Dismissal of Oromo students from Jimma University continue unabated
OromoNet - January 19, 2008
The TPLF government have renewed its act of dismissing Oromo students from university despite the court have released them free because the accusers failed to substantiate their allegations. Accordingly the following 9 students were completely dismissed from the Jimma University on January 18, 2007 by the atrocious security forces of the government.
1.Maddif Oljirra,
2. Fedhasaa Isaa,
3.Barakat Waaqee,
4.Reediwaan Sanii,
5.Tolasaa Tamesgeen,
6. Gammadaa Mokkonnin,
7. Ittanaa Waqtolaa,
8. Taddaalaa and
9. Birhaanuu
The case was serious because they were in clash with the governing part Tigray students last week as some said. The government also wants to demoralize the students because of their forefront objection to its undemocratic administration. The students were forced to leave the compound of Jimma University by the federal police force. The rest of students are calling for national protest against this blind, discriminatory and inhuman decision ...

Westerners arrested in Ethiopia
News24.com, South Africa - January 18, 2008
Ethiopia has arrested a number of American and European citizens of Ethiopian descent, accusing them of aiding separatist rebels, a senior Ethiopian official said on Friday.
"I can assure you they are many," Abdullahi Hassan, president of the country's troubled Ogaden region, said visiting the area at the government's invitation.
He declined to say how many people had been detained or when they had been arrested.
"Those who are waging the terrorist war against our people are coming from Europe, are coming from America. They hold American passports, they hold European passports," he said.
Hassan said the detainees were originally from Ogaden but moved to the US and Europe where they raised money for the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF).
"They are buying with this money weapons, mines and explosives," he said, adding that he would not contact their embassies because they were suspected terrorists.
"We don't care whether they see (their diplomatic representatives) or not," he said, comparing the situation to the US base in Guantanamo Bay, where nearly 300 inmates are being held without charge or access to consuls ...

Gebrselassie misses out on record and Adere wins the women's race
CNN International - January 18, 2008

Berhane Adere

Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie came agonizingly close to beating his own world record and collecting a $1 million bonus as he won the Dubai Marathon on Friday.

The 34-year-old faded in the closing stages but his time of two hours, four minutes and 53 seconds was the second-fastest time ever.

He was just 28 seconds outside his 25th world best and breaking a record he set in winning the Berlin marathon last year.

"The idea was to complete the first half in about 62 minutes, but I was almost half a minute too fast. I paid the price for that in the final stages of the race," said Gebrselassie, who still earned $250,000 in prize money.

Kenyans finished second and third, with Isaac Macharia in 2:07:16 and Sammy Korir in 2:08:01, while Berhane Adere won the women's race in 2:22:42, leading an Ethiopian sweep of the top three spots.

Bezunesh Bekele was second in 2:23:09, followed by 2007 champion Askale Magarska in 2:23:23 ...

Horn of Africa Communities in the UK held a mass demonstration
Ogaden Online - January 17, 2008

Thousands of the People of Ogaden, Somalis, Eritrean, Oromo and other troubled nations of the people of Horn of Africa joined a protest in London’s Downing Street against the U.K and USA aid to the Ethiopian Government. Protesters waved hundreds of the flags of Ogaden, Somalia, Oromo and Eritrean.

The event aimed to explain the views of the people of Horn of Africa towards the atrocities committed by the Ethiopian Prime Minister and his merciless soldiers who massacred thousands of innocent people in Ogaden and Somalia, the destruction of hundreds of villages in Ogaden and Gambella, the imprisonments, torture and killing of Oromo people and the illegal occupation of Somalia and the Eritrean sovereign territory.

Masses of demonstrators travelled from all over the England cities arrived at the rally called The Horn of Africa United for Peace and Stability which started peacefully at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Representatives from the Horn of Africa United for Peace and Stability handed the appeal letter to the Prime Minister and talked to the Foreign Office desk officials. The event was very successful and was organized by the Horn Of African Peace and Stability Forum, a youth organization consisting of Ogaden Students Forum, Somali Youth, Eritrean Youth and Oromo Youth in the UK ...

Abduction and Deportation of Oromo Refugees in Somaliland
HRLHA Press Release - January 17, 2008

The Somaliland security forces have continued to hunt down, abduct the Oromo refugees living in Hargessa, and hand them over to the Ethiopian government. According to the HRLHA reporter in the region, four Oromo refugees have been handed over to Ethiopian security agents operating in Somaliland on the 13th of January 2008. The four deported Oromo refugees are:
1. Abba Cali Abba Biyya, age 45, born in Hararge,
2. Riyad Haji Kamal, age 31, born in Bale/Gassara & father of two,
3. Jamal Wallaga, and
4. Another refugee whose name was not identified at the moment. They were handed over to the Ethiopian security forces in the boarder town Wacale. The whereabouts of these refugees is not known since then.

