Fossils belong to new great ape
BBC News, UK - August 22, 2007
Nine fossilised teeth found in Ethiopia are from a previously unknown species of great ape, Nature journal reports.
The 10 million-year-old fossils belong to an animal that has been named Cororapithecus abyssinicus by the Ethiopian-Japanese team.
This new species could be a direct ancestor of living African great apes, say the researchers.
The finds from the Afar rift, in eastern Ethiopia, raise questions on current theories of human evolution.
The researchers say the fossils from Ethiopia probably belonged to an ape from the gorilla family ...
The teeth were discovered in a region called the Afar rift in Ethiopia, about 170km (106 miles) east of Addis Ababa.
In an area of the Oromiya National Regional State, there are exposed patches of sediments that are 10 to 11 million years old, from the Miocene era, which are known as Miocene Chorora Formation.
The name of the ape is taken from the geological formation Chorora and the former name of Ethiopia, Abyssinia ...

Short odds for Bekele's distance hat-trick
Independent Online, South Africa - August 20, 2007
Who's the greatest? Kenenisa Bekele can take another step towards settling that argument with his third successive 10 000m world title.
With Haile Gebrselassie's 5 000m and 10 000m records already in the bag, the diminutive Ethiopian can now move towards the Emperor's 1993-1999 haul of four successive 10 000m world titles.
"I am not thinking a lot about that at the moment," said Bekele, who also took his hero's Olympic title over the distance in Athens.
"It would be an honour to emulate Haile in that regard, but my priority now is to recover from Mombasa."
Bekele's shock failure to finish this year's world cross-country race in Kenya may have punctured the aura of invincibility, but he has already shown he can deal with setbacks ...

Oromo diaspora flocks state capitol to protest Ethiopia-US alliance
Twin Cities Planet, Minnesota - August 19, 2007
The United States should stop supporting the Ethiopian government’s aggression against its opposition if there is to be peace in the Horn of Africa region, an official of the Oromo Liberation Front said.
Hassan Hussein, the foreign relations head of the Ethiopian-based OLF, accused the U.S. government of continued collaboration with the Ethiopian regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, despite consistent reports of human rights abuses in that country.
“Zenawi is an enemy of peace, not only inside Ethiopia, but look what’s happening in Somalia, where his troops are killing innocent civilians,” Hussein told a crowd of nearly a thousand people, who gathered outside the State Capitol to demonstrate against Ethiopia’s treatment of Oromos.
Hussein said time had come for the U.S. government to cease its diplomatic ties with Zenawi’s regime. Instead, Hussein said the Bush administration could play an active role as a mediator between the OLF movement and the Ethiopian government. Hussein appealed to Washington to initiate space for dialogue with the Ethiopian government that would bring the two sides to the negotiating table to meet face to face and talk about ways of resolving their differences peacefully ...

For Tufa, 10000m was not love at first sight
IAAF, Monaco - August 17, 2007
Of the few things that irritated Ethiopian runner Mestawet Tufa in the two years prior to 2007, the mention of the words 10,000m definitely topped the list.
“I hated the mention of the event,” Tufa says. “Five years ago when I competed for the first time in the event in Addis Ababa, I was lapped by five or six runners and finished seventh.”
Instead of working hard and getting better at the event, Tufa chose to stay away from the event until this year when she ‘gambled’ on a decision to return at the 36th Ethiopian Athletics Championships in Addis Ababa.
It has proven to be a masterstroke of a decision that has since seen her take the national title, run a world leading time (31:00.47 in Valenswaard, Netherlands) at the distance to secure her place in Ethiopia’s team for the 11th IAAF World Championships in Osaka, and storm past world class challengers to win the All African Games title in Algiers, Algeria.
More significantly, however, it has put her in contention for a medal when the world’s top distance runners line up for the women’s 10,000m in the Japanese coastal city.
“I am happy that I made the decision to try the 10,000m,” she says. “It has given me the best year of my career" ...

