The Ethiopia side of Moyale town as seen on the road from the border crossing. Photo/Gragory Nyauchi

A transformation occurs when you cross over from Moyale in Kenya to Moyale in Ethiopia. The Kenyan side is a sleepy border town inhabited by nomads.

The roads are dusty; there are few restaurants, very little traffic, and a sense of quiet.

Our tour guide A, had promised to show us around Moyale in Ethiopia.

On crossing the border, all of a sudden there are cars, tuktuks (known as bajaj), and motorcycles on the roads. Even at noon, bars are playing loud inviting music.

I look inside one bar; it is dark, the roof cutting off most of the light. The sale of alcohol freely during the day tells you this is a different country, and Kenyan restrictive alcohol laws are not universal.

The scenery is much the same as Moyale in Kenya — mountainous and green. There were moneychangers holding bundles of 100 birr notes, asking us if we wanted to change our money.

Our tour guide showed us to our hotel, where for 150 birr ($8) we got self-contained rooms with double beds. After our long journey, we had cold showers which felt warm in the heat.

Then we took a bajaj to a hotel down the street. All the cars here had either Kenyan or UN number plates. Feeling flush on our first day, we ordered beers for everyone and tried all the different brands they had — St Georges, Amber, and Castell.

We ate injera with both roasted and fried goat meat. Injera is the staple food of Ethiopia. It is sourdough-risen bread with a unique, slightly spongy texture made from teff flour. It is eaten communally, using the hands, and can be served at every meal.

While there, I had it for lunch, dinner, and breakfast and as an afternoon snack. It is usually served with goat meat, known as tibbs, which is prepared with chilli and spices so that there is no need to add salt to your food.

At this hotel, injera was served on two hot charcoal burners to keep the meat warm. The meat was then served onto the injera.

SMALL PRICE TO PAY FOR FOUR

The bill was about 200 birr ($10.5); compared with Kenya, this is a small price to pay for a meal for four.

After lunch, we walked around Moyale and booked a ticket to Dila for the following day.

There were no buses leaving to either Hawassa or Shashamane, two towns that we had been told had connections straight to Addis, and so we booked a ticket to Dila.

The language barrier was a problem, but A got us an Ethiopian mobile simcard. I met a Kenyan lady who was also on her way to Addis. She was booked on the same bus and spoke Amharic quite well, so there was someone to help us communicate.

We walked through the back streets of Moyale and found that the roads were sandy, so we took off our sandals and walked barefoot.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant near our hotel. There were palm leaves spread all over the floor. After our meal, the tour guide used two leaves to sweep off the food that had spilled onto his table.

The restaurant roof was a supported metal frame which vines had grown over. Almost all hotels in Ethiopia have outdoor seating available.

Ethiopian women are beautiful to my eyes. They have milky skin, and long hair that flows down their backs; they carry themselves with grace.

After our meal, we went to Taye bar which was opposite our hotel. Amber beer costs 15 birr ($0.8).

The club we were at began playing Amharic versions of popular pop songs; a song would start with a tune that I recognised.

The familiar strains and beats of Personally by P-square coming off the speaker, as well as the lyrics, and then it would change. The lyrics and the beat would become Amharic. They even played Gangnam Style by PSY in Amharic.

At the end of the night, we returned to our rooms to rest for the next day that would begin in just three hours.

This article was first published in the East African .

Former U.S. president George W. Bush arrived in Ethiopia on Monday morning.

The former U.S. leader was welcomed by Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom and U.S. embassy officials.

Bush is expected to meet with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and other senior government officials, according to Ethiopia’s state-owned ENA news agency.

George W. Bush served as the 43rd President of the United States of America from 2001 to 2009

The West is deploring the referendum in Crimea and threatening to apply economic sanctions against Russia, believed to be the instigator of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis. Some Western politicians even go the extent of advocating direct military aid so that Ukraine can oppose military resistance to the Russian aggression. The referendum, which is supposed to lead to the reintegration of Crimea into the Russian Federation, is characterized by the West as illegal. From what I was able to gather, the reasons why the referendum is considered illegal include the followings. (1) Ukraine is an independent and sovereign country; (2) the referendum takes place with a strong presence of Russian military force in Crimea; (3) the referendum does not offer Crimea the choice of remaining within Ukraine.

