This week I had some very interesting and fruitful interactions with the White House and United States State Department about human rights in Ethiopia. The plight of the people of Ethiopia was stressed again to these people. These professionals knew quite a bit already about the Ethiopian human rights situation but when these topics were raised with them they responded humanly.
The Ethiopian Review (ER) editor Elias Kifle has been accused several times as a well-paid “Shaabia” agent and for his persisting stand on the side of Shaabia to date. There is no doubt that Elias Kifle has given clear evidence by his repeated deeds that he is a 100% Shaabia stooge among us who dares to tell us that the Issayas Afeworki we know of is a rational man that hosts LFits and opposition leaders in a more friendly manner.
In Early January 2009 Issayas Afeworki gave an extraordinarily defiant interview to the tightly controlled Eritrean media by openly accusing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the USA for masterminding a plot to undermine his regime. Since then he maintains unrepentant antagonism as his astounding political feature against the USA and Western powers.
Pragmatists are very passionate politicians that follow their instinct or their heart’s feelings and guts. Usually they dream of or believe in what they think as the absolute and unshakable truth.
May 15/2009
RELEASE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS NOW
May--June 2005: Following a general election which the ruling EPRDF of Meles Zenawi lost the regime let loose its security forces and special Agazi killer commandos to repress the people. More than 200 peaceful demonstrators who were protesting against the regime's blatant fraud were shot dead and more than 50,000 rounded up and sent to the horrible labour camps of Zwai, Bir Sheleko and Dedesa. More than a hundred leader sof the opposition forces were jailed and many independent journalists incarcerated and their newspapers closed.
The Pope of the Catholic church is presently on a visit to the Middle East and the fact that Vatican has apologized for the negative and condemnable role and position of the Catholic Church during the Second World War and the genocide of Jews makes it imperative that we remind the Pope and the Vatican once again that Ethiopians are still waiting for an apology for the support that Pope Pius XI and the Vatican gave to the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini’s fascist army.
On May 1, 2009, Ethiopia's communications minister Bereket Simon reversed earlier claims that the government had foiled an attempted coup. Speaking to foreign journalists, Bereket denied that the suspects were part of a coup plot. He described those arrested as “desperadoes intent on creating havoc”.
MAY 8 1997: teacher and human rights activist Assefa Maru was summarily killed outside his home by British trained security forces who came in British supplied Land Rovers.
The repression unleashed by the ruling EPRDF under the cover of acting against coup makers cum assassination planners is continuing ruthlessly. Brigadier generals Tadesse Mamo and Asaminew Tsige (the latter purged beforehand with air force general Aslemsehet Degfie in an anti Amar
Ethnicity and federalism have become the major factors in organizing the political and territorial space in Ethiopia since 1991. The Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which had started its movement for the liberation of its ethnic territory from the central Ethiopian administration, has advocated ethnic- federalism by vowing to reduce conflicts and equalize the diverse ethnic communities. As a result, the overall centralized structure of the previous regime has been replaced by a ‘federal’ system consists of nine ethnically and regionally delimited regional states.
The legislation now pending in Congress regarding Ethiopia is substantially the same as last year’s but with improvements. This is the critical thing that we here in the United States can do to better the lives of Ethiopians. We must keep up the contacts with Congress.
Ethiopians, who have had to endure brutal deaths over decades, have a common wish which asks God “to make my death decent” (amamuaten asamirew). I am one of those who wonder why Ethiopians pray since He hardly ever listens to them but then again Ethiopians are a hopeful lot who will die hoping and praying for better days that never seem to come
Dear readers, as promised when part three was published about three weeks ago, here is the final section of the entire paper (“Reviewing the Damaging Effects of Ethiopian Diaspora Politics on the Wider Community and its Future Initiatives: The Search for Alternative Mechanisms”). The title of this important section is “The Search for Alternative directions and Mechanisms - Concluding Remarks.”
May 5, 2009
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today voted to approve the nomination of Johnnie Carson to be Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. The full Senate is expected to confirm the nomination soon.
After arresting close to 40 people on dubious grounds (accusation of a coup plot at first and then on chaarges of planning assassination of ministers and officials, and sabotage of public facilities) the regime in Addis Ababa has undertaken further arrests espcially among military officers. Thus, Brigadier General Asaminew Tsige, colonel Fnatahun Muhaba, colonel Demisew, Major Sisaye, Major Adamu Getnet and Captain Azeze have been jailed.
