Somalia, Ethiopian Orthodox church would be the exact opposite of that, i.e., a political ..but even older than the former by thousands of years. Why should the world fight only political Islamists while sparing their dumpiest counterpart in the horn of Africa or elsewhere??”  By attacking Ethiopian Orthodox Church, this group attempts to attack the long-standing history and the unity of Ethiopia
3. Attacking Ethiopian unity, Ethiopian history, and everything that symbolizes Ethiopia. Tsegaye Ararsa, who was a teacher at the TPLF cadres’ college (Civil Service University) and who is the Dr. Joseph Goebbels of this movement, repeatedly stated, “Ethiopians do not have a national identity.”  He further tried to elaborate his point saying that Ethiopian identity is for Amhara and Tigre only.  Dr. Tsegay Ararsa also wrote, “Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia did deny his being black.  This is to smear the name of one of the greatest black African leader.  Emperor Menelik II led the Battle of Adwa, defeated the fascist Italian invaders, and inspired black people all over the world in their struggle for independence.  Emperor Menelik II symbolizes Ethiopia and Ethiopian unity.  By discrediting his immense contribution that the world witnessed, the hate groups are attacking Ethiopia.  Attacking Emperor Menelik II has become the day-to-day activity of OMN.  This is done by design to fabricate a hate-ridden story and to disintegrate Ethiopia.
4. Using pseudo-academic discourse and misinforming and misleading the regular people- One of the deliberate deception constantly broadcast by OMN, Aljazeera, Asafa Jalata and Dr. Abbas Haji Ganamo, is that  “between 1868 and 1900, half of all Oromo were killed, around 5 million people.”  A rational person first asks whether there were 10 million Oromos during that period. This is a white lie by the so-called Professor Abbas Haji Ganamo and Asafa Jalata who are the shame of the higher institutions they come from.  An academic should always be a skeptic and should question its sources and verify its accuracy.  One needs not to be a genius to refute their claim.  In 1950, the population of Ethiopia was 18 million.  In the last sixty-five years, the Ethiopian population has grown on average by about 2.7% every year.  Given this population trend, in 1887, the total Ethiopian population was estimated to be between three to four million.  Abbas Haji Ganamo and Asafa Jaleta have been deliberately echoing this poisonous lie to create havoc in Ethiopia.  This is a shameful and unethical act in the academic world.

Recently, Dr. Abbas Haji Ganamo, Etana Habte and had Dr. Ezekiel Gabissa appeared on OMN. This discussion clearly shows the severity of hate campaign that this group is propagating.  The discussion was very irresponsible, very graphic, and violence inciting in its presentation.  May almighty God save Ethiopia.  These individuals are setting a stage for ethnic war in Ethiopia.  These are some of the things what Professor Abbas Haji Ganamo said:  “Someone in Bale told me that his father had told him that he had seen when the Minelik’s army had brought a piece of cloth immersed with disease and killed all the members of some of the tribes except one person.“ Professor Ganamo also said that “the blood of the Oromos killed flew like a flood and joined a river.”  Why does a university professor with his old age irresponsibly say this to the media without even trying to check the reliability of the information?  Was Emperor Menelik’s army of the 1880s so sophisticated to create and handle biological weapons?  How could a professor teaching in the civilized world believe this and speak on a media?  How could a person, with his bare eyes, see and identify a disease-carrying cloth?  How many people should be killed at one place for the blood to flow like a flood and join a river?  Ethiopians should not let such dangerous white lie unchallenged.  The discussion on OMN is reminiscent of the hate propaganda that led to the Arbagugu and Bedeno genocide of the Amharas, whoever was the perpetrator.  No one should allow that to happen again because of these hatemongers.

5. Opposing any movement that leads to unity among Ethiopians of various backgrounds: Using seemingly academic discourse, the OMN group ethincizes  Any organization that is not organized on the basis of ethnicity or religion is opposed by these hate mongering individuals.  They even call those Ethiopians who are not organized on ethnic lines as “homeless politicians”.  For this hate group, Ethiopian identity is a hoax.  They even went even further and encouraged others to be organized based on ethnicity to destroy the values that glued Ethiopians together irrespective of ethnic differences.  This is one of their approaches to dismantle Ethiopian.