The HRLHA reporter has also confirmed that the list of another forty Oromo refugees, who are strictly wanted by the Ethiopian security agents, has been given to Somaliland security forces to be hunted down. Because of this, Oromo refugees currently living in Hargessa have been forced to change their residential addresses almost on daily basis. The HRLHA reporter added that some TPLF spying agents have been sent to Somaliland to help in identifying and abducting those wanted Oromo refugees.

The fate and whereabouts of these Oromo refugees is not known. The Human rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) believes that what has happened to these refugees is in violation of what were provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 14/1, it was stated that, "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." Also, in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, it was stated in Article 12/1 that, "Every individual shall have the right to freedom of movement and reside within the borders of a State provided he abides by the law."

The Human Rights League of the Horn of Africa (HRLHA) is highly concerned about the safety and security of those refugees. It urges other human rights agencies (local, regional and international) to join hands with it and condemn these illegal and inhuman acts of both the Ethiopian and the Somaliland governments against defenseless refugees. It also requests governments of the West and other international organizations to interfere so that the safety and security of those refugees would be secured ...

The prison speaks Oromiffa
EthioMedia - January 17, 2008

The headline of this article would pass for simple ethnic politicking if it was not spoken by a founder and former politburo member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and a former Defense Minister of the regime now ruling Ethiopia with an iron fist.

The headline is a direct quote of Mr. Seye Abraha, who was released recently after serving six years at the Qaliti dungeon on trumped-up charges of corruption for which his accuser, Mr. Meles Zenawi, could not produce any credible evidence. For human rights groups and many among Ethiopians who follow the human rights conditions in Ethiopia, the savagery being committed against the Oromo people by the Meles Zenawi regime is more than a little dirty secret. I was amazed to see a shockwave and a jolting moment in the packed hall in Virginia on January 5, 2008 when Seye spoke the four-word sentence: "Esir betu Oromogna yinageral." To the stunned audience, Seye said “about 99% of the prisoners in Qaliti are Oromos." I saw many people shaking their heads in disbelief.

I have no reason to doubt Seye’s assertions and figures or dismiss them as revenge against his former comrades as the apologists of the crimes of the regime try to tell us. In fact, nearly all people who have been at the Qaliti prison tell us the same thing. As he himself alluded to during his long speech, Seye understands that he shares responsibility and has a lot to answer for as one TPLF leader for the plight of the Oromo people. Many of us know that he has been at the forefront in fighting the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) out of the political system in Ethiopia in 1992 when they suspected that it has a widespread support, and the subsequent suffering of countless number of Oromos suspected of sympathizing with the OLF or membership in it. Others who have been to the Qualiti prison that I was able to talk to concur with Seye’s assertion. As a friend who recently came from Addis Ababa told me, this is one dirty public secret of Meles Zenawi that everybody in Addis Ababa talks about when the TPLF spies are not around. I think this is a horrifying human rights abuse that must be disquieting to all of us who value our people, the country and the future of every one of us and our children ...

The petition to reclaim the name "Oromian" in coffee products has been successful. Read more at OromoIndex.com.

Review the petition here.

OMRHO (Oromo Human Rights and Relief Organization) Urgent Appeal
OromiaTimes - January 16, 2008
The Oromo Human rights and Relief Organisation (OMRHO e.V) received information that the Sudan government imprisoned the Oromo political refugees at a place called Dabaq which is located in the north of Khartoum and preparing to hand them over to the Ethiopian government. Among the Oromo refugees who are imprisoned at Dabaq north of Khartoum are:
Adunya Shifarraw
Harun Idris
Mhamed Nadoo
Abdalla Suleman
Ibrahim Youssouf (Marqos Gobana)
Shantam Atalay
Abamalka (Adam) Bisil
Milkessa Hailu
Teshome and there other refugees whose names did not reach OMRHO e.V. Such action is against the international law that the Sudan government is obliged to respect. To hand over refugees to the government who persecuted them is morally wrong and it is against humanity. Some of theses refugees were imprisoned in Ethiopia at Zway prison without trial for more than six years and were released. They escaped from Ethiopia and lived for many years in the Sudan to save their lives. OMRHO e.V. is very much concerned for the lives of these refugees and we apply for urgent action to save them from being deported to Ethiopia ...

