The Ethiopia in the heart of the Amhara!

by Menyelek
I declare, “A house can stand divided!” the concern should be how long can the pillars hold, before the foundation cracks? The division in Ethiopia today is evident thought out political norms, social structures, individual rights, ethnic representation, personal development and freedom as a member of the state. In the state of anger following the current revelation of the continued and expanded Amhara cleansing “eviction”, anger may be the first reaction… so what comes after the anger?… Silence? Fear? Ignorance? We must not fall in their trap to the ethnic federalist schema of the totalitarian governance manifesto, for they loathe not the Amhara, but the “Ethiopiawinet” with in the Amhara. This government has rewritten history, manipulated significant moments, changed proven facts to discredit the people, culture and identity of Amhara, for they always have stood defense of the true identity of Ethiopia. This defense has been a hurdle for this regime.
They cannot claim to govern with legitimacy in a federation of ethnic equality, if one of the groups within the state inherently refuses to identify it’s self ethnically, but rather with equality of the national state. Much has been said and asked of the reasons to why, this regimes actions towards Amhara people, and the hate they continuously display towards this ethnicity. There are two elements I will pinpoint, the first an ideological manifest, at the heart of this government from its inception and the other practical domination discernible of this government. First the hate of the Amhara/Ethiopiawinet and second the need to hold onto power at all cost.
Abraham Lincoln anticipating the direction of the cliff his nation was heading he stated, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free”. In Ethiopia we have 1% slave owner, 99% slaves, kept in silence, ignorance and constant fear through the barrel of a gun. Yet, the pillars of the Nation are holding strong, collapse is imminent if we do not realize the damages and act with urgency. National identity is a column of incessant strength of a free state, internally and externally. This pillar is and has been held together by the instinctive believe and love of the nation of Ethiopia by the Amahara people. In opposition to all that has been done for the last two decades, it is in the Amhara DNA, to say, “I am Ethiopian first, Amhara second”, where other ethnicities have been manipulated into thinking the opposite.
Ethnic Identity
The ethnic identity of the Stalin doctrine, decisions made by one mind; implemented through the controlling class by unelected bureaucrats controlling state matters with farce elections, without real consequence and consent of the governed. In this structure ethnic differences keep the other ethnicities silent, giving the governing minority freedom to rule, through manipulation, fear and misinformation. National resolutions are solely the concern of the governing, the governed ethnicities/states/ minorities are to only compete amongst one another for their share, They are not to think at all on matter which have to do with National identity for that is shaking the foundations for the same political pillars on which the Nation is being controlled.
Power and greed

