March 31, 2006 Opening Statement of Chairman Chris Smith of House Subcommittee on Africa, March 28, 2006 Testimony by Dr. Meqdes Mesfin to the House International Relations Committee

Testimony by Lynn Fredriksson, Amnesty International USA, to the House International Relations Committee

Testimony by Mr. Obang O. Metho to the House International Relations Committee

Testimony by Andargachew Tsege to the House International Relations Committee

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March 30, 2006
 

Ethiopia no longer at crossroads, it has decided, it's not forward Eritrea Daily - Perth Amboy,NJ,USA ... I am here for the Oromo, the Somali, the Afar and for any in other ethnic groups throughout Ethiopia who have been oppressed. I ...

Peace council stems violence in drought-stricken Ethiopia ReliefWeb (press release) - Geneva,Switzerland MOYALE, Ethiopia -- In this border town with Kenya, not a day goes by when ... clans from two separate ethnic groups -- the Somali and the Oromo -- share grazing ... Sierra Leone: Taylor at War Crimes Court

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March 29, 2006
The Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and
International Operations held open hearing on
“Ethiopia’s Troubled Internal Situation” on March 28,
2006. 

http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/afhear.htm

 

Four Days Back in Borena Oxfam America (press release) - Boston,MA,USA ... What has been the best-known rangeland in Ethiopia is now overpopulated, and the fear is that this year’s rainfall will be insufficient to ... The Oromo have a ... document]: Premier's Report to Parliament On Untouched ... AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA My report today will cover the main activities undertaken to advance our objectives for peace, development and democracy since my last report to this House ...   Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of meddling after deadly blasts Middle East Times - Cairo,Egypt ... he added, referring to the ousted regime of ex-dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and separatist Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) rebels based in southern Ethiopia. ...

March 27, 2006

One killed, 15 wounded as explosions rock Ethiopian capital

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - One person was killed and 15 injured, four of them seriously, when four explosions rocked the Ethiopian capital, police said.

The first blast, whose origin is still undetermined, occurred about one kilometre (0.6 miles) south of Addis Ababa's central Meskel Square, police spokesman Demsach Hailu told AFP.

"An explosion occurred in a minibus at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT). One person died," he told AFP.

Demsach said a second explosion had rocked a government-owned slaughterhouse in the capital but there had been no casualties or damage. A third blast damaged a restaurant in the Mexico area, west of Addis Ababa, where police said 13 people had been injured.

Police said a fourth explosion had occurred in the capital's northeastern Teklehaimanot district but had not caused any injuries.

"I think the explosions are due to criminal acts but the cases are under investigation. They are not accidents, I think," Demsach told AFP.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Explosions have become common in the Ethiopian capital in recent months and authorities have heaped blame on separatist rebels from the Oromo Liberation Front and the Somali radical Islamist group, al-Itihaad al-Islamiya.

Tension has been high in the capital since the deaths in June and November 2005 of at least 84 people -- many at the hands of police. The deaths occurred after the opposition called protests against alleged fraud in the May 15 elect

:Chairman Reaffirms Commitment to Sustain Victories As ...
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
The Oromo Peoples' Democratic Organization (OPDO) is determined, more than ever before to sustain victories scored so far, organization Chairman Abadula Gemeda ...
 

Tourism Destination Management Said Crucial in ... AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA ... He further said Ethiopia, as a member of the UNWTO Working group on Risk Assessment and Crisis prevention management, is concerned not only about such ... Emirates lands in Ethiopia Business in Africa (subscription) - South Africa Addis Ababa – This week marks the start of more air traffic to Africa with Emirates now offering services between Dubai and Addis Ababa. ... Ethiopia [press release]: Environmental Prize AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA Tewolde Gebre Egziabher of Ethiopia, who campaigns for community rights in Africa and against the patenting of life forms, and Mohamed El-Ashry of Egypt ..  Farmer Households Become Food Self-Sufficient AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA Over 80 per cent of the 53,352 farmer households resettled in the Amhara state during the past three years have become food self-sufficient, according to the ..  Pastoralists Benefit From Export of Livestock to ... AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA The legal export of livestock to neighbouring Somaliland is yielding encouraging results, while the activities have in turn been improving the livelihood of ...  Youth Urged to Bear Responsibility of Sustaining ... AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA The Amhara State Youth Association underscored that the youth bears great responsibility of sustaining the economic achievements registered during the last .  Defence Ministry Undertakes Activities Ensuring ... AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA The Ministry of Defence said it has undertaken various activities in a bid to ensure the existing democratic system in the country and boost the capability of ...

