ለሽምግልና ያልተመቹት የህወሓት ሽማግሌዎች ክፍል 2 | ወቅታዊ ዝግጅት ከጋዜጠኛ አርአያ ተ/ማርያም ጋር የተደረገ ...

January 3, 2018 is a historic day for Ethiopia or is it?

Whether this day goes down on to history books as monumental or not,  depends on TPLF. It is a good start and was not expected as such it took most of us by surprise. However, whether this is a genuine gesture from the TPLF or a smoke screen for another drama, time will tell. The critical point being, if TPLF means business, this day will go in history as the day the dawn of freedom broke, people, nations and nationalities are reconciled, and finally Ethiopia begun its rise from the ashes.

West 'embraces sham democracies' from the BBC

The US, EU and other democracies are accepting flawed and unfair elections out of political expediency, Human Rights Watch says in its annual report.

Allowing autocrats to pose as democrats without demanding they uphold civil and political rights risked undermining human rights worldwide, it warned.

HRW in its report higlighted "The Bush administration has spoken of its commitment to democracy abroad but often kept silent about the need for all governments to respect human rights."

HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth said it had become too easy for autocrats to get away with mounting a sham democracy "because too many Western governments insist on elections and leave it at that".

"They don't press governments on the key human rights issues that make democracy function - a free press, peaceful assembly, and a functioning civil society that can really challenge power," he added.

HRW said the West was often unwilling to criticise the autocrats for fear of losing access to resources or commercial opportunities, or because of the perceived requirements of fighting terrorism."It seems Washington and European governments will accept even the most dubious election so long as the 'victor' is a strategic or commercial ally," Mr Roth further added. Read more on the BBC.

Click this link for the full HRW report of 2008.

Ato Debebe Eshetu's Speech in Canada

Listen Now:

American journalist Will Conners' test of TPLF brutality

By Will Connors

Posted Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007, at 12:23 PM ET
When an American reporter started digging, he was forced out of Ethiopia.

I had fallen in love. Ethiopia does that to people. It sneaks up on you with its lush, mountainous landscape, its delicious coffee, its beautiful people as warm and welcoming as any in the world. And before you know it, you're sitting in a restaurant in New York or Nairobi, and all you want to do is speak Amharic, taste injera, and drink honey wine.

During post-election demonstrations, at least 30,000 people were arrested, and more than 100 were killed. Snipers[Tigrayan] were used on protesters. All the top opposition leaders were arrested, as was the mayor-elect of Addis Ababa.

I, too, was arrested. At the time I was working for a regional African newspaper, and I had been caught taking photos of federal police beating young boys. For 12 hours I sat on a dirt floor in an old customs house, and, because I am American, I was largely ignored. The detained Ethiopians were beaten and forced to crawl over sharp rocks and hop up and down on bloodied feet. The lucky ones were released after a few weeks. Others were taken to rural prisons and not heard from for months.

The crackdown was remarkably effective. Fledgling newspapers were shut down, and their editors jailed along with the opposition leaders. Average Ethiopians once again became hesitant to speak out in public about anything potentially sensitive. Government agents are everywhere, friends would whisper to me when I tried to initiate conversations about politics. Read more.....

Problematic Ally

The moral hazards of dealing with Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi

Saturday, July 21, 2007; The Washingtonpost

MORE THAN once during the Cold War, the United States aligned itself with dictatorial or corrupt, but anticommunist, foreign governments, compromising democratic principles for perceived advantage against the Soviet Union. These choices were not necessarily wrong, but each one put the U.S. on a slippery slope, at the bottom of which lay a completely amoral foreign policy.Read more on ...

Ethiopia's freed leader defiant

Ethiopia's opposition leader has hit out at the government just hours after being pardoned and released from a life sentence in jail.

Hailu Shawel said he had signed a document admitting to organising violent election protests in 2005 and asking for clemency "under duress".

The government had come under strong international pressure to free Mr Hailu and 37 others to help reconciliation. Read more on the BBC

U.S. officials negotiated behind the scenes

U.S. officials -- urged on by the Ethiopian immigrant community -- had negotiated behind the scenes for the prisoners' release. Rep. Donald M. Payne (D-N.J.) sponsored a bill in Congress calling for the unconditional release of all Ethiopian political prisoners. Washington post...

38 opposition politicians and activists released after Ethiopian government pardon

The Associated Press

Published: July 20, 2007

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia: Three minibuses left an Ethiopian prison carrying 38 opposition politicians and activists pardoned by the government Friday. Dozens of family members and their supporters outside shouted in joy and whistled.

The politicians and activists were released only minutes after Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told journalists the government had pardoned them. They had been sentenced to various prison terms, including life, for inciting violence in an attempt to overthrow the government.

As their minibuses left Kalici Prison, some of the politicians made the victory sign, which is also the symbol of Ethiopia's opposition. The family members and supporters gathered outside waved Ethiopian flags and also made victory signs. They then pursued the minibuses in other vehicles. It was not clear where the politicians and activists were being taken. Read more on the International Herald Tribune

Pardon for protest Ethiopians

Thirty Ethiopian opposition leaders sentenced to life in prison over election protests are pardoned and will be freed today. Read more on the BBC