Ethiopia cuts ties with Qatar on terrorism accusation
Reuters - April 21, 2008
Ethiopia broke diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf Arab state of supporting terrorism in Somalia and spreading instability in the Horn of Africa.
"Whether in Somalia and in other parts of the Horn of Africa -- including within Ethiopia -- Qatar has been one of the most important supporters of terrorism and extremism in our sub-region," Ethiopia's government said in an email statement. Read More.

Ethiopians choose local officials in vote marred by opposition boycott
International Herald Tribune - April 20, 2008
Ethiopians chose local representatives Sunday in nationwide elections marred by a boycott by the two largest opposition parties and criticized by a prominent international human rights group ...
"Our hopes and aspirations for democracy have been dashed," said Bulcha Demeksa, head of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement. He was speaking last week as he announced his party would boycott the second round of voting. Read More.

At least 12 dead in Kenya cattle raid
Reuters - April 19, 2008
At least 12 people were killed in Kenya's arid north when police fought cattle rustlers believed to have crossed the border from Ethiopia, a police official said on Saturday.
"The raiders were pursued to recover the stolen livestock. Ten of them were killed," said the police official, who declined to be named.
"The number could rise because some of them were injured with gunshot wounds," he said.
He added that two herders had also been killed in the clashes a few hundred kilometers from the northern town of Marsabit.
Cattle rustling is common in pastoral communities living in the sparsely populated north and northeastern parts of Kenya, which has hostile terrain that is difficult for security personnel to patrol. Read More.

Eritrea says UN border force not legal
Reuters - April 19, 2008

Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki has said the continued presence of U.N. peacekeepers in the Red Sea state's border with arch-foe Ethiopia was illegal, government media reported on Saturday.

The United Nations has almost completely withdrawn some 1,700 troops and military observers from a buffer zone along the border between the two Horn of Africa countries after Asmara cut fuel supplies to its peacekeeping mission.

Eritrea said country-wide shortages had prompted the move. Read More.

Odinga sworn in as Kenyan premier
BBC - April 17, 2008

Kenya's opposition leader Raila Odinga has officially become prime minister at the swearing-in of a coalition cabinet.

There was applause at State House after Mr. Odinga read out his oath of office to be "faithful to the president of the Republic of Kenya".

His cabinet post is a key element of the power-sharing deal with President Mwai Kibaki to end a post-poll crisis. Read More.

Second Opposition Faction Preparing Boycott of Ethiopia Vote
Voice of America - April 14, 2008

The leadership of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement voted Monday to join a boycott when Ethiopia votes in critical municipal elections next Sunday.

The OFDM had been the largest opposition party participating last Sunday, as Ethiopians voted for the first time since 2005, when post-election protests turned deadly. Two hundred people were killed in the violence, and thousands were jailed, including most opposition leaders.

OFDM leader Bulcha Demeksa says his party had decided not to join the boycott for the first part of the vote.

But Monday, he accused election officials and the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front of massive intimidation and rigging, and said his party would join the boycott. Read More.

Ethiopia opposition alleges intimidation at polls
Reuters - April 13, 2008

Ethiopia's opposition accused the government of intimidation on Sunday as voters went to the polls for the first time since deadly post-election protests three years ago.

State radio said voters lined up peacefully from dawn to cast ballots. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government is expecting a big win, having fielded 4 million candidates for some 3.8 million local council and parliamentary seats on offer.

All Ethiopia's 32 opposition parties combined managed only to put forward a few thousand hopefuls.

Bulcha Demeksa, leader of the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), said most of his party's candidates had been threatened and forced to pull out of the race.

"We could only run 2 percent of the 6,000 candidates we wanted to," he said. "And there is a very low turnout today, there is no interest. This is very far from democracy." Read More.

Kenya unveils coalition cabinet
BBC - April 13, 2008

Kenya's president has announced a new power-sharing cabinet following a deal with the opposition to end the long-running political crisis.

President Mwai Kibaki named opposition leader Raila Odinga as the new prime minister, after the pair agreed the deal on Saturday in secret talks.