What beats everything is that the West did not raise any concern about legality when Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993, even though all the reasons enumerated to contest the referendum in Crimea were also present in Ethiopia. Thus, ( 1) Ethiopia is an independent and sovereign nation; (2) the referendum was conducted in the presence of the victorious EPLF army; (3) The choice to remain  part of Ethiopia under a new political arrangement was not offered to Eritreans, nor was Ethiopia given the opportunity defend its legitimate position and interests, except through the TPLF government. The latter had no legality other than the power of arms and was already dead set to expel Eritrea from Ethiopia as a dangerous rival to the TPLF hegemony in Ethiopia. Yet, though conducted under such faulty conditions and in direct violation of the sovereignty of Ethiopia, the referendum was declared “fair and free” by the UN Observer Mission.

One thing is sure: we Ethiopians should remember the Western condemnation of the Russian initiative. If, as says the West, the conduct of a referendum in a situation preventing free expression and in an independent and sovereign country is illegal, then undoubtedly the rejection of the referendum in Crimea equally questions the legality of the Eritrean secession. The flaws that make the secession of Crimea illegal are also those that disqualify the Eritrean referendum. This is not to say that Ethiopia should start a war to recover Eritrea, but that it is not compelled to accept its independence so long as it believes, now in accordance with the West, that the referendum was illegal.

Surprising as it may seem, the West is saying that the feeling of the concerned people does not matter as much as the legality of the process. Even if Crimeans in their majority want to be part of Russia, they cannot do it in violation of the national sovereignty of Ukraine. Of course, what explains the application of different criteria is that Russia is a rival superpower while Ethiopia is a poor and weak country. Everything must be done to stop the expansion of Russia. By contrast, nobody should lose sleep over the fragmentation, in direct violation of its national sovereignty, of a country as weak as Ethiopia.

By William Davison

(Bloomberg) – Ethiopia will begin generating electricity within 18 months from what will be Africa’s largest power plant, the government said.

The sale of 7.1 billion birr ($367 million) of bonds over the past three years to domestic investors, has contributed to the 27 billion birr spent so far on the 75.5 billion birr Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam hydropower project, said Zadig Abraha, deputy general director of the GERD national coordination office. The central bank in April 2011 ordered banks to buy government bonds equivalent to 27 percent of their loans to help fund infrastructure projects.

Ethiopia’s funding of the 6,000-megawatt plant represents “the golden age of our history as far as economic development and public participation is concerned,” Zadig said by phone on March 18 from the capital, Addis Ababa. “If we’re to meet the power demand we have to construct these mega projects.”

Africa’s second-most populous country after Nigeria is boosting electricity output to cater for increased demand as economic growth surges. The economy expanded at an average 9.3 percent over the past four years and the government is targeting growth of more than 10 percent, which may lead to annual increases in electricity demand of as much as 35 percent, Zadig said.

An increase in Ethiopia’s current generating capacity of 2,000 megawatts will also allow the country to reduce a trade deficit of $8.5 billion last year by selling excess electricity.

Power Exports

The government already exports power to Sudan and Djibouti. It’s also building a transmission line to Kenya and is in discussions with Yemen and war-torn South Sudan, Zadig said. Once GERD is finished, and other hydropower projects including the 1,870-megawatt Gibe III are on line, Ethiopia may earn $2 billion a year from the exports, he said.

The construction of GERD is opposed by Egypt, which says it will reduce the flow of the Nile, the world’s longest river that provides almost all its water. Egypt’s opposition to the project blocked Ethiopia’s access to foreign credit, he said.

“The only option on the table was to construct the dam by our own capacity,” Zadig said, adding that the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. and public contributions would fund the rest of the project.

Sudan, the other affected nation, supports the project that’s scheduled for completion in 2018, partly because it will allow the country to import cheaper Ethiopian electricity. The dam is being built 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the Sudanese border on the Blue Nile River, the main tributary of the Nile.

Production Start

Two turbines at the plant will start producing 750 megawatts of power during the Ethiopian calendar year that begins Sept. 11, depending on rainfall patterns, Zadig said.

In 2012, Ethiopia invited an international panel of experts to study the project, which the government says will help curb flooding and improve water storage.

The panel concluded in June that further assessments need to be made on GERD’s regional impact. It also advised modifications to the design to strengthen it structurally. Efforts by Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan to form a committee to oversee the probes on the downstream effects have reached an impasse over the role of foreign experts.

Egypt wants construction paused while the studies are done on an issue that is a matter of “national security,” Badr Abdelatty, a spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, said in a phone interview on March 15.

‘Serious’ Talks

“We ask upon the other side to be serious and to move forward to accept having international experts imported to assess the impact,” he said. “Also for Ethiopians to provide more studies, more statistics.”