Human Rights Watch World Report 2013 – Ethiopia

The sudden death in August 2012 of Ethiopia’s long-serving and powerful prime minister, Meles Zenawi, provoked uncertainty over the country’s political transition, both domestically and among Ethiopia’s international partners. Ethiopia’s human rights record has sharply deteriorated, especially over the past few years, and although a new prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, took office in September, it remains to be seen whether the government under his leadership will undertake human rights reforms.
Ethiopian authorities continued to severely restrict basic rights of freedom of expression, association, and assembly in 2012. Thirty journalists and opposition members were convicted under the country’s vague Anti-Terrorism Proclamation of 2009.The security forces responded to protests by the Muslim community in Oromia and Addis Ababa, the capital, with arbitrary arrests, detentions, and beatings.
The Ethiopian government continues to implement its “villagization” program: the resettlement of 1.5 million rural villagers in five regions of Ethiopia ostensibly to increase their access to basic services. Many villagers in Gambella region have been forcibly displaced, causing considerable hardship. The government is also forcibly displacing indigenous pastoral communities in Ethiopia’s Lower Omo Valley to make way for state-run sugar plantations.
Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly
Since the promulgation in 2009 of the Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSO Law), which regulates nongovernmental organizations, and the AntiTerrorism Proclamation, freedom of expression, assembly, and association have been increasingly restricted in Ethiopia. The effect of these two laws, coupled with the government’s widespread and persistent harassment, threats, and intimidation of civil society activists, journalists, and others who comment on sensitive issues or express views critical of government policy, has been severe. Ethiopia’s most important human rights groups have been compelled to dramatically scale-down operations or remove human rights activities from their man dates, and an unknown number of organizations have closed entirely. Several of the country’s most experienced and reputable human rights activists have fled the country due to threats. The environment is equally hostile for independent media: more journalists have fled Ethiopia than any other country in the world due to threats and intimidation in the last decade—at least 79, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
The Anti-Terrorism Proclamation is being used to target perceived opponents, stifle dissent, and silence journalists. In 2012, 30 political activists, opposition party members, and journalists were convicted on vaguely defined terrorism offenses. Eleven journalists have been convicted under the law since 2011.
On January 26, a court in Addis Ababa sentenced both deputy editor Woubshet Taye and columnist Reeyot Alemu of the now-defunct weekly Awramaba Times to 14 years in prison. Reeyot’s sentence was later reduced to five years upon
appeal and most of the charges were dropped.
On July 13, veteran journalist and blogger Eskinder Nega, who won the prestigious PEN America Freedom to Write Award in April, was sentenced to 18 years in prison along with other journalists, opposition party members, and political
activists. Exiled journalists Abiye Teklemariam and Mesfin Negash were sentenced to eight years each in absentia under a provision of the Anti-Terrorism Law that has so far only been used against journalists. Andualem Arage, a member of the registered opposition party Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), was sentenced to life for espionage, “disrupting the constitutional order,” and recruitment and training to commit terrorist acts.
In September, the Ethiopian Federal High Court ordered the property of Eskinder Nega, exiled journalist Abebe Belew, and opposition member Andualem Arage to be confiscated.
On July 20, after the government claimed that reports by the newspaper Feteh on Muslim protests and the prime minister’s health would endanger national security, it seized the entire print run of the paper. On August 24, Feteh’s editor, Temesghen Desalegn was arrested and denied bail. He was released on August 28, and all the charges were withdrawn pending further investigation.
Police on July 20 raided the home of journalist Yesuf Getachew, editor-in-chief of the popular Muslim magazine Yemuslimoche Guday (Muslim Affairs), and arrested him that night. The magazine has not been published since, and at this writing, Yesuf remained in detention.
On December 27, 2011, two Swedish journalists, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, were found guilty of supporting a terrorist organization after being arrested while traveling in eastern Ethiopia with the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), an outlawed armed insurgent group. They were also convicted of entering the country illegally. The court sentenced them to 11 years in prison. On September 10, they were pardoned and released along with more than 1,950 other prisoners as part of Ethiopia’s annual tradition of amnesty to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year.
On several occasions in July, federal police used excessive force, including beatings, to disperse largely Muslim protesters opposing the government’s interference with the country’s Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs. On July 13, police forcibly entered the Awalia mosque in Addis Ababa, smashing windows and firing tear gas inside the mosque. On July 21, they forcibly broke up a sit-in at the mosque. From July 19 to 21, dozens of people were rounded up and 17 prominent leaders were

