Ethiopia's ruling junta will remain UK's #1 aid recipient

By Sally Healy
Ethiopia's ruling party has already staged a victory rally in Addis Ababa to mark their satisfaction with the elections held last Sunday. The official results will not be announced until 21 June. But it is already clear that Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian People's Democratic Revolutionary Party (EPRDF) has seen off the opposition parties in no uncertain terms.
The shock of 2005
Is this a surprise? Not really. The big surprise occurred five years ago when the Ethiopian electorate threw caution to the wind and voted in their millions for a change of government. But they did not secure victory and the bold democratic experiment ended in violent protests and bloodshed. Opposition supporters were harassed and intimidated. Amongst opposition politicians there were bitter recriminations. Many endured imprisonment. Some chose exile. Judging from the results of the latest contest, it was not an experience that many wanted to repeat.Read More

U.S. trading silence for military cooperation in Ethiopia?

On May 23, Ethiopia's incumbent Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was reelected in a landslide. Despite claims of fraud and coercion, Zenawi said: "We have no regrets and we offer no apologies."
Ethiopian journalist and democracy activist Abebe Gellaw has worked for the Ethiopian Herald, the only English daily in the country, and is a founding editor of Addis Voice, an online journal in English and Amharic that focuses on Ethiopia. The visiting scholar at Stanford is currently working on a book, Ethiopia Under Meles: Why the Transition from Military Rule to Democracy Failed.
He has an op-ed piece, "Ethiopia's Embarrassing Elections," in Monday's Wall Street Journal.
He spoke to the Stanford News Service about the election.
What are the implications of Meles Zenawi's win for human rights in Ethiopia?
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Ethiopia: A country of grey and gold – Economist

ADDIS ABABA (The Economist) — THERE are two colours I associate with Ethiopia. Grey for the dust, the bare hills, stony soil and donkeys. Grey for the Soviet-era buildings in the towns and the fumes of ancient Lada cars. Then there is gold, in the fields at harvest time, in the sunshine at that lung-busting altitude, and the heavy jewellery worn by women. Gold especially for the churches, the icons, the luminous curls in the crosses and staves, and in the golden plumage of archangels who many Ethiopians believe overlook the inner workings of their lives.
Religion is central to life in Ethiopia, as it is in the rest of Africa. But it is of a very different type. Neighbouring Kenya became Christian just over a century ago. Its Christianity still has a stripped-down missionary flavour. The Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, by contrast, were Christian long before St Augustine of Canterbury landed in England. The Band Aid anthem to raise money for Ethiopian famine victims in 1984 was in some ways ill-judged: of course they knew it was Christmastime.Read More

Istanbuul Conference on Somalia

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US court rules ex-Somali PM can be sued over torture

The US Supreme Court ruled former foreign officials do not have immunity
he US Supreme Court has ruled that it will not halt a lawsuit by alleged torture victims against former Somali Prime Minister Mahamed Ali Samantar. The original lawsuit was filed by Somalis living in the US under 1991's Torture Victim Protection Act.
A federal judge had originally ruled that Mr Samantar was entitled to diplomatic immunity. Read More

O.N.L.F Statement In Response To Melez Zenawis Press Conference Remarks

A claim made by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Melez Zenawi at his most recent
press conference that his regime will "soon sign an agreement" with the
Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) has no basis in reality and is
intended to mislead the international community in general and foreign oil
firms in particular.  The ONLF wishes to make clear that we have not been,
and currently are not, in discussions with this regime. The ONLF has
maintained a principled position that any negotiations with this regime
can only take place under the auspices of the international community in a Read More

Somalia: Famous radio station moved from insurgent area in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, June 1, 2010 (Mareeg)—Shabelle Radio also known as Shabelle Media Network has been moved from its headquarters in Bakaro market in Mogadishu, sources said on Tuesday.

Shabelle Media Network which broadcasts its news and programmes through FM radio and television in the capital, Mogadishu has been operating in Bakro market for the last eight years.