Ethiopia should also respect colonial-era agreements and a 1959 accord between Sudan and Egypt that allocates all of the river’s flow excluding evaporation to those two nations, Abdelatty said. By 2020, Egypt will require all of its assigned 55 billion cubic meters a year for vital use such as drinking, washing and sanitation, he said.

Nile riparian nations including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are in the process of ratifying a new agreement to create a joint commission to manage use of the river.

Press freedom in the environment of democratic developmental state in Ethiopia. Please watch opposition leader, Mushe Semu’s take on the matter.

Government in Addis Ababa refuses to release award-winning journalists jailed under Anti-Terrorism Proclamation.

As Al Jazeera presses ahead with its campaign to free its journalists detained in Egypt, nine Ethiopian journalists who are receiving less attention continue to languish in prison, held on trumped-up charges of terrorism, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

To mark the 900th day of the imprisonment of award-winning journalist Eskinder Nega, who is serving an 18-year jail term, and the 36th birthday of Woubshet Taye, jailed for 14 years, Al Jazeera speaks to Nani Jansen of the Media Legal Defence Initiative, a London-based NGO that helps journalists around the world defend their rights.

Al Jazeera: What are the charges Woubshet Taye and Eskinder Nega are facing?

Nani Jansen: Eskinder Nega, Woubshet Taye and many other journalists in Ethiopia, such as Reeyot Alemu, have been charged and convicted under Ethiopia’s 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation, a deeply flawed law that is being used by the Ethiopian government to systematically suppress free speech in the country.

Because of their work as a journalist, they were deemed to be “participating in a terrorist organisation”. In fact, Eskinder was explicitly said to have “used his right to free expression as a cover for terrorism” and most of the so-called evidence presented in the criminal proceedings against them consisted of their journalistic writing.

AJ: What kind of legal assistance are they receiving?

NJ: Mr Nega is currently representing himself, having decided after his initial conviction that he was better off that way. He filed for an appeal in cassation (the last possible resort in Ethiopia) in May 2013 – he is still waiting for a hearing date.

Mr Taye decided not to appeal his conviction and has been hoping for a pardon. So far, the government has refused to grant him one.

AJ: What has MLDI done or is doing to have these journalists freed?

The Media Legal Defence Initiative has started several international legal proceedings to get Eskinder, Woubshet, and a number of their colleagues released from prison. A series of complaints has been filed with a UN body that has competence to address violations of the right to free speech. The procedure is confidential, I’m sorry; I cannot say which UN body.

More importantly, a complaint has been filed at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on behalf of Eskinder Nega and Reeyot Alemu, challenging the 2009 Anti-Terrorism Proclamation as such. In their complaint, Mr Nega and Ms Alemu not only present their own case, but demonstrate that there is a pattern of prosecution of journalists under the law.

They have asked the Commission to refer the case to the African Court, which can issue a binding decision saying that Ethiopia’s laws violate international law. This would be an important step for all journalists in Ethiopia. MLDI is representing Mr Nega and Ms Alemu in these proceedings, together with the US-based NGO Freedom Now.

AJ: Ethiopia is notorious for persecuting and jailing critical journalists. Tell us about the working environment for journalists in Ethiopia.

NJ: Based on the number of cases we have been supporting in the country and the overview of prosecutions we documented for our complaint at the African Commission, I would say that there is virtually no free space left for independent journalism in the country.

Over the past few years we’ve slowly seen the last independent publications get shut down, their editors jailed and dissenting voices silenced. Consequently, self-censorship is all-pervasive amongst the remaining press. The situation is really very bad.

AJ: In an article published by Ethio-Mihidar newspaper, Woubshet Taye said some inmates have died in jail because they have been denied medical treatment. Does the MLDI have information on the circumstances of their detainment?

NJ: I can say that our female client in the African Commission case, Reeyot Alemu, has received severely inadequate treatment for the fibroadenoma she was diagnosed with. She has had surgery without anaesthesia, has been left with surgical stitches in her breast for over a year and never received proper aftercare. One of the requests we submitted to the African Commission is that she receive proper medical care as soon as possible.

AJ: What kind of pressure can be brought to bear on the Ethiopian government to get the journalists freed given the fact that the government appears to have ignored appeals and condemnation from the international community?

NJ: Looking at it from the legal perspective, it would be important for the African Court to get the opportunity to speak out on Ethiopia’s abuse of its anti-terror laws. The Commission has to refer the case to the Court, so we hope that they will do so soon so there is chance of a binding decision that would force Ethiopia to amend its legislation as well as the way it is using it to stifle dissent.