The crisis was sparked by presidential elections in December that triggered violence in which 1,500 people died.

The deal overcame a row over how the cabinet posts would be divided. Read More.

Woyane Drags Ethiopia to Economic Crisis
EastAFRO.com - April 11, 2008

YouTube Link

While teetering on the verge of collapse, the TPLF regime has dragged down Ethiopia into a grave economic crisis. As can be recalled, the TPLF has been trying to deceive people and cover up the reality on the ground by making false claims of 10% economic growth. However, lies can never provide a way out in the long run and hence the Prime Ministry of the clique has been compelled to admit before parliament the serious economic problems facing the country. A 30% inflation rate notwithstanding, the TPLF has been forced to cut down electricity and water supply in the capital Addis Ababa to a bare minimum. Moreover, the regime has issued a regulation that all food items be sold in the Hibret Su'k only. It has also warned of an extensive search and possible arrest of local businessmen. The regime is now rushing about to take measures that should have been taken long before the economy receded to such a drastic state. Moreover, as economic experts indicate, it will take more than the TPLF regime's futile and last minute attempts to revive the economic depression in Ethiopia.

Repression Sets Stage for Non-Competitive Elections
HWR - April 11, 2008

The Ethiopian government's repression of registered opposition parties and ordinary voters has largely prevented political competition ahead of local elections that begin on April 13, Human Rights Watch said today. These widespread acts of violence, arbitrary detention and intimidation mirror long-term patterns of abuse designed to suppress political dissent in Ethiopia ...

The nationwide elections for the kebele (village or neighborhood councils), and wereda (districts made up of several kebeles administrations), are crucially important. It is local officials who are responsible for much of the day-to-day repression that characterizes governance in Ethiopia. Many local officials in Oromia have made a routine practice of justifying their abuses by accusing law-abiding government critics of belonging to the outlawed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), which is waging a low-level insurrection against the government. Read More.

Joint Statement of OLF and SLF on TPLF Instigated Clashes Between the Oromo and the Sidama People
OromiaTimes - April 11, 2008

Once again the EPRDF/TPLF regime has succeeded in instigating armed clashes between Oromo and Sidama peoples, in and around Wando Genet town. This malicious deed of the TPLF/EPRDF regime resulted in days of violence that claimed the lives of more than 40 people as a result of fighting that went on from April 2, 2008 to April 7, 2008. The clashes caused the death of thousands of people, destruction of large amounts of properties and displacement of thousands of people. The Oromo Liberation Front and the Sidama Liberation Front strongly condemn this heinous act of the TPLF/EPRDF regime. Read More.

Ethiopia biggest opposition pulls out of elections
Reuters - April 10, 2008

Ethiopia's biggest opposition party in parliament pulled out of a round of local elections due next week, accusing Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government of intimidating its supporters.

The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces said the Horn of Africa nation's police and electoral board had failed to address its complaints of electoral violations before Sunday's polls for local councils, UEDF Chairman Beyene Petros said.

"Since there was no level field for a democratic election and our candidates were beaten, arrested and their property confiscated by cadres of the ruling party, we have decided to pull out of the local council elections," Beyene said on Thursday. Read More.

The needed paradigm shift in African Development scenarioSudan Tribune - April 10, 2008
By Yaadasaa Dafaa
It is a public secret to know that Africa is one of the oldest continent with abundant natural resources. Without going in depth, History and Scientific researches verifies that the oldest human remains to be found in the valleys of Oromia in Africa. Therefore, one can not deny absolutely that Africa is not the origin of human beings. As far as Africa's natural resources, we grew up with the educational curriculum that was modeled after Europeans (Anglo-Franc) pedagogical systems, even if the origins of schooling states otherwise. In my era of Educational acquisition, what the book said was taken as a biblical messages brought down by Moses from Mt, Sinai. So it is not too far fetched truth to claim that what ever truth, bias, cheer quackery, or even distortion wrote on the book with the European style and methods are learned by African of my generation as the whole and proven truth. At the same time Africa was/is described as a poor continent with very scares natural recourses to alter this predicaments of impoverishment, backwardness, and depending on handout from abroad. Read More.