Ethiopia: Sudanese Refugees Relocated to Camp in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa — The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has relocated over 1,480 Sudanese refugees from the border to Sherkole camp in Ethiopia pushing the capacity of the camp beyond the initial limit of 9,000 people.
In a statement the UNHCR in Ethiopia said the refugees who had originally been displaced by the conflict in Sudan's eastern Blue Nile state were relocated during March and April.
The Sudanese refugees were being sheltered among host communities along the Ethiopia-Sudan border since their arrival in 2011 hoping to return when stability is restored.
But with the security situation in Blue Nile state still uncertain the UN refugee agency said it is planning to relocate more Sudanese refugee from the borders to camps further inside Ethiopia.
Ethiopia's Agency for Refugees and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) - which is an implementing partner of the UNHCR - said that some 2,000 more Sudanese are ready to be relocated soon.
Currently Ethiopia hosts nearly 90,000 Sudanese refugees who make up 22.5% of the total over 397,000 refugees currently Ethiopia shelters.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS:
The UNHCR believes that continuing conflict and access to humanitarian aid in Blue Nile and Kordofan states would possibly drive more Sudanese to seek refuge in Ethiopia.
With the Sudanese government and SPLM-N as yet unable to reach a peace accord, the UNHCR said Assosa town in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region will remain in emergency preparedness mode to receive new refugees.
The AU-mediated peace talks between the Sudanese government and the SPLM-N held last month in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, ended with no breakthrough.
The two sides failed to reach agreement on the central issues of the conflict as well as providing humanitarian aid to conflict-affected regions.
Further more the UNHCR and its partners are planning to expand Kutaworke transit centre within Sherkole camp with the aim of using it as a temporary shelter in the event of a large scale of influx.
"In the meantime, UNHCR is following up with ARRA and the regional authorities on the approval of the site for a 4th camp" it said.
DISEASE OUTBREAK:
The UNHCR meanwhile said Sudanese refugees continue to arrive in Ethiopia from camps in Upper Nile where the outbreak of Hepatitis-E is confirmed.
To tackle a potential spread of the disease to the camps in Ethiopia a multi-agency task force has been established to develop and implement a Hepatitis-E preparedness plan.
According to UNHCR officials there is a legitimate possibility that the disease could be prevalent within Blue Nile state.
"UNHCR and ARRA have been meeting with the Regional Health Bureau, WHO and UNICEF to strengthen coordination between the host community and Refugee operations regarding epidemic preparedness and response", the UN body's statement said.

Monster tornado kills at least 51 in Oklahoma town

By Alice Mannette, Reuters
May 21, 2013
MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - A 2-mile-wide (3-km-wide) tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing at least 51 people while destroying entire tracts of homes, piling cars atop one another, and trapping two dozen school children beneath rubble.

Twenty of the 51 confirmed deaths were children, the Oklahoma medical examiner said, and at least 45 of the 230 people injured were children, according to area hospitals. It was the deadliest U.S. tornado since one killed 161 people in Joplin, Missouri, two years ago.
President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts.
Rescue teams raced against the setting sun and worked into the darkness in search of survivors throughout the wide swath of devastation, while the dangerous storm system threatened several southern Plains states with more twisters. Severe weather was expected through the night from the Great Lakes south to Texas.
Emergency crews searched the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary School for two dozen missing children, Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb said. The school took a direct hit from the tornado, Lamb told CNN.
The town of Moore, population about 50,000, was devastated with debris everywhere, street signs gone, lights out and houses completely obliterated.
Another elementary school and a hospital were among the buildings leveled.
"We thought we died because we were inside the cellar door...It ripped open the door and just glass and debris started slamming on us and we thought we were dead to be honest," survivor Ricky Stover said while surveying the devastated remains of his home.
Cyndi Christopher was at work and went to pick up her son from daycare when she heard the storm warning. After taking her son home, she was forced to flee when she noticed the storm was coming their way.
"I drove as fast as I could and I outran the storm," Christopher said.
The National Weather Service assigned the twister a preliminary ranking of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning the second most powerful category of tornado with winds up to 200 miles per hour (320 km per hour).
Witnesses said Monday's tornado appeared more fierce than the giant twister that was among the dozens that tore up the area on May 3, 1999, killing more than 40 people and destroying thousands of homes. That tornado ranked as an EF5, meaning it had winds over 200 mph.
The 1999 event in Oklahoma ranks as the third-costliest tornado in U.S. history, having caused more than $1 billion in damage at the time, or more than $1.3 billion in today's dollars. Only the devastating Joplin and Tuscaloosa tornadoes in 2011 were more costly.
The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center provided the town with a warning 16 minutes before the tornado touched down at 3:01 p.m. local time (4.01 p.m. EDT), which is greater than the average eight to 10 minutes of warning, said Keli Pirtle, a spokeswoman for the center in Norman, Oklahoma.
The notice was upgraded to emergency warning with "heightened language" at 2:56 p.m., or five minutes before the tornado touched down, Pirtle said.
Television media measured the tornado at more than 2 miles wide, with images showing entire neighborhoods flattened.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a temporary flight restriction that allowed only relief aircraft in the area, saying it was at the request of local police who wanted quiet to search for buried survivors.
Oklahoma activated the National Guard, and the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency activated teams to support recovery operations and coordinate responses for multiple agencies.
SCHOOL IN TWISTER'S PATH
Briarwood Elementary School, which also stood in the storm's path, was all but destroyed. On the first floor, sections of walls had been peeled away, affording clear views into the building, while in other areas, cars hurled by the storm winds were lodged in the walls.
Across the street, people picked through the remains of their homes.
The number of injured as reported by several hospitals rose rapidly throughout the afternoon.
Oklahoma University Medical Center alone was treating 65 patients, 45 of them children, though it was no longer expecting a further mass influx of casualties, spokesman Scott Coppenbarger said.
Moore Medical Center sustained significant damage.
"The whole city looks like a debris field," Glenn Lewis, the mayor of Moore, told NBC.
"It looks like we have lost our hospital. I drove by there a while ago and it's pretty much destroyed," Lewis said.
The massive twister struck at the height of tornado season, and more were forecast. On Sunday, tornadoes killed two people and injured 39 in Oklahoma.
(Additional reporting by Lindsay Morris, Carey Gillam, Nick Carey, Brendan O'Brien and Greg McCune; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Jim Loney and Lisa Shumaker)