May 3/2009
STATEMENT ON WORLD FREEDOM DAY
As the world observes Press Freedom Day (May 3), SOCEPP reminds all that the regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has virtually crushed the free press, jailed or forced into exiles dozens of journalists, closed publications and newspapers,passed a repressive press law, hiked the price of printing paper and publication and set up papers controlled by it as ”independent”newspapers.
From the outset I’m deeply worrying about the indifference I observe these days among the vocal Diaspora when it comes to the future of Ethiopia. As audience and on lookers from our comfort residence in Diaspora, we never ask ourselves twice if we are really and critically organized enough to play the role of legitimate substitutes to the incumbent regime in Ethiopia.
Thank you swine flu and Mexico! For once Africa has not been blamed for being the source of a deadly virus. From Ebola to Lassa Fever, Rift Valley Fever, White Nile virus, the Marbrug Virus, the “Jealousy” malady and even AIDS and all so called haemorrhagic fevers have been attributed to poor old Africa. Africa is good for some blame at least.
Some of my readers may think that my tribute upon the untimely death of the phenomenal, the irreplaceable asset of Ethiopia, the unchallenged cultural and musical symbol and the undisputed role model for Ethiopian musicians of my generation, Tilahun Gessese, whom I, as a political economist and organization strategist have characterized not as a “King of Ethiopian Music,” but as “Edilegnaw Niguse,”
Posted in Life, News on Sunday, April 26th, 2009 at 10:41 am by Web content assistant editor David Rauch
LEWISBURG, Pa. (AP) An economics professor at a Pennsylvania university said Saturday he supports efforts to spread democracy in his native Ethiopia, but denied backing an alleged coup attempt there that led to the arrests of 35 people by the government.
By Elizabeth Blunt
BBC News, Addis AbabaEthiopia's authorities say they have arrested 35 people who were allegedly plotting to overthrow the government.All are said to be members of Ginbot 7 (May the 15th), an opposition group based outside Ethiopia and led by the self-exiled politician Berhanu Nega.
There was/is China for EPLF to emulateThere was Albania for TPLF - a black hole - where no information would escapeThere was false-revolution by the DERG that nationalizing would become panacea.Then, there was/is EPRP that tries to score Political Capital.
It is time to build on the impressive achievements of the Ethiopian-American community in the last session of Congress, when the House of Representatives passed legislation promoting Ethiopian human rights, democracy and economic prosperity. This time we need to get both houses of Congress to pass legislation.
“…the African man has never really entered history” Nicholas Sarkozy, the French President, in a speech on Africa made in Dakar, Senegal on July 26th, 2007
To be fair, Nicolas Sarkozy did say Africa deserves to be happy just like other continents. But in the above quoted speech in Senegal he did say also: “The (Africans) have never really launched themselves into the future,” and Mr. Sarkozy did add “the African peasant, who for thousands of years has lived according to the seasons,
The TPLF leader, Meles Zenawi, and those surrounding him, who have carefully studied, checked and tested the mindsets and political culture of Ethiopians – who in the eyes of the regime are the least informed among all African nations on issues of nationhood, modern politics and the indispensability of collective interest, who have no “sticks” and do not know how to use “carrots” effectively when presenting their cases and grievances to the diplomatic
EPRP conducted itself with Dignity while Hirelings of the Military Junta lost status, self-esteem and reputation and finally they were sent home in disgrace. In other words, they served DERG and became extinct shortly after Mengistu left for Harare and TPLF took over power in Addis Ababa. Read More……
The first Hama Tuma book in English, “The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and Other Stories” (Heinemann, African Writers Series, 1993), has been translated and published in Hebrew by the Achuzat Bayit Publishing House Ltd (Tel Aviv).
"President Obama Cannot Afford to Look Weak on Terrorism"
by Jason Ditz, April 17, 2009
The United States has reportedly threatened to invade Eritrea and subject it to “the same fate as Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks” for providing support to the al-Shabaab resistance movement in Somalia, which the US has since attempted to link with al-Qaeda.
Maru Gubena .......>>Go to our blog to leave your comments Almost all relatively professional institutions or political organizations see an evaluation – or a brief presentation of policy-related activities or past experience – as a healthy and even vitally important part of both growth and development, whether this involves the general public or individuals who are involved and interested in the organization’s activities.
News Report about a newly released film: Memories of a Generation
Mankelklot Hale Selassie (PhD) - April 10, 2009.........There are two camps in Ethiopia today. The camp that belongs to the people of Ethiopia and the camp of Meles and his collaborators. In my opinion, in Ethiopia, today, this is the major irreconcilable contradiction. Due to the nature of the contradiction it can only be resolved by an up-rise, as I have been saying for a long time, not by compromise or through negotiations.