IOYA: "Second March on Washington" was a success
ManaBuna - April 9, 2008

On March 31, 2008, members of International Oromo Youth Association (IOYA) once again marched to the capital to remind the US government, the international community and the American media to give the necessary and long overdue attention to the turmoil occurring in the Horn of Africa. The International Oromo Youth Association, an umbrella organization of all Oromo Youth Associations and Student Unions across the globe, with a vision of engaging in a multifaceted struggle to bring freedom and justice to the Oromo people, pledges to come back year after year, to March on Washington, until freedom and social justice is a reality in the Horn of Africa.

Since the current minority regime of Ethiopia clinched to power in 1992, the Oromo nation has seen the largest exodus in its recorded history. Whereas almost everyone was affected by the act of ethnic cleansing theatrical staged by Ethiopia's government, many left the country to save their lives. Hundreds of thousands are living a nightmarish life in fear of forced deportation, killing and arrest in neighboring countries. Read More.

18 die in Ethiopia land clashes
News24.com - April 9, 2008
Clashes over grazing and farmland killed 18 people last week near the southern Ethiopian town of Wondo-Genet, said police.
A police commander said the fighting on April 03 pitted members of the Gugi Oromo and Sidama clans, some 260km south of the capital, Addis Ababa.
"Clashes between the two clans have been brought under control and the government is investigating their cause," Demsash Hailu, public relations head of the Federal Police, said late on Tuesday.
Fighting between the two clans in the region, which was known for its hot springs and lush forests, flared up sporadically.
They normally centred on disputes over land used for grazing and for growing khat, a narcotic plant that was one of Ethiopia's main exports and chewed across east Africa and the Middle East. Read More.

Australian Oromo Community: African plea for action
Moonee Valley Community News - April 9, '08

AUSTRALIA'S Oromo community is urging Moonee Valley residents to sign an online petition in response to the reported massacre of 65 refugees in Somalia.

Oromos are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, with many community members in Melbourne's western and northern suburbs.

Head of the Footscray-based Australian Oromo Community Association in Victoria, Aliye Geleto Anota, made an impassioned plea at a public forum in Moonee Ponds last week.

He said 65 were murdered and more than 100 injured when grenades were thrown at two hotels owned by Oromo refugees Melaku and Jamal Arsii on February 5.

"One day prior to the attack in Bosaso, houses of Oromo refugees living in Borama and Buro towns of Puntland were searched by Ethio-Puntland security agents.

"Thirty seconds before the attack, the power was turned off and the whole town remained in absolute darkness. Read More.

Famine in Oromia: the dry season is not the only culprit

Ayyaantuu - April 6, 2008
The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is prompted to issue this statement in response to the statement by the UN's News release, dated March 28, 2008. The News Release reports, among others, that, "The deteriorating situation with regard to human health, food security, livelihoods, and livestock health, initially reported in Borne zone has spread to Bale, East Hararge, Guji and Liben zones of Oromia Region. Poorly performing rains for upcoming rainy season forecast by National Meteorological Agency are likely to exacerbate the exiting situation in lowland agropastoral areas of Oromia Region." The report predicts that, "An estimated 88, 000 people in affected woredas [districts] in Borana zone require emergency assistance from government, humanitarian partners and UN agencies." The News Release also warns of similar "emergence of hotspots in the SNNPR." Read More.

Ethnic groups plant new places of worship
Minneapolis Star Tribune - April 6, 2008
The Rev. Melkamu Negeri of the Oromo Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis said that his congregation tries to "offer both spiritual and social service. We give them spiritual nourishment, but we realize that a lot of people are here to socialize with each other."
He said that the church helps arrivals adjust to their new home, including adapting to the climate. "They more or less look to the church for everything," he said. Read More.

Bekele, Dibaba take titles
News24.com - March 3, 2008

Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia won his sixth title at the world cross-country championships on Sunday. Bekele, who regained his title at Holyrood Park and made history despite his trainer coming off early, finished the 12km race in 34 minutes, 36 seconds.