Generally speaking, it is important that the wider public becomes aware of the fact that these prosecutions under anti-terrorism laws to punish free speech are not isolated incidents in one or two countries, but part of a wider pattern taking place in many countries worldwide. It is important that each and every country employing these tactics, including Ethiopia, be held to account for this.

Alemayehu Tadese, Dereje Haile and Girum Ermiyas Interview On Seifu Fantahun Late Night Show

(The Washington Times) Lawmakers in Ethiopia are about to pass a law that lists homosexuality as a crime for which there is no forgiveness — a stipulation that would have dramatic impact on those seeking amnesty or pardon.

Specifically, the new rule would list homosexuality as a “non-pardonable” offense under the country’s amnesty law, The Associated Press reported.

The nation already has strict same-sex prohibitions. Those found guilty of engaging in sex acts with others of the same gender can be sentenced up to 15 years in prison. Those who engage in same-sex acts and infect another with HIV can be imprisoned up to 25 years, AP reported. Read more

Yared Tibebu

Interview: Yared Tibebu on the 40^th anniversary f the 1974 revolution. Click here to read

Ambassador Tiruneh Zena, commissioner of Ethiopian human right Commission (Photo Awramba Times)

Awramba Times (Addis Ababa) – Ethiopian human right Commission (EHRC) promised to open prompt and thorough investigations into allegations of mistreatment in Ethiopian prisons. The allegations were brought by award-winning, jailed journalist Woubshet Taye, who was denied treatment despite a health condition doctors described as “severe.”

In an exclusive video interview with the Awramba Times website, Ambassador Tiruneh Zena, commissioner of Ethiopian human right Commission said that (EHRC) is aware of the issue and investigations are underway to fix the problem. “We are awaiting our investigators’ report for the time being” said commissioner Tiruneh.

Woubshet Taye, former deputy editor of the Awramba Times was sentenced to 14 years in prison along with Eskinder Nega and Reeyot Alemu under Ethiopia’s trumped-up anti-terrorism law.

Editors of Awramba Times discuss on the saga of jailed journalists in Ethiopia.

Celebrating the Third Anniversary of the launching of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Guba, Benishangul Gumuz regional state.

By MGoth

A Member of Ethiopia’s largest opposition party UDJ blamed Egypt’s financial assistance to al Shabab militants in Somalia for spreading terrorism in the horn of Africa. According to MP Girma Seifu of the Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party, American aid to Egypt is being diverted to finance terrorists in Somalia as Cairo seeks to weaken Addis Ababa and stop construction of the Ethiopian Dam.

“American taxpayers should demand answers from the Obama administration on why billions of their money is going to a country that funds terrorism in East Africa,” said Mr. Girma. According to a New York Times report on June 6, 2013, several Egyptian government officials were secretly taped discussing ways to increase funding for militants in East Africa in order to destabilze upstream Nile basin countries.

MP Girma cited several United Nations (UN) weapons Monitoring Group’s evidence that show Egyptian arms support to Somali militants, some of whom have killed western tourists in East Africa. The UN document states that Egypt is also providing “intensive military and ideological training” to al Shabab, the same active group with terrorists like Abu Mansoor Al Amriki who was on FBI’s Most Wanted terror list.

The Ethiopian opposition MP said he is calling on all the Ethiopian Diaspora in America to unite and “take legal action” and inform their local US congressmen. Read more

The Federal First Instance Court Ninth Civil Bench at Lideta on Tuesday found the state-owned broadcaster, the Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency (ERTA), guilty of defamation.

The charge that was brought by Unity Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party accused ERTA of producing and broadcasting a documentary film entitled ‘Akeldama’, which it said had the intention of defaming the party.

The documentary that was aired on ETV showed individuals who lost their membership from the party because of disciplinary measures or those who had terminated their membership because of their own free will as if they were still members of the party, the charge read.

UDJ pointed out that the documentary was extremely defamatory and portrayed the party wrongly as if it had a relationship with bodies that are deemed terrorist by the country’s law.

The three-day program, “Akeldama”, showed that UDJ was in close contact with an exiled opposition group, ‘Ginbot 7’, a group that was labeled as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government and that it is covering or protecting the members of Ginbot 7.

The second defendant, ERTA’s journalist Abdi Kemal, who was also accused alongside ERTA for producing the documentary, was found innocent since he had not taken a prominent part and had only been a presenter for the documentary.