The problems facing Ethiopia and its people are too many and too complex to count or describe, but they all have been created and cultivated by the people themselves, as it is the group, the community and the society which are responsible for molding and shaping our lives, cultures and habits – bringing up and socializing its children.
By Wolde R. Tewolde April 9, 2009KUDOS FOR MALAWI
Hama Tuma
Some of you may surely think that I am praising Malawi for observing its laws and rejecting the attempt by the Madonna woman to adopt yet another Malawian child. A judge who is now being praised less and condemned more in Malawi itself did suddenly realize that the law of Malawi are in the book to be applied
Reliable reports from Addis Ababa reveal that in the last few months the number of young girls being kidnapped from private schools and the number of children being snatched by groups of men travelling in vans has increased. The police are denying his is taking place though some schools like Gelan number 2 have reported that four young girls have been kidnapped in the last two month alone.
The Story of Ali Saeed and Other Ethiopian Political Victims
Winnipeg Premiere Showing
4:30 pm - Sunday, April 5, 2009
Imax Theatre, 3rd floor, Portage Place, tickets $10
Meles Zenawi abruptly cancelled conference Henry Gombya
The Black Star News from G20 in London, 02 April 2009: Although Meles Zenawi the Ethiopian Prime Minister ... was here, he abruptly cancelled a press conference he was about to give. His people gave no reasons for this. But insiders in the press centre said Zenawi was worried about the kind of questions that were going to be put to him concerning human rights violations within Ethiopia and his dealing with his opponents and Ethiopia’s neighbours.
SOCEPP expresses its solidarity with all people demonstrating against the presence of Meles Zenawi for the G20 meeting in London. Meles Zenawi heads one of the most repressive and demagogic regimes in Africa.Washington Update April 2, 2009
Today is the second of April and much productive work on the pending legislation in congress needs to be seen to. The successful passage of H.R. 2003 in the last session of Congress needs to be duplicated for this 111th Congress. We need to stay on top of our elected officials;
31 March 2009 Ethiopians for Human and Democratic Rights, London It is with great bewilderment that the Ethiopian Diaspora in the United Kingdom, else where in Europe and America has come to learn about the invitation of the dictator, Melese Zenawi of Ethiopia to attend the G20 world leaders conference in London on 2 nd April 2009. GENOCIDE WATCH THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO END GENOCIDE
It was a comedy of the King to be an investor in educationIt is a tragedy for Dictator Essayas to invest in education
It is a double tragedy for Tyrant Meles to be an investor in educationምሁራን M’huran refers to the Professional servants Versusጽንሐተ ምሁራን Ts’nhate M’huran refers to the Public servants (politicians)
BACKGROUND DATA
49 years ago, during the coup d’etat by the Neway Brothers, there were less than 100 students in the University
Fifteen Ethiopian refugees, some of them, like the elderly (Shaleka) Atanaw Wassie, who have been in the Sudan since the mid seventies, were rounded up in July 2007 and deported to Ethiopia in September 2007. All 15 had subsequently disappeared in the maze of secret prisons and solitary confinement and brutal interrogation in Addis Ababa.
A member of one of the loyal opposition groups within the regime’s parliament has called for a repressive law (ban) against “beggars in the city”. Gebru Gebre Mariam, a “UEDF" MP, alleged that the thousands of beggar are made up of “loafers and healthy but lazy youngsters and people» while, to his shame,
The “dark” continent is in reality the most vibrant and original continent. Tam tams are still there, the drums of passion and of an undying spirit of hope rising against the reality of despair and death.
On March 15, 2009—San Jose has hosted a discussion forum on the Ethio-Eritrean issues. The honorable invited guests on this topic were Professor Tesfatsion Medhanie from the University of Bremen, Germany and Professor Daniel Kendie from the University of Henderson in Arkansas, United States. Both scholars have written books on the Ethio-Eritrean issue.
Sudan's president visited Eritrea on Monday on his first foreign visit since he was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes in Darfur, Eritrea's government said.
March 22/2009 CONDEMN THE SALE OF CHILDREN UNDER THE COVER OF ADOPTION The sale of Ethiopian children under the cover of adoption has now reached alarming proportions with more than 70 adoption agencies in action and the Ministry of women’s affairs and government backed middle men busy selling off children.
Ambassador Johnnie Carson is currently the National Intelligence Officer for Africa on the National Intelligence Council. He joined the NIC in September 2006 after a 37-year career in the Foreign Service.