Embassy Employees Were Fired on Political Grounds
HRLHA - January 16, 2008
The Ethiopian Embassy in Djibouti has fired ten of its employees for allegedly denying their supports for political agendas presented to all embassy workers at a meeting held in September last year.
According to HRLHA reporter in Djibouti, those fired employees were first forced to take a two-month annual leave immediately after the divisive meeting. On their return to work in December after the two-month forced leave, ten employees were notified that they had been fired. Among those who have lost their jobs are: Muhammad Hasan (Oromo), Idriis Muyye (Oromo), Asifayyo (Oromo), Abarra Zawdu (Amara), Mabratu Bekele (Amara), Mariyye Dagne (Amara) and Marid GebreSillasie (Tigre).
The big question has been how the embassy dared take such an action against its employees in a foreign land without even facilitating ways in which they could move back to their country. As a result of this action, not only the ten former employees of the embassy, but also about 45 members of their families have been subjected to multiple social and economic problems, our reporter in Djibouti confirmed.
According to some insiders, there have been heated controversy and disagreement going on between Ambassador Shamsaddin Ahmed, whose ambassadorial position is symbolic, and Liul Tesfaye, a Security Officer with the Embassy and agent of the Ethiopian ruling party, EPRDF. The controversy has further heated up especially since the ten former employees of the embassy were fired, the insiders added.

The president of Jimma University revealed 17 students injury
Ayyaantuu Oromiyaa Portal - January 14, 2008
The president of Jimma University, Dr. Kaba Urgessa, has revealed that 17 students have been injured following clashes between students, and that 17 others suspected of involvement in the clashes have been detained. Dr. Kaba said the cause of the clashes is not yet known and that police are investigating the case. The clashes between students which broke out on January 11 were controlled after Federal police intervention.
The president said the students had used rocks and metal rods during their fighting but said no one was killed and there was no property damage. Dr. Kaba added the clashes had no link to those that occurred the previous week at Arba Minch University. Although the detained students are from the same ethnic group, he said, those who were injured are from different ethnic groups. He added that it is difficult to assert that the clashes were ethnic-incited. According to the president, classes have resumed and that members of the Federal Police are deployed in the university campus to prevent a fresh outbreak of clashes ...

Bekele strikes back, Burka defends - Edinburgh Cross Country report
International Association of Athletics Foundation, Monaco - January 12, 2008

A trademark late burst of acceleration by Kenenisa Bekele secured a hat-trick of BUPA Great Edinburgh International Cross Country titles and avenged his 2007 IAAF World Cross Country defeat at the hands of Zersenay Tadese.

Question marks had been raised over Bekele’s long-held superiority on the country after he abandoned the race in the latter stages of last year’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa last March when Tadese snatched gold.

However, at an icy Scottish capital the ten-time IAAF senior World Cross Country champion delivered a firm swipe at any critics by opening up a gap on the testing climb of Haggis Knowe, to accelerate to victory in the 9.3km test from Tadese and long-time leader Eliud Kipchoge ...

Burka defends decisively - Women’s race

In the women’s race, Gelete Burka also secured a hat-trick of titles as she cruised to a 15-second win from IAAF World Junior Cross Country champion Linet Masai.

Burka kicked ahead on the first of two long laps at Haggis Knowe and the Ethiopian powered clear of her rivals for the most decisive win of the day.

Burka’s accomplishments in Edinburgh mark her out as a serious contender for gold when she returns to the Scottish capital in March. A winner of the IAAF World Cross Country short course title in 2006, the Ethiopian struggled last summer with an Achilles tendon injury and missed three months training but she showed she has fully recovered with a blistering run.

“The cold is different,” she said diplomatically of the icy weather she faced in Edinburgh. “The injury is okay, and it is good to be a three-time winner" ...

Eritreans, Ethiopians detainees face torture, deportation in Sudan
AFRO-O - January 11, 2008
Sudan Organization Against Torture (SOAT), a rights watchdog based in London, said alarmed by the situation of Eritrean and Ethiopian nationals detained without trial in Sudan after they escaped from their country to avoid military service.
In July 2007, Amnesty International reported that hundreds of Eritrean nationals had been arrested in Sudan following the rapprochement between the governments of Addis Ababa, Asmara and Khartoum.

SOAT said aware of the case of four Eritreans and five Ethiopian currently being held by the security forces in Sudanese prisons without charge or trial. Further the rights group said they face risk of forcibly return to their countries where they risk torture and other human rights violations.
The Eritreans are arrested in Port Sudan Prison since November 2, 2007 after evading compulsory military service at home. While the Ethiopians are detained in Khartoum since last July after being arrested from their homes.
They were arrested on or around November 2, 2007 at the Sudanese border and are being held without charge under the National Security Forces Act of 1999 in Port Sudan State Prison.
SOAT further said that Sudanese authorities denied its lawyers to have access to the detainees ...