Elizabeth Blunt’s Lopsided BBC News from Addis Ababa
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - August 17, 2007
I always read Elizabeth Blunt’s BBC news from Finfinne, which lacks professionalism and objectivity. But I was shocked when I read her headline, ‘Ethiopia New Year terror thwarted’, published on BBC website news on 15 August 2007. I was shocked because Elizabeth’s sources were only from the ruling tyrannical Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Party officials as usual. I was also shocked as I know that thousands of people are arbitrarily being jailed for being Oromo, which is enough reason to qualify them to be threats to the government. As always Elizabeth’s news was not different from what the government Television and Radio (ETV and Ethiopia Radio) tell us when they want to campaign to eliminate civilians who they consider threats in the name of the opposition Oromo Liberation Front or any opposition for that matter. They call this civilians and oppositions ‘terrorists’. Surprisingly, Elizabeth subscribed to the same propaganda of calling opposition groups and civilians ‘terrorists’ that the government uses as its currency with the West ...

Video: Former Ethiopian President Dr. Negasso Gidada (1995-2001) takes individual & collective responsibilities for crimes committed against the Oromo people during his presidency. Click here to watch.

National Public Radio (NPR) Morning Edition - August 13, 2007
Ethiopia wages war with suspected Islamic extremists in Somalia and within its volatile east. And it has secretly cracked down on other groups it deems terrorist, including one in western Ethiopia {Oromia}. The situation is raising serious human rights concerns, and tough questions for its ally, the United States. Click here to listen to the NPR report OR Click here to directly go to NPR's page

US moves to shut Eritrean mission
BBC Afrique, UK - August 13, 2007
The United States has ordered the closure of Eritrea's consulate in California, in a sign of worsening diplomatic relations.
US embassy officials in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, say the decision is due to a string of restrictions imposed on its embassy.
In response, Eritrea has accused the US of an unjust and unfriendly policy.
Relations between the two countries soured after US-backed Ethiopia entered Somalia to fight Islamist forces.
The BBC's Peter Martell in Asmara says the closure will affect the Eritrean government's attempt to collect a 2% income tax on Eritrean expatriates in California - an important source of income ...

Oromo Refugees in Cairo – forgotten by all
American Chronicle, CA - Aug 12, 2007
"The two Oromos were caught in their ways to saving their lives, and are still suffering in the prison they run away from.
Shagga Dibu – he served in prison for one year without any trial; he was interviewed by UNHCR office twice, but is still pleading to all Humanitarian offices to be freed. We are crystal clear that if he is sent back home, his fate is death or life imprisonment.
Zakir Abba Sambe Abba Waji – he served in prison for one year with out any trial, he was caught in the border from Libya when he attempted to enter Egypt. His bag contained a big amount of money, and it was confiscated; he is mentally draining. If he returns to where he fled from, he will automatically face grave consequences" ...

OLF denies Ethiopian army claims over military victories
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - August 10, 2007
A Bogus Victory Declaration of TPLF/EPRDF Tyrannical Regime
In our recent statement the OLF correctly stated that, "the TPLF regime has shown itself to be the mother and father of all lies". Indeed since the time of Nazi Germany, there has never been a regime like that of the TPLF, which has developed lies and deception into an art of governance. The regime has fabricated so much lies to confuse and victimize the Oromo and other peoples of Ethiopia. In the process the regime’s survival has totally depended on manufacturing lies and hate propaganda on those it believes threat to its multiple agendas.
The regime has been fabricating such baseless lies primarily for the consumption of its international financiers. Thus, over the years the regime has perfected the art of manufacturing lies for the purpose of obtaining financial and military support from its international backers" ...