   

Sources say the management of radio decided to move from its headquarters in Bakaro to a building near Aden Adde international airport in Mogadishu under the control of the Somali government.

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Somalia: Bari elders call Ethiopian government to respect Somalia’s territorial integrity

Abdi Nor
Radio RBC, Mogadishu
Abdinor2@hotmail.com
Bossaso (Radio RBC )-Elders of Bari region in Puntland state have condemned yesterday the offensive which Ethiopian troops have taken last week to Buhodle district and killed many Somali innocent people .
The elders held yesterday press conference in Bossaso, the capital Bari region and said that they call Ethiopian government to stop interfering Somali internal affairs and also to keep the existence of Somali border.
Abdi Asis Afgudud, one of the elders who spoke to the reporters in the place they held the press conference have said what makes peace is good neighborhood and added that they again are calling Ethiopian government to keep good neighborhood. Read More

Somali government criticizes Ethiopian government of interfering its internal affairs

Abdirashid Hidig

Somali transitional federal government has first time spoken about today the fighting which happened recently Buhodle district and between Ethiopian troops and Buhodle residents.
The fighting caused more casualties reached to Somali civilians in the area.
Somali transitional federal interior junior minister, A/rashid Mahamed Hiddig, has held press conference in Djibouti, the capital of Djibouti republic, and condemned Ethiopian government that its troops entered Somali territory aggressively and added that Ethiopia has broken the law of borders and has done more operations inside Somalia having no permission.
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Somalia: Ahlu Sunna and Al-shabab fight in Dusamareb townMogadishu (RBC Radio)-Fighters loyal to Al-shabab clashed with other Fighters belong to Ahlusunna in some of Dusamareb town, the capital of galgadud region.

Mogadishu (RBC Radio)-Fighters loyal to Al-shabab clashed with other Fighters belong to Ahlusunna in some of Dusamareb town, the capital of galgadud region.
The clashes happened in the residents known as Mareer guur and Godoon which lie about 45km to Dusamareb town.
The reports say that the fighting caused many innocent people dead thought it is not clear how many people have died. Read More

The Buhodleh and Widhwidh Massacre: an opportunity for peace and stability

The concurrent disparaging incursion of the Ethiopian forces – the overlords of Somalia – in to the peaceful town of Buhodle that resulted in an all out massacre of multitude of innocent civilians and Somaliland militia’s savage hammering of Widh-Widh district with the sole aim of forcing unwilling people to vote for the ruling party (UDUB) has come at the least desirable time. This military action is ill-timed as the region is in the run up to the long awaited election and thus can neither afford to give any ropes to the weak and bewildered opposition that has no viable agenda, nor to disappoint the international community that invested heavily on the election project, who are watching from afar. In times of confusion and civil war, history teaches us that the extremist ride on the back of the society and if this policy of belligerence is not tamed rapidly it will certainly backfire to UDUB who so far glided Somaliland through perilous times in which the opposition were prepared to stage pointless civil wars. Attention of the leaders should always focus on the fact that Somaliland’s fragile economy can’t sustain an open ended war of aggression against the SSC – the SSC is the third administrative region in Northern Somalia besides Somaliland and Puntland.

It is very plausible that the opposition will use this unfortunate aimless militarism to their advantage if they play their cards right. The opposition is bound to depict (UDUB) as undemocratic and corrupt  administration that is using- the funds the international community donated to Somaliland’s administration to conduct safe, fair and peaceful election - to start wars in the neighbourhood to uproot civilians from their towns. The current policy of militarism has the potentiality of tainting the success UDUB party is expected to reap from the ballot box which is due to take place very soon as the opposition is in no position to throw out a significant challenge other than to cry foul and claim the vote was rigged. To score few political points, against the insane and far right opposition that live in the days of the now defunct and controversial SNM that has no relevance to the current situation except in the minds of the out-of-touch opposition, isn’t worth derailing the centrist UDUB party.Read the whole