Gete Wami: after a half million, a half marathon!
International Association of Athletics Foundation, Monaco - January 11, 2008
She’s won four World titles and several runner-up medals, an Olympic silver and two bronzes, as well as dozens of world class races. She recently added the considerable bonus of half a million dollars in winning the inaugural World Marathon Majors series. None of which has blunted Gete Wami’s ambition.
The Ethiopian goes into the second running of the big-money Ras Al Khaimah International Half Marathon on 8 February, intent on bringing her 21.1km time in line with her personal best 2.21.34 for the Marathon.
Last year’s women’s winner in RAK, as it is known locally in the United Arab Emirates, was Wami’s compatriot Berhane Adere, who ran an untroubled 70.58.
But with Kenyans, Salina Kosgei and Rita Jeptoo in the field this time, Wami will expect to be pushed to a faster time than her best of 70.22, which she ran en route to her Berlin 2006 marathon victory.
"That's one of the reasons why she's running," said her husband/coach, Getaneh Tessema, by telephone from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa last night. "She's never really been in a fast, competitive half-marathon before. So, I would expect her to run much faster" ...

Superficial positive-image-building campaigns will not unite Ethiopia
Gadaa.com - January 10, 2008
By Qeerransoo Biyyaa
Since September 2007, the regime in Finfinnee (Addis Ababa) has been engaging in huge positive-image-building campaigns in the eyes of the West. Positive-image-building campaigns make one of the components of the millennium goals. This campaign has involved music concerts, exhibitions, and bazaars.
Today I will focus on why these superficial image-building campaigns can not help unite Ethiopia. I will show how it deepens the divide amongst the peoples of the country who want to determine their own destiny. If you ask the regime or supporter of the regime why creating awareness in the West about Ethiopia is important, you will get misleading arguments like this: “The country badly needs foreign investment to grow. This will signal to the world Ethiopia is a better and stable place to put their money in.” This quote is from my reader who sent me an email following my previous article. At its very best this rhetoric is a propaganda which tries to conceal the fundamental questions of freedom and democracy, the lack of respect for human rights and the right to self determination up to secession of peoples. The oppressed people of the country are now focusing on trying to find answers to these fundamental questions in various forms of struggles. Examples are everywhere about the violation of human rights in Ethiopia and particularly Oromia and Ogadenia ... READ MORE

Kenya: Where tribe is everything
National Post, Canada - January 5, 2008
On Dec. 27, Kenya held a national election. When the voting was done, it was unclear who'd really won, and the losing side accused the winning side of foul play. Although this is a routine response to losing an election in a sub-Saharan African country, the rigging in this case was so clumsy and so obvious, that even the usually supportive U.S. embassy in Nairobi did not recognize the outcome as having been fair and transparent.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the ensuing riots -- including dozens burned alive in a church. The main battle lines lie between the tribe that dominates the government (the Kikuyu, represented by President Mwai Kibaki) and the tribe of its primary opponents (the Luo, represented by the leader of the opposition, Raila Odinga).
Where members of the two tribes meet, supporters of one party kill and maim supporters of the other. How does one know if someone has voted for the government or the opposition? In Africa, the answer is easy, since most people vote for political leaders from their own tribe.
Every Kenyan carries a grid in his or her mind and classifies all the people they live and work with according to tribe. Each member of Kenya's 42 ethnic groups (and what they unapologetically call "tribes") can almost instantaneously identify a person's tribal identity on the basis of a combination of physical features, accent, name, body language and place of residence, as well as a host of other small differences. (They also lump all Westerners into one Swahili category called "Mazungu." They do not differentiate expatriate behaviour on a national basis) ...

Interview with Professor Ephraim Isaac on ETN - Ethiopian Television Network

President Isaias holds talks with US Congressman Donald Payne
Shabait.com - January 3, 2008

President Isaias Afwerki today received and held talks at the Denden Hall with Mr. Donald Payne, Member of the House of Representatives in the US Congress.

In the meeting, the two sides held extensive discussion on Eritrean-US relations, the situation in the region, in general, and the Eritrean-Ethiopian border issue, in particular.

The President pointed out that the Eritrean-Ethiopian border issue has reached a legal conclusion in accordance with the Boundary Commission’s final and binding ruling. He further indicated that the detailed map that clearly specifies the exact location where the pillars would be erected has been presented to both sides and the United Nations, thus not only providing a legal and technical conclusion to the issue but also identifying in the map the sovereign Eritrean and Ethiopian territories. President Isaias went on to underline that the remaining task is the withdrawal of the invading Ethiopian forces from sovereign Eritrean territory. He also reminded the US government to apply pressure on the TPLF regime to withdraw its troops from Eritrean territory.

Noting that the so-called “existing tension between the two countries” is simply an attempt to escape from this crucial basic point, the President asserted that Eritrea would not give room at all to any attempt, on the part of the TPLF regime, aimed at diverting the attention of the international community from the basic issue.

Congressman Donald Payne explained on his part that it is his conviction and repeatedly stated stance that since the EEBC ruling is final and binding, it should be implemented and, as such, the US government is duty bound to put sufficient pressure on the Ethiopian government to bear the EEBC’s ruling ...