The forgotten People of Northern Kenya
American Chronicle, CA - August 8, 2007
The northern half of Kenya is a vast, sparsely populated desert. The dry shrub lands and rocky wasteland is home to some of Kenya’s most interesting people, such as the Borana-Oromo and Gabra-Oromo tribes. These tribes have been influenced very little by the west, and unlike the Maasai, have had very little contact with tourists as well. They live as they did years ago by herding livestock. The people as well as the awesome scenery make Northern Kenya a nice place to visit.
The current atmosphere between the tribes of Northern Kenya is very touchy, and tribal violence has become quite common. Livestock raids between some tribes have turned violent due to use of automatic weapons, and a vicious cycle of revenge killings has emerged. This is mainly a problem with tribes of Northern Kenya , but violence is also common east of lake, where bandits roam. The danger of bandits is so real that no one goes north of Samburu National Reserve without an armed escort.
Thinking about this expansive region, it is hurting to see the extent of neglect by successive regimes. Clearly no one and I mean no one has interest of developing that region. We have to put aside our difference and demand our share. I lost count how many times we have been promised that the Isiolo-Moyale road will be tarmacked. Soon it will be promised in the forth-coming by-elections. You should know that is a plain lie. Truth will only prevail if we ourselves stood together and demand for what is rightfully ours. This road is our right it’s not a privilege ...

Displaced Oromians race to free their homeland
Minnesota Spokesman Recorder, MN - August 8, 2007
Although it is one of Africa’s largest nations, Oromia is either forgotten by or unknown to the majority of the world today. A July 29 first-ever race around Lake Calhoun was intended in part to rectify that oversight.
Only four nations in Africa have larger populations than Oromia (estimated at 40 million), which is located in the Horn of Africa and makes up a large part of Ethiopia. It is about the size of Texas.
However, throughout most of their early history, the Oromo people have been utterly mistreated. During the last quarter of the 19th century, Oromia was colonized by Abyssinia, a Black African nation that received help from the European colonial powers of the day. Between 1870 and 1900, the Oromo population was cut in half from 10 million to five million. Many were killed by the colonial army, while others died of famine and epidemics and others were sold as slaves ...

Appeal to International Humanitarian Organizations to Intervene
Cairo-Based Oromo Community, Cairo - August 6, 2007
We are dealing with the cases of Oromo prisoners who were caught on their way to saving their lives, Many Oromos whom we know died through their ways in thorny journey and passing through risky areas.
We are continuously visiting the Egyptian Prison Kanatir in Kelyubiya Governorate where two Oromo prisoners were currently detained. We felt very concerned and emotionally moved by the way and situation they were living. It is really situation where we are not be able to help them except through your kind office.
The two Oromos were caught in their ways to saving their lives and are still suffering in the prison they ran away from.
Shagga Dibu , served in prison for one year without any trial; he was interviewed by UNHCR office twice , but still pleaing to all humanitarian organizations to be freed. We are crystal clear that when he will be sent back home his fate is death or life imprisonment.
Zakir Abba Sambe Abba Waji served in prison for one year with out any trial; he was caught at the border from Libya when he attempted to enter Egypt. His bag containing a big amount of money was confiscated, and he is mentally draining. If he is returned where he fled from, he will automatically face grave punishment.
We appeal to international humanitarian organizations to Intervene to facilitate the future of these people, who serving in jail out of the sight of the world and humanitarian organizations. We fully recommend that these people need special ATTENTION as par INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE LAW and as function of International Organization to facilitate those type of people who were vulnerable like them ...