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March 23, 2006 

ANYUAK/NUER - Acquiring citizenship by aggression in Ethiopia
Sudan Tribune - Sudan
... This is true in Southern and Eastern Ethiopia. It is the same equation here in Gambella. ... For example, the Oromo expelled the Amhara, the Tigre and vise versa. ...
Ethiopian Honourary Consulate in Slovakia Inaugurated
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
... the inaugural ceremony on 16th March 2006, Slovakian Foreign Affairs Minister, Eduard Kukan said the bilateral relation of Slovakia and Ethiopia is gathering ...
 

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March 21, 2006 

Oromo: Oromo Liberation Front(OLF) Fights Against Baseless ... UNPO - The Hague,Netherlands Recently, having been rejected by the people of Ethiopia, the dying regime ... prompted by the wide spread popular uprising of the Oromo people spearheaded by the ...   Bahrain Delegation Visits EIASC Headquarters AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA Delegation Head Dr. Abdurrahman Abdullah Bin Ali expressed his satisfaction over the prevalence of freedom of worships in Ethiopia. ... East Africa hopes to fix Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK NAIROBI, March 20 (Reuters) - East Africa must focus on solving the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute and also bolster the continent's credibility by shepherding ... Ethiopia Participates Johannesburg Energy Ministers' Forum AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA The Ministry of Mines and Energy announced that Ethiopia has taken part in the African energy ministers meeting held in Johannesburg on power generation and ...   Ethiopia : Safety-Net program benefitting over 520,000 farmers African News Dimension - Johannesburg,South Africa By Andnetwork .com. The East Hararghe Zone Information and Public Relations Office in Oromia State said a Safety-Net program that ...   Ethiopia [column]: Politics: Diaspora Matters On the Diaspora And ... AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA ... international context, the column will mainly focus on diaspora matters as they relate to African development in general and that of Ethiopia in particular. ... Drought Rages in Ethiopia's Somali Region Voice of America - USA By Cathy Majtenyi. The Somali region of southeastern Ethiopia is being hit by a drought that is also affecting parts of Kenya and Somalia. ...   Ethiopia to host regional football match in December People's Daily Online - Beijing,China Ethiopia said Sunday it will host the Confederation of East and Central African Football Association (CECAFA) Senior Challenge Cup in December this year. ... Comazar gets Ethiopia-Djibouti deal Mail & Guardian Online - Johannesburg,South Africa ... board and Comazar. Over the years, the 1 000km railway was jointly managed by France -- later Djibouti -- and Ethiopia. In recent ...   Ethiopia: The Somali Region Hit by Drought Geeska Afrika - Somalia Djibouti (HAN) March 20, 2006 - The Somali region of southeastern Ethiopia is being hit by a drought that is also affecting parts of Kenya and Somalia. ...   Ethiopia : Ensure that activities are gender-responsive African News Dimension - Johannesburg,South Africa By Andnetwork .com. Speaker of the House of Peoples Representatives urged sector offices to make sure that their development undertakings ...   Ethiopia earns over 23 million dollars from export of gold People's Daily Online - Beijing,China Ethiopia said Sunday it has secured over 23 million US dollars from export of gold within the past seven months that ended in January this year. ...

March 20, 2006

WOMAN AT RISK

Oromo refugee finds life is finally beautiful
By DANIELLE BLEWETT , Tuesday, 20 March 2006

ALL SMILES: Ethiopian refugee Felementu Ana has found happiness in Tasmania. Picture: NEIL RICHARDSON
 

She's made a long and joyless journey, but happiness is finally found and life is beautiful for Ethiopian refugee Felementu Ana.

In 1993 Felementu and her husband of one year, Mohammed, were rounded up and detained for being on the wrong side of Ethiopian politics.

They ran a restaurant but were also members of the opposition Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement and were among many thousands taken to detention centres in southern and western Ethiopia.

"They took us together, then we were put into different camps. They didn't put us in together. I was in jail for three months. I came back to look for my husband, but there was still trouble," Felementu said.

Calls by the US and EU for the release of all Ethiopian political prisoners came too late for Felementu and Mohammed.