In the women's race, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia won her third world cross-country title. Dibaba finished the 9km race in 25:10. Mestawet Tufa of Ethiopia was second in 25:15, followed by Linet Chepkwemoi Masai of Kenya in 25:18. Read More.

OLF Letter to the Department of Homeland Security
OromoLiberationFront.info - March 30, 2008
This is of grave concern to the OLF for two reasons. First, such labeling of the OLF is erroneous and unfair given OLF's long standing and declared position against terrorism of every sort, regardless of whether it is perpetrated by states or by other groups. The OLF, on various occasions, has categorically condemned all acts of terrorism without reservation whether they are committed to attain political objectives by freedom fighters or to deny those rights by states as in the case of the current regime in power in Ethiopia.
... Second concern emanates from the plights of Oromo refugees currently granted, or in the process of applying for, protection in the USA. According to verified information we have received, some of our compatriots are being denied protection on the basis of this unsubstantiated, unfair and erroneous labeling of our organization - the OLF. Read More.

Interview with Bulcha Demeksa
Ethiopian Reporter - March 30, 2008
If we can't feed our people, then how come we are maintaining a military presence in Somalia, which is much more costly?
Bulcha Demekesa, Chairman of (OFDM)

What was your relation to the PM's report?
The PM decided to limit what he wanted to discuss to inflation beforehand. Most of us (MPs) expected him to include several other issues in his bi-annual report.
Apart from inflation, he should have discussed unemployment. It is not only because of price hike that people go to bed on empty stomachs, but also because they are unemployed. We also expected to hear something about Somalia. Every day we hear and read reports on international media that Ethiopians in Somalia are dying.
The Prime Minister should have addressed the Eritrean issue, too. We also heard on the international media that Ethiopia has contributed five helicopters to the peacekeeping mission in Darfur, Sudan. We are not saying this is wrong. But as representatives of the Ethiopian people, we should have heard about it.
There is another hot issue that we hoped that the PM would raise. We hear that people and cattle are dying of starvation in Borena and Guji zones in Southern Ethiopia. Nothing was said about it. The PM talked only about inflation. Read More.

Kenya coalition talks in limbo - AFP - March 28, 2008
Kenya's rival political blocs adjourned coalition negotiations Friday amid divisions over the size of the government and distribution of portfolios, prime minister-designate Raila Odinga said.
Meanwhile, the current government said it might need 470 million dollars (304 million euros) to pay for the bill of resettling many thousands of people driven from their homes in post-election violence.
Odinga said talks on the much-delayed formation of the cabinet -- a key step in the power-sharing deal aimed at ending Kenya's violent crisis -- yielded no consensus and had been indefinitely suspended. Read More.

Gulf of Yemen boatpeople motivated by insecurity, poverty at home - Reuters AlertNet, UK - March 27, 2008
Jeilany and fellow Ethiopian passenger Mussa, talking to UNHCR at the May'faa centre, said they and about 120 other desperate people in their boat had each paid smugglers about US$45 to bring them to Yemen.
They claimed that the smugglers took the passengers' food and water and beat them with sticks and an iron bar throughout the harrowing trip. But that wasn't the end of it. "When we got close to the Yemeni shore, they confiscated all of our belongings and forced us off the boat," Jeilany recounted. They arrived with only the clothes on their backs.
Both men are from the Oromo tribe in Ethiopia and said they had been jailed for their political beliefs. They fled, fearing they would be arrested again. Now they just want to recover and apply for asylum.
The two men are not the only ones who have fled their homes because of security concerns. Aisha, who was being registered at the centre with her daughter and three grandchildren hours after arriving aboard a small vessel on a Yemeni beach, fled growing conflict in Somalia. The 60-year-old and her relatives had enjoyed a trouble-free, if exhausting, crossing and were not mistreated en route. Read more.