Ethiopia: Fierce Battle reported in the outskirts of Fiiq
African Path, MN - January 2, 2008

Reports that reached our service desk from the city of Fiiq confirm a fierce battle that took place in the outskirts of the city on Wednesday December 26th, 2007. It is reported that this fierce firefight took place in an area known as Cagajiid, which is about fifteen kilometers east of the city.

As indicated by eyewitnesses on the ground, many Tigray People Liberation Front, TPLF, militias and a local militia consisting mainly of civil servants of the so-called local administration, left the city for Cagajiid where it was reported that a large contingent of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, ONLF, military personnel were present at the time.

Locals reported that ONLF reconnaissance units succeeded in getting information of the impending attack plans of the TPLF and the local militia, which was spearheaded by the man known as Abdi Ileey who claims to be the head of the security bureau for the local administration ...

Oromia International Bank established
Capital Ethiopia - January 2, 2008

Oromia International Bank’s founding general assembly has been held on December 29, 2007 at Hilton Hotel with over 2000 attending. The bank will open its first branch in April 2008.

Oromia International Bank is to engage in commercial banking and to extend banking services in both rural and urban areas. Currently the bank has more than four thousand registered shareholders.

The provisional committee took the responsibility of organizing and facilitating the convening of a more formalized meeting of the founders and put together proposals that require the approval of the wider body of the founding members. After deliberating on the criteria of selection, 21 prominent business owners and academicians were elected as promoters.

The founding meeting has elected a board of directors, which shall be responsible for the finalization of the licensing of the bank and its consequent commencement of banking services.

The board shall carry out all activities necessary to meet the minimum legal requirements for the inauguration of the bank. Zonal promoters committees will be elected to further widen the equity base of the bank.

The promoters envisage that the bank has an authorized capital of 1.5 bln ETB, a subscribed capital of 300 mln ETB and a minimum paid up capital of 80 mln ETB. The paid up capital is deposited in a bank in a blocked subscription account in the name and account of the company until it is legally registered and becomes operational ...

Kenyan violence toll hits 124
News24.com, South Africa - December 31, 2007
An eruption of fresh violence triggered by Kenya's disputed presidential ballot left more than 100 dead on Monday, after defeated opposition candidate Raila Odinga rejected Mwai Kibaki's re-election.
Further clashes were feared as Odinga planned to hold his own alternative inauguration at a mass rally later on Monday, a day after Kibaki was officially sworn in for a second term despite widespread allegations of vote-rigging.
At least 64 people were killed overnight in western Kenya in fresh outbreaks of tribal violence and clashes between police, looters and opposition activists.
Separate clashes in the capital, Nairobi, claimed a further 40 lives, said police.
Kenya bans all live broadcasts
At least 124 people had now been killed since Thursday's elections, which had left one of Africa's more stable teetering on the brink of turmoil.
The government had enforced a ban on live television broadcasts related to the election in what it said was an effort to contain the violence ...

Odinga rejects Kenya poll result
BBC News, UK - December 31, 2007
The opposition candidate in the Kenyan presidential election has rejected the victory of President Mwai Kibaki, who has been sworn in for a second term. Raila Odinga accused a "clique of people" around Mr Kibaki of "trying to rob Kenyans of the election" and said they would not accept the result ...

Kibaki wins Kenya vote, protests erupt
Reuters South Africa, South Africa - December 30, 2007

President Mwai Kibaki beat opposition rival Raila Odinga by a narrow margin to win re-election in Kenya's closest ever vote, the head of the country's electoral commission (ECK) said on Sunday.

Thousands of pro-opposition protesters immediately launched angry demonstrations, burning shacks in the capital's Kibera slum. Odinga has accused the government of widespread rigging -- allegations that had already fuelled two days of ethnic riots.

Police also fired teargas in another slum in the capital.

Kibaki was sworn in immediately at State House, witnesses said, as the announcement of his victory sent his supporters pouring into the streets in celebration, many beeping car horns.

"Honourable Mwai Kibaki is the winner," ECK chairman Samuel Kivuitu told a small group of reporters at the tally centre.

Scuffles and heckling had erupted moments earlier, forcing paramilitary police to escort Kivuitu to safety soon after he began reading final results in the cliffhanger vote ...

Kenyan presidential race goes down to the wire
AFP - December 29, 2007
Supporters of Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga went on the rampage Saturday, accusing incumbent Mwai Kibaki of rigging the presidential vote and protesting continuing delays to the final results.
The electoral board said the elusive presidential result was now expected on Sunday as its latest count showed Odinga's once clear lead had melted away to less than 40,000 votes, intensifying accusations of systematic vote stealing.
Odinga supporters hit the streets in Nairobi and across the country, looting and starting fires despite calls from their party and observers to exercise restraint.
"There are riots all over the country, except a few areas, but there is sufficient security to maintain law and order," a top police official told AFP.
Hundreds of opposition supporters faced off Saturday morning with riot police in the massive pro-Odinga Nairobi slum of Kibera, shouting "No Raila, No Kenya!" and "We want our rights!"
Police fired live shots in the air to disperse feuding mobs, while water cannons doused the flames of shops and houses set ablaze by demonstrators ...