Mr. Obang Metho Addresses Oromo Community in Minnesota and Asks the Question:If Woyane Can Unify, Why Can’t We?
Aynuak Media - August 4, 2007
I was invited by our Oromo brothers and sisters through the Oromo-American Citizens Council to speak at the Second Annual International Oromo Human Rights Conference on “Conflict in East Africa and the Current Human Rights Situation.” I was to address the subject of human rights violations in Ethiopia with a special focus on the Anuak as well as to assess the risk of genocide and further human rights violations against other ethnic groups in the Horn of Africa.
I was very pleased to participate because I am fully committed to speak up for the betterment of the Oromo, who I know have been the targets of countless human rights abuses for many years, based on their ethnicity and the desire of each consecutive government to subdue and control this largest of ethnic groups, accounting for 40% of all Ethiopians. These abuses include extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detentions, torture, disappearances, false imprisonment and threats and intimidation along with more subtle forms of repression reflected in the lack of health services, infra-structure and access to economic, political and educational opportunities ...
The next day, we went to the rally - “Oromia Shall Be Free,” sponsored by the International Oromo Youth Association with support from other groups as well. The purpose of the rally, as they stated in their literature, “was to address the injustices and hidden ethnic cleansing directed at the Oromo” and “to get fair and balanced media attention on the situation of Oromo refugees in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.” When I arrived at the rally, close to a thousand Oromos were already walking by the Minnesota State Capitol building ...
Think what could happen if the Oromo, being the majority ethnic group, became united as one so you could speak with one voice. You could possibly bring this government to the end by yourselves. However, think about what could happen if the Oromos joined with other ethnic groups! Our victory could be more certain than ever. Think what it will take to sustain that victory for the future generations who we would want to live in peace and harmony with their neighbors. To win such a battle for lasting justice, we have to first think differently and then do things differently. This is what I’m going to talk about now ...

Oppression of the Oromos is being ignored
St. Cloud Times, MN - August 2, 2007
I’m a junior at St. Cloud State University majoring International Relations. I am conducting research on some of the contemporary issues affecting the Oromos in East Africa. One of my goals is to raise awareness about the ongoing atrocities being committed against my people.
The Oromos are the forgotten people in Africa, make up a very large portion of the population in the Horn of Africa. According to the U.S. State Department, in Ethiopia alone Oromo people constitute more than 40 million out of the 77 million inhabitants.
Oromo people call their country Oromia and their language is called Afaan Oromo (Oromo language). Oromia is an evergreen country that covers 600,000 square kilometers close to the size of Texas. Ethiopian authorities have denied their citizens basic human rights by resorting to violence as an attempt to conceal political differences.
Liberty, security, the right to education, freedom of speech and the right to a fair trial are inalienable rights which every human being is entitled to by birth, but these are denied to the Oromos ...

Questions shower Ethiopian ex-leader
Minnesota Daily, MN - August 1, 2007
Remedan Yuya fled Ethiopia to escape the hardship and strife brought upon the Oromo people by the Ethiopian government.
Dr. Negasso Gidada, an Oromo himself, served as president of that government from 1995 to 2001. He is currently a member of the Ethiopan parliament.
"When I saw him, what I feel, (he is) somebody who tried to kill me, who tried to hunt me back home, I escaped from that," said Yuya, an activist and Oromo Studies Association member. "My sisters, my brothers, my mom, my father, because of him, disappeared. Then, how can I tolerate (him) over here?"
Last week, hundreds of Oromos attended two conferences at Coffman Union to discuss human rights issues facing the Oromo community in Ethiopia.
Gidada spoke at both conferences; Yuya attended one.
"When Sept. 11 happened, I was a student in college. I was made sick by that day because of all the people dying in America," Yuya said. "That's the same I feel when I see (Gidada)" ...

Worrying Food Security Situation in Oromiya Region
OCHA, Ethiopia - July 31, 2007
In West Hararghe zone, reports from WFP field monitoring visits indicate a deteriorating food security situation in Kuni, Habru, Guba koricha and Doba woredas. Enhanced Outreach Strategy (EOS) screening results also point to increased levels of acute malnutrition in Doba, Gub Koricha and Habro woredas. The Regional Food Security and Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Bureau transferred targeted supplementary food to help address the malnutrition cases. In the other woredas, the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) Contingency Fund has been tasked to address relief food requirements. There are concerns, however, that the contingency fund allowance is insufficient to cover the current need and more critically, has not, with the exception of Habro, been received by the affected woredas. In response, Oromiya Region has requested the FDPPA to include an additional case load in the current relief operation ...

