New Year Message

December 30, 2010

Dear Ethiopian compatriots all over the world:  

On Behalf of our members, I’m sending this New Year's message to wish a happy New Year to all.

As you all know, 2010, like all other previous years was a year of sadness for most Ethiopians. The violation of human rights continued unabated, we witnessed a sham and shameful election, the environmental degradation and land grab accelerated with a lightening speed. The Health and Education system of our people has collapsed beyond repair, and the social interaction among Ethiopians is jeopardized immensely. Yes, the release of prominent Ethiopian politician Ms. Birtukan Midekssa was a victory for all human rights activists and to all those who become voice for the voiceless.

Today more than any other time in the history of our Ethiopia, the existence of our beloved motherland is in question. Now more than ever, we should continue the struggle for Respect of Human Rights and democracy, hand and glove together as one people, regardless of our ethnic, religious and political differences.

I pray and wish the year 2011, to bring Unity, Peace and Democracy to our country and people.   

Yousuf Omer 

Unity for Human Rights and Democracy

Toronto Canada   

HAPPY NEW YEAR

አንድነቶች በቅርቡ አንድ ሊኾኑ ይችላሉ

ሰንደቅ ጋዜጣ ታማኝ ምንጮቼ ነገሩኝ ብሎ እንደጻፈው አንድነት ፓርቲ ውስጥ የተፈጠሩት አንጃዎች 99 በመቶ የእርቅ ስምምነት ላይ ደርሰዋል፡፡ በቅርቡም የእርቀ ሰላም ጠቅላላ ጉባኤ ተጠርቶ እንደ አዲስ አመራር ይመረጣል፡፡ በዚህ የእርቅ ጉባኤ ዶክተር ነጋሶ ጊዳዳ፣ አቶ ስየ አብረሃ እና አቶ አንዷለም አራጌ  እንደማንኛውም አባል በመራጭነትና በተመራጭነት መሳተፍ እንደሚችሉ መግባባት ላይ እንደተደረሰ ጋዜጣው ዘግቧል፡፡ ሁኔታው እንደታሰበለት ከሄደ ህክምናቸውን በደቡብ አፍሪካ አጠናቀው ወደ አገርቤት የተመለሱትን የፓርቲውን መሥራች ወ/ት ብርቱካን ሚደቅሳን ወደ ፖለቲካ ለመመለስ ምቹ ኹኔታን እንደሚፈጥር ጋዜጣው ያለውን ግምት ገልጧል፡፡

Ethiopian Donors May Further Probe Allegations That Government Misused Aid

Major donors to Ethiopia may renew a probe into claims the government has used aid to silence the opposition after Human Rights Watch called on them to investigate its allegations further.
In an October report, New York-based Human Rights Watch said the government used “donor-supported programs” to control political opponents by denying them access to land, credit, fertilizers, food aid and other resources. In an e-mailed statement on Dec. 17, the group called on donors to investigate the claims themselves.
The Development Assistance Group Ethiopia, which is based in Addis Ababa and made up of 26 donors, met recently to discuss the allegations, Sandra Baldwin, deputy director of the U.K. Department for International Development Ethiopia, said by phone on Dec. 18. Baldwin didn’t rule out field research to investigate specific claims of abuse.
The donor group “has been actively discussing the additional work to follow up on the earlier” report into the abuse allegations, Ken Ohashi, the World Bank’s country director for Ethiopia, said in an e-mailed response to questions. A government spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
The group said in an October statement it didn’t “concur with the conclusions” of Human Rights Watch’s report that alleged widespread, systematic abuse of development aid.
“Our study did not generate any evidence of systematic or widespread distortion,” said the donor group, which includes the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the U.S.
Human Rights Watch says the Horn of Africa nation, which has been ruled by former rebels since 1991, is one of the world’s largest recipients of foreign aid, getting about $3.3 billion annually from 2004 through 2008.
In May elections, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its allies won 545 out of 547 parliamentary seats. A European Union observation mission said the poll “did not meet certain international commitments.” The government has rejected criticism and said the process was free and fair.
To contact the reporter on this story: William Davison in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

Ethiopia’s Spiritual warrior and Communicative Rationalist: Thinking of Birtukan Mideksa

By Teodros Kiros
Gone are the days of life in the beauty of darkness and the cruelty of solitude.
During those days, I imagined her, pensive, still and determined to live; I imagined her behind rusty prison rails thinking about the millions of Ethiopians gazing at stars and praying to the transcendent; I imagined her drinking water and breathing air and thanking the loving God for keeping her alive; I imagined her extending her contagious smile to the prison guards who kept their eyes on her; I imagined her taking notes in her heart for a future masterpiece that she will present to the Ethiopian people.
I cannot stop imagining her now, now that she is in the sunlight of freedom wrapped by the adoring hands of the Ethiopian public, most particularly the members of her generation.
Birukan, the queen of justice, as I called her, when she was in prison, is now the queen of silent justice outside of prison.
I now imagine her in the company of her loving mother and joyous daughter drinking from the fountain of freedom; I imagine her waking to the sound of trees, the music of birds and the voices of the millions of Ethiopians who secretly adore her; I imagine millions of Ethiopian women admiring her defiance and her intelligence; I imagine all those parents who will one day name their children after Birtukan, the eloquent tribune of deliberative democracy.
When the dawn of genuine freedom reins in Ethiopia, Birtukan will use her spirituality, always mediated through that embracing smile, which takes in the hearts of the Ethiopian public, yearning for freedom, to guide the Ethiopian nation through the sheer force of loving-kindness. This spirituality will work in concert with her fine legal mind, and be articulated via communicative rationality and emerge as the leader of a people’s party, which I would like to call, Ethiopianity.

How honored I would be if the Transcendent would preserve me to work for Birtukan Mideska, as the new voice of Ethiopianity and the leader of the people’s party, Ethiopianity.
Teodros Kiros
Professor of Philosophy and English (Liberal Arts)
Berklee College of Music

በቶሮንቶ የሠማዕታት ቀን ተከከበረ