Ethiopia expels American journalist reporting in rebel area

New York, June 18, 2010—Authorities in Ethiopia expelled an American journalist on Thursday who had been reporting near a rebel area in the east of the Horn of Africa country, according to local journalists.

Heather Murdock had been reporting with the U.S. international broadcaster Voice of America (VOA) in the eastern region of Harar, near an area where there was reported skirmishes between the army and rebels of the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), according to the same sources. The Ethiopian government has denied journalists independent access to the restive Ogaden province, which neighbors the Harar region, and attempted to censor an exclusive report on the rebels last year, according to CPJ research. Under Ethiopia’s draconian anti-terrorism law, journalists risk as many as 20 years in prison if authorities deem their reporting favorable to armed rebels and banned opposition groups.

VOA confirmed to CPJ that Murdock had left the country. Assistants to Ethiopian government spokesmen Bereket Simon and Shemelis Kemal told CPJ the officials were not available for comment. The Ethiopian government announced plans to officially jam VOA in March, after reports that there had been electronic jamming of the station’s Amharic-language shortwave broadcasts and that its Web site had been blocked in the country.

“We condemn the expulsion of Heather Murdock,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “Ethiopian authorities have for years used the threat of expulsion to induce self-censorship among foreign journalists working in the country.”

Murdock arrived in Ethiopia last month after she was expelled from Yemen in April following a reporting trip to strongholds of Yemen’s armed separatist Southern Movement, according to news reports. In Ethiopia, she covered the country’s general election and its aftermath, among other topics.

Ethiopia: Boycott TPLF/Weyane businesses!

Sami Aron

This is to inform the trade organizations of WOYANE. Since you are part of this all rounded struggle, we kindly tell you not to buy whatever the product or service of the following enterprises and share this information for your friends as many as you can.


The enterprises of Woyanes are:

Company Name: – Almedan Garment Factory Established 1995, Capital 660, 000, 000, $; Headquarter Mekele, Chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.

Addis Engineering Consultancy: – established 1995, capital 10, 000, 000, $ headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Arkebe Ekubay.

Addis Pharmaceuticals Production: – established 1995; headquarter Addis Ababa; capital 53,000,000; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.

Africa Insurance Axion Assn: – established 1995, headquarter Addis Ababa, capital 30,000,000; chairman of the Board Yohannes Ekubay.

Almeda Textile Factory: – established 1995, Capital 180,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.

Mesob Cement Factory: – established 1995; capital 240,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Abadi Zemu.

Mesfin Industrial Company: – Established 1995; capital 500,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Arkebe Ekubay.

Sur Construction: – established 1995; capital 150,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the board Arkebe Ekubay.

Trans Ethiopia; established 1995:- capital 100,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the board Shimelis Kinde.

Tesfa Livestock: – established 1995; capital 20,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Yohannes Kidane.

Star Pharmaceuticals: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Arkebe kubay.

Selam Bisline: – establishe 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele: chairman of the Board Tilma.

Sheba Tannery Factory Axion Assn: – established 1995; capital 40,000,000; headquarter Wukro; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.

Segel Construction: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Araya Zerihun.

Rahwa Yebegina Fiyel Export: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Yassin Abdurahman.

Meskerem Investment: – established 1995; capital 40,000,000; headquarter Axum; chairman of the Board Tewodros Ayes Tesfaye.

Mega Net Corp: – established 1993; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Alemseged Gebreamlak.

Hiwot Agriculture Mechanization: – established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; Yohannes Kidane.

Hitech Park Axion Assn: – established 1996; capital 10,000,000 headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Shimelis Kinde.

Tana Trading House Axion Assn: – established 1994; capital 50,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa.

Sibhat Nega Global Auto Spare part: – established 1992; capital 26,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Teklebirhan Habtu.

Fana Democracy plc. – established 1995; capital 6,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Negash Sahle.