BBC’s George Alagiah Show at African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa

 

by Tedla Asfaw

GMT BBC World News of this morning, May 20, 2013, from 7am to 8am ET devoted 15 minutes of its time on George Alagiah or George, one of its correspondents on mission to cover the 50th anniversary of OAU/AU in Addis Ababa. The Headlines News on BBC tells its listeners that Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economy in the world. The small shoe factory, the coffee bean exporter who promised to bring British financed machinery to export the finished coffee product to the world market was the success story to support the claim.

George Alagiah/BBC’s PHOTO

George was honored by ringing the bell on the floor of Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, the first of its kind in Africa according to BBC. These “economic miracles” and similar “owned” by the very few minority ethnicity are what the BBC Headlines declared the fastest growing economy of Ethiopia. Prime Minster Hailemariam Desalegn who was interviewed on the program was boasting of converting Ethiopia to manufacturing or industrialized country in the coming decade. However, China will not be happy mentioning Taiwan as one of the models for Ethiopia. Hailemariam is not as sharp as the late Meles Zenawi. Is Ethiopia doing business with both Taiwan and China?
George’s AU Show in the coming day or days will cover the roads and buildings in Addis Ababa to support the march to industrialization. If he travels to the outskirts of Addis Ababa flower farms which is bringing in hard currency for the ruling mafia are replacing food producing farm lands. If he goes far he will see the mechanized farm of Sheik Al Amoudi and similar huge tracts of land under the control of the foreign landlords and the government. All these “growth” are at the expense of small farmers and indigenous people. The British development agency and USAID are financing the land grab. Europe has its flower and America has its security, period!
George invited two students from university, two street dancers and one female architect to his show at AU Studio this morning. The street was very quiet looked like the Green Zone of America in Baghdad. We did not see the security forces but I can assure you that George Show was well protected not from ” terrorists” but from the wider public. If George wants to talk to the young people he could have gone to schools and colleges, why did he ask the school and college to come to him ? He went to Ethiopian Commodity Exchange floor why not go to the universities ? The truth is this. He is in total control by his hosts, the government cadres, because Ethiopia is run by armed group of minority clique which bans free assembly and speech throughout the country. Speech and Assembly are only allowed under the eye of security thugs or government picked paid agents.
The women Architect who informed us that she wants to stay in Ethiopia because construction is booming. If George goes around freely which he might not will find hundreds if not thousands of doctors leaving hospitals not because of lack of job but because of lack of basic freedom in Ethiopia. I challenge George to take his show to the people not bringing selected people to his studio at AU and feeding us tons of propaganda which the Ethiopian people are tired of.
The one minute talk about human rights with Hailemariam Desalegn is very shameful. For BBC what matters is “Food growth” not “Freedom”. I want to give tip to George before he finished his AU Show most likely at the end of this week to Visit the Anwar Mosque and Kaliti Jail in Addis. If you are Muslim you can pray if not wait and follow the prayer. Talk to the young female and male and ask them what “growth” means to them. The journalists and political leaders locked up at Kaliti will not be allowed to talk, some were shipped out not to spoil the AU Show, but why not try to talk to family members, mothers,fathers, wives,husbands and children, who are coming daily for year or years to see their loved ones
Last but not least I want George to cover the peaceful rally of May 25 organized by the newly formed Blue Party/Semayawi of Ethiopia (Blue). They will try to come out right where George is , BBC AU studio. I do not want to give you their Web address because it is blocked. One thing George should not forget to report in few days he enjoys life in Addis is the “growth” in Internet blocking. Ethiopia is the worst abuser of all but BBC does not matter much because its correspondents are blocking themselves. Go Blue Go!