The most important question here is, why attacking Ethiopia and Ethiopian unity and broadcasting of hate become the top priority of this OMN group while Ethiopians are suffering under the ruthless TPLF who murdered thousands of Ethiopians.  Since November 2015, about 1000 Ethiopians were killed by TPLF-EPRDF.  Thousands are imprisoned and being tortured.  Thousands are fleeing the country and dying in the ocean.  The Ethiopian political leaders like Bekele Gerba, Dr. Merara Gudina, Andualem Arage; and journalists like Eskinder Nega and Temesgen Desalign and many others are languishing in the TPLF dungeon.  Defenseless Ethiopians are crying for help.  Those who committed the crime are walking freely and making the victims laughingstock.  Those who killed the young man and forced his mother to sit on her son’s dead body did not face justice.  Instead of emancipating Ethiopians who are under the yoke of the brutal TPLF, the OMN group is giving a propaganda opportunity to TPLF and pushing Ethiopia into a civil war.  This is a period for the current generation, and this is the foundation for the coming generation.  We cannot stay trapped in our past mishaps.  We all have a moral and civic obligation to do soul-searching and work together to bring positive changes in Ethiopia.  By disseminating hate, no one will benefit.  When we have differences, we should disagree constructively not to destroy one another.  Hate can never ever be a solution.

The post Toxic Propaganda Targeted at Ethiopia and Ethiopian Unity: The Divisive Strategies – Matebu Benti, Ph.D. appeared first on Satenaw: Ethiopian News|Breaking News: Your right to know!.

Hiber Radio interview with Ato Chalachew Abay

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Ermias Eshetu, the CEO of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX), has tendered his resignation letter to the board of directors of the trading enterprise.

The resignation of Ermias stunned many as it came at a time when the CEO was attempting to restructure ECX and introduce new trading services and working procedures. Though the resignation of the CEO is not yet made public reliable sources told The Reporter that the board of directors of ECX is holding an in-depth evaluation on the executive management including the CEO.

Sources said the rigorous evaluation has prompted the CEO to leave his position. According to sources, the board of directors of ECX has accepted the resignation letter of the CEO. However, Ermias would stay in office until the board finds a successor.

According to sources, the stringent evaluation held last week lasted until 5PM in the evening. “The evaluation dwelled on the performance of the trading floor (ECX) and on the issue of who should leave and who should remain in office. The CEO tendered his resignation letter in the wake of the in-depth evaluation,” sources told The Reporter.

The management of ECX declined to comment on the matter. The Reporter’s repeated attempts to reach Ermias could not be successful.

Ermias’s decision took many by surprise as he was publicising the new working procedures he was planning to introduce in ECX. Sources said the board’s in-depth evaluation aimed at reforming the ECX. According to sources, the evaluation is part of the board’s efforts to identify the weaknesses of ECX and reform the organization.

ECX was established by the acclaimed entrepreneur and intellectual Elleni Gebremedihn (PhD) in 2008. After the first CEO left her position Anteneh Abraham, former vice president of Abyssinia Bank, managed ECX for a short period of the time. Anteneh resigned due to illness.

Ermias replaced Anteneh three years ago. Ermias, 42, previously served Zemen Bank as vice president. Ermias is a returnee from the UK, where he lived for 20 years. In the UK, he served global IT giants including IBM and Alcatel.

Source -the reporter ethiopia

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Raya Beer Responds To Their Controversial Commercial |

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WRITTEN BY Abdi Latif Dahir@Lattif
Quartz

The Maekelawi detention center in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, has a reputation as a site for the detention, investigation, and abuse of protesters and opposition politicians. For three months in 2014, it was blogger and human rights activist Atnaf Berhane’s home. Charged with terrorism for his critical writing and reporting on the government, Berhane says he was kept in a dark cell with no sunlight and questioned up to eight hours a day.