The court in its verdict ordered ERTA to broadcast a program to correct the defamatory remark of the ‘Akeldama’ documentary and air a disclaimer. The court has seen the full documentary on its sessions which was aired on national television from November 26 to 28.

Source: The Reporter

ZTE, the Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company, released its latest financial returns in March26, 2014.  ZTE said that it has turnaround with a profit of RMB 1.36 billion compared with aloss ofRMB 28.4 billion a year before.  However, ZTE’s 2014 revenue dipped 10.6 percent to 12.11 billion (RMB 75.2 billion) and its business profit which represent the state of the company’s main work had still a deficit of RMB 1.5 billion.  The profit depended on the revenue of RMB3.3 billion out of business (mainly from software drawback, government subsidy and property sell which gave ZTE a profit of RMB 0.85 billion.  However, despite releasing this achievement of making a profit instead of suffering a loss, ZTE didn’t change its declining trend in the stock market.  Its value in stock exchange is RMB 12.75 per share with a 0.23% dip and the price in HK stock exchange is HKD 15.12 per share with a 2.3% dip.   The market shows thatZTE‘s main business did not restore really.Its improvement is mainly obtained from cost control.

According to its geographic division, ZTE’s business revenue of Asia, Africa, Europe regions dipped significantly. Especially the revenue got from Africa region is RMB 5.8 billion with a 24.99% dip. The staff numbers reduced from 78402 at the end of 2012 to 69093 at the end of 2013.  The staff reduction is 12% with the same percent of revenue dip.  And the per-efficiency didn’t show any improvement.  ZTE’s situation has been reflected obviously in Ethiopia.ZTE’s staff numbers in Ethiopia was reduced from about 400 to 200.

For Ethiopia this year is the last year of the GTP.  To realize the GTP for the telecommunication subsection, Ethio Telecom carried out a project for network expansion and improvement.  The telecom expansion project in addition to ZTE is share by another Chinese telecom company Huawei. It is a crucial time that ZTE is needed to put its resource in Ethiopia.  However, instead of responding actively to this need, ZTE hasn’t yet had any contribution in the expansion project delivery.  ZTE delayed the signing of the contract and now postponing the delivery.  To the contrary, the company is even reducing the staff number in Ethiopia.

With this kind of investment, industry experts doubt if ZTE really have the determination and ability to deliver the expansion project in Ethiopia. Are these 200 staffs enough for the delivery? Is ZTEshowing responsibility for the project?  It is the time which needs ZTE allocate the resources and investment to deliver the project which it has signed.    ZTE has almost done nothing to the project.  Seeing ZTE’s passive attitude, there is a growing doubt if ZTE has the ability and commitment to deliver the expansion project.

Previously ZTEwas the exclusive supplier of the original telecom network in Ethiopia.  But the quality of the network is very poor and has received so many complaints from subscribers.  It is obviously questionable if Ethio Telecom can improve the network quality engaging a ZTE with its poor track record and financial difficulty.  According to ZTE financial report, the cost of R&D in 2013 is decreased by 16%.  This will lead further to a decline in quality of ZTE’s products.  If the expansion project target is not realized because of ZTE’s passive act, ZTEwill be responsible for it.Given its delayed and poor implementation in the first phase of the expansion project, it will be like wishing a cold day in hell to expect any improvement in the company’s performance.

Awramba Times (Hetosa, Arsi) – The Aanolee memorial monument which was erected as a tribute to the Arsi Oromos who were victims of the Emperor Menelik’s imperial expansion, in the 19th century, colorfully inaugurated in the presence of high-level federal and regional officials last Sunday in Hetosa, Arsi, 150kms south east of Addis Ababa.

The monument, which was constructed with a cost of 20 million birr shows a severed hand stretched upward holding a women’s breast.

H.E ato Muktar Kedir, the newly appointed president of the Oromia regional state and chairman of OPDO on the occasion said that the erection of the memorial monument is to commemorate those Oromo heroes and heroines  who were cruelly massacred for strongly resisting the then oppressive regime.

Ato Muktar added that the Aanolee historical monument is believed to be serving as Oromo cultural heritage hall that consists the Oromo Martyrs’ memorial monument, an ethnographic museum, a mural as well as research and study centers.

Mohammed Jilo, head of Oromia culture and tourism bureau, also said that the bureau is working with concerned stockholders to make the Aanolee monument a tourist attraction center. Hundreds of thousands from Arsi Zone and neighboring villages have attended the event.