Ethiopia: War crimes and genocide indictment inevitable for sadist thug Workneh Gebeyhu

The Horn Times Newsletter 20 May 2013
by Getahune Bekele, South Africa
Since he ordered kids following their parents to anti-government rallies to be shot and killed, millions in Ethiopia regard him as a very insane man endowed with evil powers to maim and murder the innocent and the defenseless.

Workneh Gebeyhu

Just looking in to his merciless gaze with blank cruelty of a cannibalized warlord sends shivers down the spine of his enemies. Since his master Meles Zenawi died Federal police boss Workneh Gebeyhu has been in sullen and vituperous mood; raging against any opposition to the TPLF. The most feared and hated man in Ethiopia, never seen smiling or talking without angrily raising his fist and punching the air, TPLF warlords see him as an ideal replacement for the self-exiled gun and sex crimes maestro, Bisrat Amare of Columbus Ohio in the US.
The iron lady of murky Tigre politics, former first lady Azeb Mesfin still adores Workneh for his ability to defend the TPLF hierarchy and for the role he played in protecting her late husband Meles Zenawi for more than two decades.
He is dangerous, extremely unpredictable and erratic with tremendous charisma to terrorize the people.
Besides the federal police, Workneh commanders various mobile death squads including the all-Tigre elite Trojan horses known as the Agazit; and it were the Agazit from their head quarters at Bella military referral hospital who invaded the streets of Addis Ababa and murdered hundreds of protesters in 2005.
According to an eye witness account obtained by the Horn Times, Dr Brihanu Metaferia, a well known gynecologist and head of the military hospital in 2005 who defected to the US in 2008, provided temporary accommodation for TPLF inner circles in the hospital’s compound from where they launched a genocidal offensive against unarmed civilians.

Ethiopians will never forget their young martyrs

Even Kids and teens were not spared during the massacre and more than 30 of them were identified days later at various government mortuaries in Addis Ababa.
Commander Workneh Gebeyhu, the man who allegedly gave the order for the senseless carnage to be carried out, is yet to admit or deny the charges labeled against him by the opposition and grieving parents.
The Horn Times has obtained names of the young men who were brutally murdered during the TPLF’s violent crackdown…
1. Matewos Girma, 14                         16. Abreham Yilma, 17