Chinese company to construct $500 million industrial park in Ethiopia
Afrique en ligne, France - July 31, 2007
A Chinese company, Jiangsu Qiyaan Investment Group, announced on Tuesday plans to construct the first private industrial zone in Ethiopia costing $500 million.
The industrial zone, to be constructed in Dukem located some 37 km east of Addis Ababa, will attract 80 Chinese companies upon completion in the next two to three years.
The industrial zone will be constructed on five square kilometers of land leased from the Oromia regional state.
The industrial zone will be available for local and foreign investment in textiles and garments, leather and leather products, construction machineries and steel manufacturing.
Banking services and offices of the Ethiopian Customs Authority and Quality and Standards Authority will also be opened in the industrial compound ...

Plight of ethnic groups in Ethiopia discussed at U conference
Twin Cities Planet, Minnesota - July 28, 2007
15,000 Oromo in Minnesota include many victims of torture, persecution.
Seldom does a former head of state express remorse about crimes committed under his watch, but that's exactly what Dr. Negasso Gidada, the former president of Ethiopia, told more than 100 people Thursday evening at the University of Minnesota.
Speaking at the Oromo second annual international human rights conference, Gidada said he's "ready to be accountable for crimes I committed … and those committed by the Ethiopian government" during his tenure.
Most of the people in attendance were Oromo, the largest of Ethiopia's 86 ethnic groups. Gidada also is an Oromo, but the current regime is dominated by a minority ethnic group called the Tigre. He held the largely ceremonial post of president between 1995 and 2001.
Now an opposition member in the Ethiopian parliament, Gidada admitted that the "rule of law was enforced brutally" while he was president. But he reiterated that he couldn't stop most of those crimes, because the power lied with the Tigre prime minister.
More than 15,000 Oromo refugees, the largest anywhere in the country, live in Minnesota, according to the Oromo-American Citizenship Council, which helped organize the event.
The State Department's human rights index ranks Ethiopia, a close U.S. ally in the war on terror, as one of the worst human rights violators in the world. Oromo-Americans said they are particularly disappointed with how the United States turned its back on the protection of human rights in their country ...

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Ethiopia turns its critics into untouchables
Globe and Mail, Canada - July 27, 2007

Dressed in a black Adidas track suit and seated amid a comfortable clutter of term papers and political science tomes in his modest office at Addis Ababa University, Prof. Merera Gudina hardly looks like a menace. But, ever since he was elected to parliament two years ago, people have been avoiding him.

There was, for example, the time that local mechanics were too terrified to repair his car when it broke down on the way back from his mother's funeral east of Addis.

"The mechanic said somebody was giving him a signal and they ran away and we had to transport the car to Addis," Prof. Gudina said. "What they do is that they don't touch me as a person, but people in contact with me, after I leave an area, they harass them or detain them or whatever they want," he said of government security agents.

Optimistic visitors from the United States, which will give $500-million (U.S.) in aid to Ethiopia in 2008, like to point out that the Ethiopian opposition pulled off a feat that would be unthinkable in America or Europe when they unseated more than 150 ruling lawmakers two years ago ...

'Marching for the people ... arrested back home'
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MN - July 26, 2007

Two thousand Oromo people, part of the largest ethnic group in East Africa, marched Thursday to the State Capitol to raise awareness of human rights violations in Ethiopia.

People came from around the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe to march from Dale Street and University Avenue to the Capitol in 94-degree temperatures. Last week and this week have been declared Oromo Week in Minnesota.

"We're marching for the people who are arrested back home," said Kamer Hurumo, holding a large U.S. flag and walking with marchers holding Oromo Liberation Front flags. Hundreds carried signs saying, "U.S., stop supporting Ethiopia."

Oromo people are the majority in Ethiopia but have no representatives in the Ethiopian government, which is ruled by a minority ethnic group.