"I never saw him since that time. I never settled down. Just running. Scared of many things," she said.

"Sometimes it is hard to talk."

Now living in Launceston, Felementu was born in Ethiopia in 1968, one of five children.

With no memories of childhood happiness, she thinks she might have been happy, but can't remember how or when that could have been.

"I have been living a refugee life. It has been a hard life," she said.

Last November she learned that her mother was dead. Her father died on the family's journey out of a Somali refugee camp in 1991.

One sister is alive in Africa but there are no signs of her two brothers or another sister.

She says she was "reborn" when she was offered re- settlement in Australia through a Woman at Risk visa.

"I came to Australia and I started happiness here," she said.

"I came to Australia and I feel feelings I cannot find from when I was a child.

"People have helped me start my life again. I feel like my home and life are here."

Felementu set Australia a test to see whether she could trust her happiness.

"I saw two police walking down Charles St. A man and a woman. I walked ahead of them and waited to see if they would see me ... if they would maybe catch me.

"Then, I thought, maybe they didn't see me. So I did it again. I came in front of them. After that I had to make myself trust and settle down.

"Now everything works for me and nothing is trouble. I have a beautiful, wonderful life," she said.

Felementu wants to thank us all ... the Australian Government, the Tasmanian Government the Launceston community. "I am very thankful for the care and dignity. I pray to God that we can keep our peaceful life," she said.

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March 17,2006

Treasured texts
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus,OH,USA
... anywhere without the Bible that his wife, Tenaye, gave him during their wedding in 1999 in Ethiopia's capital ... He attends Oromo Lutheran Church on the East Side ...
 

Oromo People’s uprising added a new dimension
Sudan Tribune - Sudan
... is becoming more aggressive towards the peaceful demonstrators showing its frustration and incapability to administer the Oromo people and others in Ethiopia. ...
ETHIOPIA: Political tension triggered media clampdown, says CPJ
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
NAIROBI, 15 March (IRIN) - Political divisions in Ethiopia have led to a crackdown on privately owned newspapers, self-censorship by the media, and the ...
Ethiopia: Ethiopian Engineers in Washington DC Discuss Engineering ...
AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA
... He said Ethiopia designed the engineering sector capacity building programme by drawing best practices of countries that registered remarkable results in the ...
Ethiopia, Eritrea not upbeat
News24 - South Africa
Asmara - Feuding neighbours Ethiopia and Eritrea have given a lukewarm response tp talks in London aimed at unlocking their border stalemate, despite a UN ...
A-Bashir urges settlement of Ethiopia-Sudan border disputes
Sudan Tribune - Sudan
Mar 14, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese president, Omer Al-Bashir, has called for settlement of the border disputes between the Sudanese and Ethiopian farmers. ...
Treason trial in Ethiopia begins
Frost Illustrated - Fort Wayne,IN,USA
By Braden Ruddy. (GIN)-Ethiopia's opposition leaders are among 129 people who have gone on trial for treason and attempted genocide in a recently begun trial. ...
Locals bring water, hope to Ethiopia
Terrace Standard - Terrace,British Columbia,Canada
WHEN LESLEY Erasmus returned to Terrace from her first trip to Ethiopia three years ago, she felt a little guilty every time she used her tap or flushed the ...
Ethiopia says may end poverty at current growth rate
Reuters AlertNet - London,England,UK
ADDIS ABABA, March 15 (Reuters) - Ethiopia, one of the world's most needy countries, said on Wednesday it could end extreme poverty if it kept up the healthy 7 ...
Genocide verdict for Ethiopia's Mengistu due in May
Washington Post - United States
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - A verdict in the genocide trial against Ethiopia's exiled former dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam is due on May 23 after 14 years of ...
Ambassadors told to market Ethiopia
Business in Africa (subscription) - South Africa
Addis Ababa – Ethiopia’s president has told new ambassadors to be on the look out for new markets for Ethiopian goods at a farewell ceremony. ...
European Union Issues Its Long Awaited Report On Ethiopia
Voice of America - USA
By Ashenafi Abedje. The European Union has issued its long-awaited final report on last May’s legislative elections in Ethiopia. ...
Ethiopia obtains over 7 million dollars from horticulture export
People's Daily Online - Beijing,China
Some 7.1 million US dollars were secured from export of Ethiopia's horticultural products over the past seven months, officials said Tuesday. ...