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Ilaa fi Ilaamee - A Strong Instrument for Consensus Building
Gubirmans Publishing - December 2007

Ibsaa Guutama is a member of the generation that drew the first Political program of the OLF.

By Ibsaa Guutama

Oromo politico-social system, Gadaa, is one of the inventions Oromo are proud of. It was a system that upheld liberty equality and human dignity. One of the means for realization of these was a democratic process of interpersonal communications or dialogue. In all verbal interactions between two, three or a multitude, every participant has the right and the duty to speak and to listen in turns in an atmosphere of deference and equality. That process was what they called ilaa fi ilaamee, a democratic element of Oromoness, the lack of which is drawing out Oromo difficulties. Literally, ilaa means “look” or “lend me your ears” - usually to begin a discussion or dialogue. Ilaamee means “look please” or “give me attention” - usually in the course of discussion. In short, it was an art of communication, speaking and listening in turns under normal circumstances. Philosophically, there is much to it.

A breakdown in ilaa fi ilaamee used to happen when society is in transformation as a result of man-made calamities or natural disaster. At such a time, a common purpose to listen to each other is lost. It is a period of total chaos and anarchy. Under normal circumstances, it is only the deviants that defy the rule of ilaa fi ilaamee. Otherwise, all decisions or agreements were reached after thorough deliberation to which all participants contribute. There was nobody that can impose his opinion or will on others. When elders discuss, children listen and learn, and were not barred from attending. They had also peer gatherings where they practice the rule. Therefore, ilaa fi ilaamee is an Oromo method of dialogue that a child learns to abide by from childhood. Its basis is consultation not dictation ...

Results trickle in after record voter turnout
Daily Nation, Kenya - December 28, 2007

ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga votes at a polling station in Kibera, Lang’ata constituency.

Counting of votes began in earnest last evening with early results showing a close battle between President Kibaki and his main challenger, ODM’s Raila Odinga.

Earlier in the day, millions of Kenyans cast their ballots in Thursday's General Election, which is expected to record the highest voter turnout in Kenya’s history.

Some voters queued from as early as 4 am and waited patiently until the official opening of polling centres. Electoral Commission vice-chairman Kihara Muttu said the voter turnout “will be higher than ever before”.

Vote counting had began by 6pm at stations where polling started on time and closed at 5pm. Some polling stations had opened shortly after 6am, while others delayed after ECK officials in some constituencies detected mix-ups in voter registers and other election materials, including ballot boxes.

The ECK ordered the extension of voting hours in the polling stations which opened late to make up for lost time.

However, the commission put off elections in 15 civic wards across the country due to missing names of some candidates on the ballot papers or due to a mix-up of party symbols.

Though voting went on peacefully, three people died in separate incidents, while a riot broke out in Mumias Town, with an attack on a building following rumours that ballot papers had been hidden there. And in Rongo, a man was stoned to death in what was believed to be a revenge attack over the killing of a campaign agent a week ago.

In Nairobi, an ODM agent was shot dead in Lang’ata constituency in a suspected carjacking attempt ...

A joyful renunion
Sacramento Bee, USA - December 24, 2007

When Hawwi Namarra saw her aunt on Sunday morning at a downtown Sacramento hotel, the two rushed into each other's arms.

Hugging and crying, they tumbled to the floor.

"We were shaking," Hawwi, 14, said later in the dining room at the Hyatt Regency. "We couldn't even stand up anymore."

The reason for their excitement and tears was a surprise reunion between Hawwi, a Carmichael high school student who suffers from a potentially lethal blood ailment, and her aunt, uncle and grandparents from Ethiopia.

The event was made possible by the Sacramento chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Hawwi's wish was to show her Ethiopian family members her home in America, but she didn't expect them to visit for months ...

Large Peaceful Demonstration at Downing Street
Horn of Africa for Peace and Stability Forum – Press Release
January 2008

Please be informed that a large peaceful demonstration will be held at Downing Street on the 16th of January 2008 from 13:00 to 18:00 Hrs. The demonstration will be one of its kind and will involve from a wide range of nationalities and ethnic groups including the Somalis, Eritreans, people from Ogaden and Oromo. It is organised by the Horn of Africa for Peace and Stability Forum and is expected to draw thousands of people from all over the UK.

Why a peace demonstration

We are people of the Horn of Africa suffering at the hands of the minority regime in Ethiopia. Our people are being killed, our women raped, our villages burnt and our land occupied. The entire region is in turmoil and as a result, the human suffering and destruction have been incalculable. The Ethiopian government is only able to inflict such widespread pain and suffering with the help of the British taxpayers’ money that has been made available to it unconditionally by the UK government. We will call on the British government to stop being complicit in the crimes committed against the people of the Horn of Africa.