In an unexpected move on Wednesday (Jan. 3), Ethiopia’s government announced that it would close Maekelawi, release its political prisoners, including those awaiting trial, and turn the controversial facility into a museum. In a press conference, prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the move was aimed at creating national consensus, opening up political dialogue, and widening the democratic space. “Politicians currently under prosecution and those previously sentenced will either have their cases annulled or be pardoned,” Desalegn said.

Berhane, who was at home when the news first broke, was astonished by the decision. “I didn’t expect that the ruling party would admit that there are political prisoners in Ethiopia,” said the 28-year-old, who is out on bail while defending his case.

The announcement follows weeks of meetings between the four political parties that make up the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition, which has governed Africa’s second most populous country since 1991. The decision is a peace offering, observers say, meant to appease growing internal discord that has threatened to bring the country to the brink of collapse.

Ethiopia has struggled to deal with ongoing protests by the country’s two largest communities, the Oromo and Amhara, who are calling for an end to decades of systemic exclusion. (The government is primarily controlled by the minority Tigray community.) The government has reacted to these protests with force, drawing sharp criticism from Ethiopia’s allies in the West. The unrest has jeopardized the country’s booming economy and its place as an important center for global apparel sourcing.

Hassen Hussein, a Horn of Africa analyst and assistant professor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota, says the recent concessions constitute the most significant change in Ethiopia in the last three years. “It is a step towards more openness,” Hassen said. “The devil would still be in the details and reversals are possible. So the next two to three weeks will be the most crucial to watch.”

Questions still loom over the plan, such as who qualifies as a political prisoner, how many will be released and under which preconditions, and when Maekelawi will be closed.

Mohammed Ademo, the editor of the OPride, a website that reports on the Oromo diaspora and advocates for social justice in Ethiopia, wants the government to urgently release more details about Maekelawi, including “the fate of dozens of people, mostly Oromo leaders, who disappeared without a trace and are allegedly being held in secret prisons since 1991. Their families need closure,” Ademo said. Only by acknowledging the true extent of the ill-treatment at Ethiopian prisons, military camps, and police stations can “a true healing and national reconciliation commence.”

Human rights organizations believe the prisoner release will only be meaningful if followed by serious political and human rights reforms. These include opening up space for free speech and political protests, distributing power within the security sector, and reforming electoral laws to allow for robust participation.

They’d also like the government to curb its surveillance of critics and lift its restrictions on the media and the internet. Five journalists are currently imprisoned in the country, according to Courtney Radsch, an advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists. Radsch hopes the journalists will be released along with the political prisoners and the charges against them dropped.

Berhane is hopeful that prisoners like journalist Eskinder Nega and opposition party leader Andualem Aragie, who were sentenced several years ago to 18 years and life respectively, will be part of the release. The idea is “so exciting,” Berhane said. “It puts me in tears.”

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BBC News

Hailemariam Desalegn said a new detention centre will comply with international standards

Ethiopia’s government has denied that all political prisoners will be freed, saying that only some imprisoned politicians will be pardoned.

An aide to the prime minister said a mistranslation led to him being quoted as saying that all political prisoners would be freed to promote dialogue.

The prime minster also said a detention centre, allegedly used as a torture chamber, would be shut.

Ethiopia has been hit by a wave of political unrest in recent years.

Amnesty International welcomed the initial announcement, saying it could signal “the end of an era of bloody repression in Ethiopia” – although it warned that the closure of the Maekelawi detention centre should not be used to “whitewash” the “horrifying” events which took place under its roof.

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Ethiopia has always denied that there were any political prisoners in the country, as alleged by human rights and opposition groups.

In a statement on Thursday, Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn’s office said that “some members of political parties and other individuals that have been allegedly suspected of committing crimes or those convicted will be pardoned or their cases interrupted based on an assessment that will be made so as to establish a national consensus and widen the political sphere”.

It remains unclear how many people will be freed, or when.

One of the main opposition groups, the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Unity Forum (Medrek), said the government often engaged in “face-saving” measures and tried to “buy time” when it was “cornered”.

Medrek was, nevertheless, prepared to enter into dialogue with the government, if it was genuine and the talks led to free and fair elections, said the group’s deputy leader, Beyene Petros.