Resolutions of the OLF's 3rd National Council Meeting - OromiaTimes - March 26, 2008
The National Council of Oromo Liberation Front has successfully completed its regular meeting that was held from March 16 to 21, 2008. During its meeting the National Council extensively deliberated, among others, on important issues relevant to the Organization, the Oromo people, the Ethiopian Government and the Horn of Africa and passed the below resolutions.
In its three decades long history, the Oromo Liberation Front has passed through ups and downs and it is continuing to rally the Oromo people in its struggle. The fundamental political objectives of the OLF, the realization of the Oromo People's inalienable rights to self-determination, are intact. These fundamental objectives of the OLF are supported by millions of Oromos. In order to soon realize the fundamental objectives of the OLF, the Council has directed its Executive Committee to organize and conduct multifaceted struggle.
To thwart the Oromo people's support for the OLF, the TPLF regime/the Ethiopian Government has engaged in unparalleled suppression of the Oromo people. The heinous atrocities the TPLF regime is perpetrating on the Oromo people is intensifying. Even the Oromo refugees who fled the country due to persecution and fear of persecution by the regime are not safe from the inhuman and cruel atrocities that TPLF regimes unleashed on the Oromo people. The recent mass killing/massacre of the Oromo refugees in Bosasso, Somalia, perpetrated by the TPLF regime's forces is another evidence of the inhuman and cruel atrocities that the TPLF regime is perpetrating on the Oromo people inside and outside the country. The National Council of the Oromo Liberation Front again vigorously condemns the TPLF regime's cruel and inhuman action taken against the Oromo refugees in Bosasso. Read More.

Second UNHRC Monitor Relates Human Rights Concerns - UNPO, Netherlands - March 20, 2008
As the first week of the UNHRC nears its close, the sessions have so far featured considerable lobbying by UNPO's Mapuche, Oromo, and Sindh members ...

From the Blogsphere: The Oromo Renaissance? - BoogaFace @ Blogspot.com - March 17, 2008
About a month ago, on this blog [here], I promised you all that I would be recounting the goings-on of the International Oromo Youth Association. Well, for the past few months, I have been regularly meeting on-line with several people, including the grrl-comrade, to discuss the beginning of a new Oromo webzine called Ogina that will feature poetry, fiction, visual arts, fashion, interviews with musicians, essays on culture . . . and more. Our intention is to contribute to an event that hasn't quite happened yet -- the Oromo Renaissance. Coincidentally, unknown to us when we began our project, the Oromo playwright Dhaba Wayessa recently wrote, "As we all aspire to participate in the Oromo cultural renaissance, we need to nurture and develop our magnificent cultural traditions so that our children may embrace and carry them forward as an essential part of their lives." This week, Dhaba is raising money in Washington D.C. and Minneapolis for a new film project. Also unknown to us when we began, yet another Oromo intellectual, Asafa Jalata, in a scholarly article published a few months ago, asserted that the Oromo should learn from the political projects of other black communities, namely the Harlem Renaissance ... Read more.

Consciousness is the Source of Empowerment - Finfinne Times - March 18, 2008
In his review of Aleqa Asres Yenesew's book titled Tekami Mikir, translated as "Useful Advice" by Dr. Messay Kebede, the latter seems to subscribe to the author's school of thought that "the heritage of a legacy and the assumption of a common destiny define a nation rather than its ethnic or linguistic oneness." Dr. Messay goes on to add that "what matters is not that facts justify the discourse, but whether the discourse is empowering."
Aleqa Asres's book was reportedly published in 1958, and Dr. Messay's voluminous review was posted on the Ethiopian Review website, among others, on March 14, 2008. Based on Dr. Messay's review, the content of Aleqa Asres' book seems to be thought provoking, especially given the fact that it was written about half a century ago. The central message of the book, as can be gleaned from the review, appears to be warning about the risk of departing from the deep knowledge endowed in the Ethiopian tradition in pursuit of what is termed as "modern education." The debate on this very important issue should have been brought to the policy fore at the time and conclusively fathomed. Aleqa Asres should have been praised for raising the issue even if his crucial prescription as a solution to the issue could have been conclusively defeated then as it can be defeated now ... Read more.