About the Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa is the easternmost part of Africa and is a region containing the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. It is inhabited by about 110 million people.

Background

The Horn of Africa has suffered from wars and natural calamity for a long period of time. As a result of this, there has been untold human suffering and destruction. The people of the Horn of Africa have not had the chance to engage in development activities continuously. Foreign interference and bias made the problems intractable. The area with all its natural resources remains one of the poorest in the world.

Currently, the source of the problem is the minority regime led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi currently in power in Ethiopia. Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world and is ranked 170 out of 177 in the UN Human Development Report. 81% of its population lives below the poverty line earning just $2 a day. Yet, the Ethiopian government:

• Managed to raise its military budget to $400 million. Ethiopia has spent about $3 billion just on buying arms (Source: SIPRI). While the government spends this amount, the people of Ethiopia find themselves in a dire situation as a result of disease and famine.

• Invaded a neighbouring country, Somalia, in violation of the AU and UN Charters while shelling civilian areas indiscriminately and causing the death of tens of thousands of people, destruction of properties and the displacement of 1.5 million people from their home.

• Sent the army to Ogadenia to loot, murder, rape women and children, burn entire villages and expel aid agencies to stop food aid from getting to the people in the area while preventing journalists from having access to the area to cover up the atrocity.

• Massacred innocent people including children; caused the destruction of hundreds of Anuak villages in Gambella which drove more than 60,000 Anuak people into neighbouring Sudan and Kenya

• Jailed and killed tens of thousands of Oromo people

• Orchestrated ethnic clashes among the various peoples of Ethiopia

• Refused to abide by the decision of an international court and forcefully occupied sovereign Eritrean territories. The border between the two countries remains tense and volatile with over 500,000 soldiers facing each other.

• Rigged the vote in the national election in 2005 and slaughtered 196 peaceful demonstrators in broad daylight and imprisoned thousands of people.

And the list goes on ...

With the increase in brutality of the Ethiopian government, the British government has been happily increasing the financial assistance given to Ethiopia unconditionally. The aid given to Ethiopia has been increased by 600% to £160 million over the last four years, making Ethiopia one of the largest recipients of aid in Africa. This is excluding the money given for food security and humanitarian purposes. It is unthinkable that the Ethiopian regime would be able to cause such chaos and destruction without the financial support that it gets from the British government and others. By virtue of supporting the Apartheid regime of the Ethiopian government, the British government is denying the people of the Horn of Africa the right to live in peace.

The British government subscribes to the idea that the people of the Horn of Africa be subservient to the interests of the minority regime in Ethiopia. It is for this reason that we will be asking the British government to stop propping up the brutal regime in Ethiopia using taxpayers’ money in order to end the terrorizing of innocent people; destruction of properties and invasion, attack of neighbouring states and wreak havoc in the region.

For further details or to contact the organisers, please e-mail to hornofafrica2008@yahoo.com

Awash Bank holds election - Results to be announced Monday
Capital Ethiopia - December 17, 2007

Unable to stop petitioners’ challenge of his reelection to the board chairmanship of Awash International Bank, Hambissa Wakwaya was at the Sheraton Addis on Saturday, December 15, 2007, speaking to shareholders. He was seen taking a more conciliatory approach, and abandoning his combativeness observed in the past eight months. He and seven others (a.k.a G8) elected to the Board in April 2007, including Brehane Abate (seated next), have tried to stop the external auditor, A. A. Bromhead & Co., from calling an extraordinary meeting of shareholders, taking the case to court alleging that the auditor has no authority to set the agenda for the meeting ... Source: Addis Fortune

It is to be recalled that a controversy had erupted over the manner in which the board of directors of Awash Bank were elected by the 12th ordinary general meeting of shareholders held on April 21, 2007.

The National Bank of Ethiopia, which regulates banking in the country, had rejected the elected board, citing procedural issues among others. Accordingly, a public notice for a general meeting was called and convened Saturday December 15, 2007 at the Sheraton Addis.

At least 20% of the Awash Banks shareholders had petitioned for a meeting to be called under the auspices of A.A. Bromhead and Co. Chartered Accountants and Auditors of the bank, but the elected board had the meeting banned by court order.

Subsequently, the court reversed their decision in favor of the petitioners thereby making yesterday’s meeting possible.

The agenda of the Ordinary General Meeting was mainly to reelect a board of directors. In this regard 36 individuals and entities were nominated for the 12 positions on the board during a marathon meeting attended by 75.6% of shareholders. The meeting started at 9:00 am and was still in progress as Capital went to press. However, Capital was able to learn that the identities of the new members of the board will be announced on Monday December 17, 2007 ...