Who are the prisoners?
Those held in jails across the country include opposition activists from the Amhara and Oromia regions, which were at the centre of anti-government protests in 2015 and 2016, and journalists who have criticised the government, says BBC Ethiopia correspondent Emmanuel Igunza.

The prisoners also include UK citizen Andargachew Tsege, who was seized in 2014 when changing planes in Yemen and forced to go to Ethiopia, where he had been sentenced to death in absentia for his political activities against the state.

It is difficult to know exactly how many politicians have been imprisoned, but our correspondent estimates that about 1,000 are held under the country’s anti-terrorism proclamation, including high profile leaders from the opposition.

However, there are another 5,000 cases still pending, made up of those arrested after a state of emergency was declared in October 2016, he adds.

Will they actually be released?
The government has given no timeline on the release of the prisoners, including those still awaiting trial.

Our reporter notes a number of cases have political backgrounds, but are also linked to groups the government considers to be terrorists. Nineteen people linked to Ginbot 7 – deemed a terror group – were sentenced to prison terms just this week.

Anti-government protester in EthiopiaImage copyrightAFP
Image caption
Thousands have been detained since anti-government protests broke out
Whether they will all be released remains to be seen.

Any dialogue would have to include legitimate opposition groups like the Oromo Federalist Congress, whose leaders would have to be freed to fully participate in the process, our correspondent says.

What about the detention centre?
As well as releasing the prisoners, Mr Hailemariam announced the closure of Maekelawi – a detention facility in the capital, Addis Ababa, which Amnesty International described as a “torture chamber used by the Ethiopian authorities to brutally interrogate anybody who dares to dissent, including peaceful protesters, journalists and opposition figures”.

“A new chapter for human rights will only be possible if all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment are effectively investigated and those responsible brought to justice,” Amnesty International added.

The government strongly denies the torture allegations, but it has now decided the prison will become a “modern museum” – a move the privately-owned Addis Standard newspaper called for in an editorial in 2016.

A new detention centre will be opened, Mr Hailemariam said, which would comply with international standards.

Why now?
Our correspondent says detentions have always been a major concern. In December, social media users staged a day of action to remember those held behind bars.

Media captionEthiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn on regional concerns and human rights
But this decision comes hot on the heels of a meeting between the parties which make up the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition.

Over the past months, infighting within the coalition, which has been in power for more than 25 years, has led the prime minister to acknowledge the need for change.

The Oromo Peoples’ Democratic Organization and the Amhara National Democratic Movement, which are part of the coalition, have been pushing for increased political space and the “respect of their people” following the massive anti-government demonstrations that have been witnessed in the country.

Who is Hailemariam Desalegn?
A trained engineer, Mr Hailemariam took the reins of power in 2012, after the death of Meles Zenawi, who had ruled since 1991.

However, while the former deputy prime minister was a close ally of Mr Meles, he struggled to gain approval of the other EPRDF leaders in order to assume his new role.

He is not known for tolerating dissent well, despite statements to the contrary, his critics say.

In 2016, he blamed “anti-peace forces” for the violence in the Oromia region, a year after he told the BBC that bloggers and reporters arrested were not real journalists and had terror links.

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African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat

The President of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Moussa Faki Mahamat, today celebrated the announcement made by Ethiopia to pardon or suspend the ongoing judicial cases of members of political parties and other people.

From the headquarters of the organization, Faki Mahamat praised the Ethiopian authorities for this important and far-sighted decision, and for their commitment to foster national consensus and expand the democratic space.

The measure, announced the day before by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, also implies the closure of the detention center of Maekelawi, accused of holding illegal interrogations and practicing torture.

Faki Mahamat emphasizes that the measures initiated by Desalegn will help create an enabling environment for the search and consolidation of the impressive socio-economic achievements of Ethiopia over the last decade.

These steps will also improve the stability of the country, which is very important for the region and for Africa in general, the official said in a statement released by the AU.

The president of the Commission also appealed to all Ethiopians, regardless of their political affiliations, to adopt and maintain the spirit of forgiveness and unity in the interest of their country.

Source- .plenglish.com

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