Thursday's march was organized by the International Oromo Youth Association in cooperation with the Oromo Community of Minnesota and the Oromo American Citizens Council ...

Red Cross Deplores Ethiopian Expulsion
Guardian Unlimited, UK - July 26, 2007
The Red Cross denied government allegations it was helping rebels in Ethiopia's volatile east, and said Thursday its expulsion from the region will restrict people's access to basic services.
The government has given the International Committee of the Red Cross one week - until Monday - to leave the area known as the Somali regional state, accusing it of helping ethnic Somali rebels from the Ogaden National Liberation Front.
"A suspension of ICRC activities will inevitably have a negative impact on the population concerned, whose access to basic services will be reduced," said Daniel Duvillard, ICRC's head of operations for the Horn of Africa. The Red Cross conducts water and sanitation projects in the east.
The rebels, who have been fighting the government for more than a decade, earlier accused Ethiopia of blockading aid to their region near the Somali border for nearly two months ...

FEATURE STORY: This Day in Oromo History - July 12
The special interest of the State of Oromia in Addis Ababa (Finfinne) was recognized and guaranteed in the 1994 Ethiopian Constitution. Contrary to this, the Oromia Council (also called Caffee Oromiyaa), which was entirely composed of members of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), passed an order to move all Oromo institutions out of Finfinne on July 12, 2000.
For several years following this eviction bill, the Oromo people voiced their strong opposition to the order through peaceful means under the leadership of the Macha and Tullama Association. In the aftermath, there were large-scale arrests and deaths, particularly of students at all levels, that were reported by human rights watchdog organizations. The leaders of the Macha and Tullama Association, Obbo Diribi Demissie & Obbo Gemechu Feyera, were among those arrested together with other prominent members of the Association in May 2004.
Nearly 5 years after the eviction bill first passed and a few months after the relocation of the Oromo institutions away from Finfinne, the Executive Committee of the Oromo People's Democratic Organization (OPDO), a member of EPRDF, passed a decision to move the Oromo institutions back to Finfinne on Jun 10, 2005. This decision was only seen as a political maneuver by the ruling party to court Oromo support during the stand-off between the ruling party and the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) after the 2005 Election.
Other resources: VoiceFinfinne.org, Gadaa.com Human Rights Section, Oromia Online

Five Darfur rebel groups agree to unite
Reuters South Africa, South Africa - July 15, 2007
Five Darfur rebel groups agreed on Saturday to unite ahead of possible peace talks to end a four-year conflict in the region which so far has defied resolution, in part because of fractious rebel groups.
In a statement to reporters, the new group, the United Front for Liberation and Development (UFLD), called on other rebels in Sudan's western region to join them.
"This announcement of the formation of the UFLD is preparation for that eventuality (the peace talks) once it takes place," said Sherif Herir, a top leader in one of two Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) factions that signed the agreement in Asmara.
"The door is open for any movements to join," he added.
The Darfur rebels fractured into more than a dozen armed groups after an unpopular peace deal last year with Khartoum that only one faction signed.
International experts estimate that some 200,000 people have died in Darfur in what the United States has termed genocide ...

Ethiopia: Getting more women on the frontline
CAFOD - July 12, 2007
On a recent visit to a project in the nomadic lands of Borana, southern Ethiopia, we played host to colleagues from Kenya.
They represented organisations working on conflict prevention and development on the other side of the border.
During the visit, the Kenyans remarked on the excellent development work being done by their Ethiopian colleagues.
This included water cisterns to see nomadic communities through periods of drought and support for pastoralists to market their livestock.
But on the minus side they also commented on the lack of women fieldworkers and project officers working for their Ethiopian counterparts.
Our Ethiopian partners say they struggle to find sufficiently qualified women prepared to work in remote rural locations.
But, without women project workers, it’s difficult to ensure women are sufficiently involved in decision-making about projects ...