2. Tinsae Mengistu, 14                         17. Kebede Wolde, 17

3. Belaye Dejene, 15                              18. Meki Negro, 17

4. Tesfay Birhane, 15                             19. Beliyu Bayu, 18

5. Debela Ulika, 15                                20. Binyam Dembela, 18

6. Mulualem Negume, 15                        21. Dejene Yilma, 18

7. Gezahegn Mengesha, 15                       22. Endalkachew Megersa, 18

8. Yilef Nega, 15                                       23. Esubalew Ashenafi, 18

9. Neby Alemayehu, 16                             24. Fikremariyam Kumbi, 18

10. Andualem Shibelew, 16                       25. Jafar Saed, 18

11. Getachew Afework, 16                         26. Jigsa Tola, 18

12. Habtamu Zegeye, 16                              27. Siraje Nure, 18

13. Melaku Terefe, 16                                 28. Shebire Desalegn, 18

14. Melesachew Demisse, 16                      29. Tsegahun Woldegebrel, 18

15. Wasihun Kebede, 16                            30. Waliye Hussen, 18

16. Baheru Minlargew, 17                        31. Zemedkun Agedew, 18

Infohorntimes@gmail.com

Black lions’ gaffer suffers total rejection by fans as Bafana prepares for ‘war’

 

The Horn Times News 21 May 2013
by Getahune Bekele, South Africa
The Coach of Ethiopian national soccer team Sewnet Bishaw (pictured) is in big trouble as the most passionate and knowledgeable fans of the black lions increased the pressure on him to resign with immediate effect.
During the recent world cup qualifying game against the Zebras of Botswana in Addis Ababa, more than 30,000 irate fans sang “Swenet Gaddafi, a soccer terrorist”, and called on Ethiopian football federation boss Sahlu Gebrewold to fire him on the spot.
Sewnet Bishaw has been on the receiving end of crippling criticism after he went to AFCON 2013 with a potential winning team but returned home with wooden spoon; scoring a single goal and conceding an embarrassing seven.
His tactical and technical knowledge of the modern game was also badly exposed when he tempered with the winning formula by making unnecessary wholesale changes for the second game against the Burkinabe stallions in South Africa. The lions were hammered four nil and as a result, for the last game against Nigeria, the team’s moral was lower than a snake’s belly.
“His game management skill is not up to the required standard. I wonder if he is attending international coaching indabas and courses to keep up to date. The result he is grinding out is not fair on the players and the victory starving nation.” A respected soccer writer told the Horn Times from Addis Ababa.
“When it seemed Sewnet Bishaw’s blunder of dedicating the AFCON qualifier victory to the dead anti-sport moron Meles Zenawi was forgotten or forgiven, he kept enticing the fans by selecting average players from Dedebit foot ball club, the club owned by legions of Tigre warlords. Preferring erratic defender Degu Debebe to the powerful Birhanu Bogale and the unfair treatment midfield power house Yared Zenabu has been getting from the technical team was also well spotted by the fans. I think it is time for the coach to go. The fans have reached the point of no return. ” The writer who requested anonymity said.
In addition, the Horn Times observed the same set of fans hurling insults at the arrogant Swenet Bishaw during Alahly vs. St George match at Addis Ababa stadium after the coach openly requested 24/7 federal police protection for himself and his family labeling the soccer lovers “anti government forces.”
Meanwhile, after announcing the names of 25 players for the upcoming crucial Brazil 2014 qualifier matches against Central African Republic and Ethiopia, South African team coach Gordon Igesund said he will prepare Bafana Bafana both mentally and physically for the ‘war’ against the unpredictable and at times devastatingly unstoppable black lions of Ethiopia.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Igesund hinted a very defensive approach against the black lions with the aim of swift counter attack using speedy Bucks winger Tlou Segolela and Sweden based striker Takelo Ranti.
However, if the technical team with or without Sewnet Bishaw gets the team selection and team line up spot on, the black lions have the ability to bury the inconsistent South Africans under avalanche of goals to stay at the summit with 10 points or 13 points if they win away in Botswana.
infohorntimes@gmail.com