Universitätsstadt Tübingen
Gemeinderat
Am Markt 1 72070Tübingen
E-Mail: ob@tuebingen.de ob@tuebingen.de
Dear Mr Palmer, SOCEPP has learnt that Tubingen has picked the city of Makalle in Tigrai as one of its three African sister cities. More than 5 thousand political prisoners languish in the prison of Makalle alone out of a total of more than 35,000 political prisoners in Ethiopia as a whole. Ethiopia, as we expect you would know, is under the despotic rule of the Tigrai people’s Liberation Front (TPLF/EPRDF) which practices ethnic politics and discrimination and has in 2005 election repressed the people and the opposition and illegally continued in power.
"Gender and Politics in the Horn of Africa: The Ethiopian Experience." Ms. Ghennet Girma
“The law cannot be seen in the abstract but as it applies in everyday life….each of these infringements causes a large amount of individual suffering, despair, disillusionment and injustice. Yet discrimination continues everyday, because people are more concerned about traditional roles and personal interests than about the fate of individual women who suffer.”
It is sad to learn that once again the tyrant in Ethiopia, the very man who has ordered so many massacres (Arba Gugu, Water, Adebabaye Iyesus, Gambella, Ogaden, etc), has been invited to London’s next meeting of the G20. Prime Minister Gordon who vociferously calls for the arrest and trial of Sudan’s Omar Beshir has apparently no qualms or moral restraint to invite a criminal tyranny like Meles Zenawi to London to take part in an international conference.
By Maru GubenaAs Ethiopians in Ethiopia are neither allowed to demonstrate nor to make their voices heard by any other means, the Ethiopian Diaspora community scattered across the world, including Tasmania, New Caledonia and Gavdos, has been making every possible effort to represent the voice of the voiceless. Tragically, depressingly, embarrassingly, however,
BBC NEWS Some 70,000 people have fled their homes in a remote part of southern Ethiopia, after a deadly conflict broke out between rival groups - apparently triggered by the construction of a new borehole. The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt has been to visit the affected areas. Wamo Boru and his family used to live in Kafa, one of the many small ethnic Borana communities scattered across the arid borderlands of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya.
Community and its Future Initiatives: The Search for Alternative Mechanisms
By Maru Gubena
Before anything else, let me just say a few things in simple, straightforward words: my thanks to those who have expressed their views directly to me, sharing their opinions and frustrations. My thanks also
The 111th Congress of the United States is now seated and again the bill we are concerned with, known in the last Congress as HR 2003, The Ethiopia Human Rights Accountability Act will be proposed. The last time it was passed by the House unanimously so we are very hopeful of passage again.Unlike The Unity Force, “MEDREK” is The New Version Of EPRDF Yelfiwos Wondaya
Be that as it may, I believe we are at a time when the unity and the struggle of the two opposing positions come to face to face in a challenge and often with hostility, harsh criticism and defiance.
March 11/2009
RADIO REPORTER DAWIT ALEMU ILLEGALLY JAILEDEthiopian radio reporter Dawit Alemu has been jailed on charges of writing a non specified book critical of the existing EPRDF regime. Dawit, who had written one book some years back,has denied he has written the alleged book.
In remembering the International Women's Day, female members of our organization joined women of Oslo in celebrating this day. They “showed the flag” quite literally, carrying our flag and even adorning themselves with it at the same time as they distributed leaflets in which they described the situation of Ethiopian women
It’s the content of your character
Neither your origin nor your color
That should really matter
Were the words of the Doctor
Voice of Ethiopian Unity
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May--June 2005: Following a general election which the ruling EPRDF of Meles Zenawi lost the regime let loose its security forces and special Agazi killer commandos to repress the people. More than 200 peaceful demonstrators who were protesting against the regime's blatant fraud were shot dead and more than 50,000 rounded up and sent to the horrible labour camps of Zwai, Bir Sheleko and Dedesa. More than a hundred leader sof the opposition forces were jailed and many independent journalists incarcerated and their newspapers closed.
The Pope of the Catholic church is presently on a visit to the Middle East and the fact that Vatican has apologized for the negative and condemnable role and position of the Catholic Church during the Second World War and the genocide of Jews makes it imperative that we remind the Pope and the Vatican once again that Ethiopians are still waiting for an apology for the support that Pope Pius XI and the Vatican gave to the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini’s fascist army. 
Dear readers, as promised when part three was published about three weeks ago, here is the final section of the entire paper (“Reviewing the Damaging Effects of Ethiopian Diaspora Politics on the Wider Community and its Future Initiatives: The Search for Alternative Mechanisms”). The title of this important section is “The Search for Alternative directions and Mechanisms - Concluding Remarks.” 
of the two opposing positions come to face to face in a challenge and often with hostility, harsh criticism and defiance.
