Professor, a prisoner of conscience, in Ethiopian jail

Dr Yacob Hailemariam

The Virginian-Pilot © February 23, 2006

It’s been three and a half months since his arrest, and Yacob Hailemariam still sits in a dank Ethiopian jail.

Fortunately, there are signs that officials here and elsewhere are finally taking notice.
The Kempsville resident and former NSU professor, who has been declared a “prisoner of conscience” by Amnesty International, is awaiting trial on trumped-up charges of treason and genocide.

In all, Ethiopia’s increasingly despotic regime — a Potemkin democracy designed to nab foreign aid dollars — has jailed some 131 opposition leaders, journalists and aid workers. Read more

Ethiopia: Prisoners of conscience prepare to face 'trial'

Dr Birhanu Nega, an elected mayor of Addis Abeba, curently in the dungeons of TPLF Government.
Press release, Amnesty International
2/02/2006

As international concerns regarding the human rights situation in Ethiopia escalate, Amnesty International called for the immediate and unconditional release of opposition leaders, human rights defenders and journalists who will face trial tomorrow on charges that include treason, violent conspiracy and "genocide".

"These people are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely on account of their non-violent opinions and activities," said Kolawole Olaniyan, Director of Amnesty International's Africa Programme. "It is unacceptable that they are now facing serious criminal charges that could lead to death sentences and possible execution."

"We demand their immediate and unconditional release and a halt to this attempt by the Ethiopian government to criminalize freedom of expression and prevent legitimate political and human rights activity." Read more

"The Year of Living Dangerously" in Ethiopian capital

22 Feb 2006 01:03:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
By C. Bryson Hull

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 22 (Reuters) - In Addis Ababa, the cool highland nights are no longer the only chill in the air.

Fear has crept back into the wide boulevards of Ethiopia's capital since Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government unleashed a harsh crackdown on opposition members and arrested thousands following post-election violence.

"It's the 'Year of Living Dangerously,'" said a Western embassy official, referring to the 1982 movie, starring Mel Gibson, about political turmoil in Indonesia.

Even months after relative calm was restored, the kind of paranoia last felt under the oppressive Derg military dictatorship is gripping people, residents and expatriates say. Read more

The architect of the mass arrests and Killings in Ethiopian

Melese Zenawie, the self appointed Prime minister of Ethiopia

Africa's 'New Generation' Likened to Old

Leaders once lauded by the West are accused of adopting the autocratic ways of predecessors.

By Edmund Sanders, Times Staff Writer

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Like the elephants that roam the East African savannas, this region's Big Men once looked like an endangered species.

Some leaders were toppled by coups d'etat, others by democratic revolutions or international pressure. Their replacements — mostly young, former guerrillas who spoke of sweeping reforms — were heralded by then-President Clinton and other Western leaders as the "new generation" of African statesmen. International aid and investment began flooding into the region.

But to the disappointment of many, this new guard is beginning to adopt some of the undemocratic behavior of the dictators it replaced. And resulting tensions with Europe and the U.S. are threatening efforts to combat poverty and build strategic partnerships against terrorism.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, a onetime favorite of the West, was blamed for a bloody postelection crackdown last year in which police shot to death dozens of students and imprisoned thousands more protesters, including elected opposition leaders. Read more

Democratic dawn in Ethiopia fades as abuses come to light

Post-election protests have resulted in a wave of arrests
Inigo Gilmore in Addis Ababa
Sunday December 4, 2005 The Observer

Ethiopia is in danger of losing millions of pounds of foreign aid as disturbing new evidence of violence and mass detentions emerges from the country that until recently was being hailed as the great democratic hope of Africa.

International donors are deeply concerned about the political chaos in a country whose prime minister, Meles Zenawi, was supposed to be setting an example of good governance.

Five months after Ethiopia descended into political chaos following a dispute over the country's first democratic elections, details are emerging that give a disturbing glimpse into the scale of human rights abuses taking place. Read More

A Dream Defiled --The Betrayal of Ethiopia's Democracy

By Micha Odenheimer Sunday, December 18, 2005; B04

The Addis Ababa airport I used to know was shabby and neglected, an overgrown shack of wood, concrete and tin. It smelled of incense mingled with the dank, sweet odor of sewage. But the old airport had been torn down since my last visit; in its place was a sparkling, high-ceilinged structure of metal and glass into which light poured from every direction.Now, as I rode into the city, traffic stopped for a herd of goats and beggars were sleeping on the traffic islands that divided the road. But people were also bustling around with cell phones stuck to their ears, and brightly lit Internet cafes were filled with young people. Things were changing for the better, it seemed when I arrived last month. There was no reason to suspect that Ethiopia was poised to plunge headlong into darkness -- that within a week, dozens of street protesters would be dead, and tens of thousands of young people arrested. Read More

Ethiopia -- Good governance gone bad

The New York Times SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2005

Somebody needs to remind Meles Zenawi that he is supposed to be setting the example for how democracy should work in Africa. As things stand, the only example Meles, the Ethiopian prime minister, is setting is one of autocratic repression.Meles has often been lauded as an exemplar of good government by the likes of the Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain, who picked him to help draft his Commission for Africa report on how to reduce poverty and promote democracy on the continent. But it turns out that Meles is in favor of democracy only when people are voting for him. Read More