It is now abundantly clear that the project of creating a strong multiparty opposition by uniting unitary parties and ethnic parties is anything but feasible. The inability of MEDREK to achieve unity despite numerous attempts as well as Dr. Negaso Gidada’s––who stepped down from the chairmanship of the strongest unitary party, namely, UDJ––recent convoluted declaration in which he said, “I oppose secession but support the right to secession,” seal the definitive collapse of the project. The sticking point, if one can decipher it in the maze of attacks and counterattacks, is the irreconcilable position of ethnic and unitary parties on the right to self-determination up to secession of the various ethnic groups composing Ethiopia. Another sticking point deriving from the right to self-determination is that parties have no right to campaign for political support or vote in regions that they do not represent ethnically. While the right to self-determination up to secession keeps Ethiopian unity in life support, the implication that regions are reserved for ethnic politics only does no more than remove the very purpose of unitary parties. Under these conditions, it is no surprise if the project of unity could not but fail completely.

Dr.Negaso Gdada

I was among the many Ethiopians who hailed the formation of MEDREK as a new and very promising beginning reconciling the imperative need for national unity with the legitimate demands for ethnic recognition and equality. What the inability to achieve unity clearly demonstrates is the persistent prevalence of ethnic nationalism over the demand for equality. Sadly, ethnic parties in Ethiopia seem to be stuck in the Stalinist dogma of self-determination up to secession as the only path to achieving equality. It never crosses their mind that there are more than one ways of rectifying past injustices without jeopardizing the unity of the country. The reason for this predilection for self-determination is not so much the commitment to democracy as the pursuit of narrow elitist interests.
No sooner did I come to this conclusion than it dawned on me that the ethnic parties are actually no different from the EPRDF. They share the same premises ideologically and politically, the only difference being that they are not part of the ruling elites. Not only these so-called opposition parties have no alternative politics to the EPRDF, but they also view the ethnic partition of Ethiopia as the formation of legitimate reserved territories for ethnicized elites. Accordingly, their aspiration is to accede to the ethnic power system by preventing unitary elites from competing. In thus defending the ascriptive right to the status of being the sole representatives of their ethnic groups, they are but saying that the groups are not Ethiopian and that they must not have the choice between alternative proposals on Ethiopian unity and ethnic diversity. People are essentially defined by their ethnic belonging: they form homogeneous and exclusive groups and, as such, have no individuality and rights transcending the groups to which they belong.
Both the defense of reserved ethnic territories and the refusal to compete in a non-ethnic field testify that ethnic opposition parties are committed to a version of politics that is utterly undemocratic and ascriptive. It is hardly consistent to speak of democracy and exclude people from competing on the basis of ethnic belonging. Our spontaneous belief is that individuals become politically active and create political parties to correct injustice and defend freedom. In reality, what Ethiopia’s modern history has invariably staged is the struggle of disgruntled elites for the control of power in the name of the working people or ethnic groups. That is why the political system they generate, when some of them succeed in prevailing, is invariably undemocratic. It is never about empowering the people; it is about seizing power in their name so as to advance sectarian interests.
The inevitable conclusion is that unitary parties must no longer waste their time, energy, and credibility in trying to form an inclusive party with ethnicized elites. My suspicion is that ethnic parties brandish unification with unitary parties just for the sake of gaining time to firmly plant the seeds of ethnonationalism in their respective regions by providing it with the aura of opposition to a failing government. Unless ethnic parties officially and without ambiguity drop the right to self-determination up to secession, they are no more no less than the Trojan horses of the EPRDF deceptively disguised as opposition parties. Instead of courting them into unification, unitary parties must focus on the task of gathering and organizing national forces and presenting their own alternative policy and vision. In addition to recognizing the equality of all ethnic and religious groups, the policy must lay out the conditions for its effective realization in harmony with the unconditional unity of Ethiopia. Where ethnic parties advocate division and exclusive enclaves, unitary parties must promote unity and equality through the democratic empowerment of the people. The motto must be: democratic unity versus sectarian politics.

Anteneh Abraham and Wondwosen Mekonnen

Awramba Times (Addis Ababa) – Three government-backed journo associations in Ethiopia were reportedly confronted each other.
According to the state owned daily newspaper, Addis Zemen, the leaders of the Ethiopian Journalists Association, Ethiopian Free-Press Journalists Association and Ethiopian National Journalists Union were confronted over engagements of character assassination against one another.

Click here to read Addis Zemen’s report in Amharic.

Woubshet Taye’s article from Ziway. Click here to read