Oromia to build TV station
Capital Ethiopia - December 17, 2007
The Oromia Regional State government has signed a contract agreement with EURO-tel, an Italian telecommunications company, to build a television station and transmitters, on Friday December 14, 2007 at the regional president’s office.
The regional government has set aside 61 mln ETB for the project, including for the studio and the purchase of transmitter equipment, station construction, electric power installation and road construction.
According to the contract document, EURO-tel will be supplying equipment and will install the TV station for 31.5 mln ETB, including a three year parts supply agreement.
“The transmission will cover 10 of 17 zones in Oromia.” Abera Hailu, manager of Oromia Information Bureau, told Capital. “After two years we will cover the whole of our regional state,” he added.
The transmission center and the studio will be built in Adama (Nazaret) and other transmitters will be mounted in selected areas, which are Kulubi, Sululta, Adama, Gujii, Goba, Shashamane, Gimbi, Jima, and Gore.
According to Abera, the equipment is expected to arrive in ninety-one days and the installation work will be completed in three months. “Our transmission will start after eight months,” he stated ...

Somali premier dissolves cabinet
BBC News, UK - December 16, 2007

The newly appointed prime minister of Somalia's transitional government, Nur Hassan Hussein, has said he is dissolving the cabinet.

Speaking in Baidoa, he said he meant to appoint new ministers, half of them from outside the transitional parliament set up three years ago.

The new cabinet would have much fewer than the current 30 members, he added.

Correspondents say Mr Hussein faces the difficulty of placating Somalia's main clans and sub-clans.

Many of them insist on being represented in the government.

Somalia has been politically fragmented since 1991, and the transitional government, faced with an insurgency, is dependent on international aid and Ethiopian military support to function ...

What do we need? Samaritans or Politicians?
Irreessaa.com Editorial - December 16, 2007
The fact that we tend to grasp our problems so differently has indeed brought to fore such a lavish amount of different conclusions that made most of us, here and there, stumble without unity and without any viable perspectives. It seems as if our commonsense is disappearing, meaning that we literally are about to stop sensing commonly, losing the thread of the knowledge we held and supposed to hold in common.
Losing commonsense for us right now means the death of vision. If we don’t have vision, we don’t aspire. What is the value of life without aspiration?
So, what is going on?
Are we in a deep, visionless political quagmire?
Are we experiencing the brutal reality of being engulfed by some individuals or political entities acting like Samaritans who want to give rather confidential and emotional treatments to their followers than political leadership?
In a world full of biased and one-sided political realities and devastating double-standards, you cannot help your people by being a Samaritan. It is not enough to register a breakthrough by only sharing the cries and agonies of the victimized people, and by describing their situation emotionally. Neither can one help by being isolationist. Isolationism in politics belongs to the past. The isolationism one observes in the mainstream liberation politics of the Oromos is indeed crippling the potential and the energy of Oromo political power. More than that, we do think, it is producing illusion among the agencies and the faculties of the struggle of the Oromo people to get rid of injustice ...

Merara: Oromos need not secede
Ethiopian Reporter - December 16, 2007
Question: When you first requested the electoral board to change your name to Oromo People's Congress, Ato Tolosa objected on the ground that in the Oromo language, the name was similar to Oromo National Congress, the party he is now leading. Can you enlighten us on the specifics?
Merara: You only need to come up with another name when each word becomes similar to other party's name. Let me take you back to the time of the party's foundation. Back then, we decided to follow the policy of inclusion rather than secession. We were convinced that the problem could be solved within the Ethiopian context. Oromos need not secede. So, just like South Africans we follow the path of forming democracy throughout Ethiopia. That path, we believe, is a better path than secession. We want to find a solution within the national context.
Oromos are not a minority but a majority in Ethiopia. So secession is not a viable option. What is suitable is to find a solution within the Ethiopian context. So, we went for the name Oromo People's Congress ...
Political Program of OPC (formerly ONC)

Three, including girl 17, may have been tortured, are held incommunicado
Amnesty International - December 16, 2007
Mulatu Aberra (m), trader, aged 34
Najima Jamal Ismail (f), aged 17
Najima Jamal Ismail’s stepfather, a trader (name unconfirmed)
Mulata Aberra, a trader of Oromo ethnic origin, has been held incommunicado at a federal police detention centre in Harar city in eastern Ethiopia since his arrest on 29 November. Also arrested at the same time were Najima Jamal Ismail and her stepfather. Najima Jamal Ismail is being held in a women’s detention centre in Harar. Amnesty International has received reports that Mulatu Aberra and possibly the other two have been tortured. Mulatu Aberra and Najima Jamal Ismail were transferred to hospital in Harar on 10 December and were returned to prison on 11 December.
All three appeared together before a court in Harar on 6 December where police obtained permission to extend their detention for investigation into alleged involvement with the armed opposition group, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) ...