Ezana Mining Development: – established 1995; capital 55,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Tewodros Hafis Berhe.

Express Transit: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Gebreselassie Gidey.

Experience Ethiopia Travel: – established 1995: capital 26,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Tony Hiki.

Ethio Rental Axion Assn.:- established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Atkilit Kiros.

Dedebit Saving & Loan: – established 1997; capital 60,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Atkilit Kiros.

Dilate Brewery: – established 1995; capital 15,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Kahsay TewoldeTedla.

Dessalegn Caterinary: – established 1995; capital 15,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Dr, Maru Erdaw.

Berhe Chemical Axion Assn.:- established 1995; capital 25,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Abadi Zemu.

Addis Consultancy House: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Mekele; chairman of the Board Sibhat Nega.

Birhane Building Construction: – established 1995; capital 10,000,000; headquarter Addis Ababa; chairman of the Board Bereket Mazengiya.


Thank you! I hope you will inform to me as for how many people did you send it.

A country of grey and gold

An election in Ethiopia promises little change
May 28th 2010 | ADDIS ABABA | From The Economist online

THERE are two colours I associate with Ethiopia. Grey for the dust, the bare hills, stony soil and donkeys. Grey for the Soviet-era buildings in the towns and the fumes of ancient Lada cars. Then there is gold, in the fields at harvest time, in the sunshine at that lung-busting altitude, and the heavy jewellery worn by women. Gold especially for the churches, the icons, the luminous curls in the crosses and staves, and in the golden plumage of archangels who many Ethiopians believe overlook the inner workings of their lives.

Religion is central to life in Ethiopia, as it is in the rest of Africa. But it is of a very different type. Neighbouring Kenya became Christian just over a century ago. Its Christianity still has a stripped-down missionary flavour. The Amhara and Tigray regions of Ethiopia, by contrast, were Christian long before St Augustine of Canterbury landed in England. The Band Aid anthem to raise money for Ethiopian famine victims in 1984 was in some ways ill-judged: of course they knew it was Christmastime.

Yet Ethiopia is also a country of revolutionary zeal. It is ruled by an inner circle of former Marxist guerrillas who are not evidently religious. That sets up a tension in the country. After this week's election victory by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), I ask Ethiopians what they would like to ask their long-serving prime minister, Meles Zenawi. Most often they say they would like to quiz him about God. "I want to know if he is a believer," says my driver in Addis Ababa. Teddy—his name changed to protect his identity—is critical of the government. They have done many good things. But they like to control us." Even in heavy traffic Teddy takes his hands off the steering wheel and crosses himself when passing one of the many churches. He gently recounts his own story of last week's elections. The organisers of the taxi fleet he drives for are card-carrying members of the EPRDF. "We are not talking about many people. Maybe 20 out of a couple of hundred cabs. But they decide on a lot of things, including the renewal of licences. They told the rest of us we had to attend government rallies in a procession during the election campaign. Most of us refused. After the election they will come for us." What will he do then? Teddy shrugs. He is close to retirement, but has two small children. "A man cannot live on his knees."


Read Full Story≫

Ethiopia: A ‘Smart’ Copycat in the 21st Century

BLOCK…BLOCK, JAM BABY JAM!

Note: This blurb here is not new, nor do I pretend it to be original, but only decent observations and reflections.

By Joseph M (PHD)

The dictators of our time live by preaching dogmas such as religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, revolutionary democracy etc interwoven with practiced kleptocracy (rampant greed & corruption), misinformation, deceptions, intimidation, scare mongering, repression, extra-judicial killings etc.

Religious fundamentalism, for example, is a fertile ground for some dictators as it is for Al-Qaida. Dictators like Meles Zenawi however come to power having as their cause (illegitimate) liberation of a single ethnic group, but then pave their way to the peak of political power using all known techniques and methods that other evil dictators have been using around the world.

There are plenty of experiences to coach; such as the methods used by J Stalin-Former Soviet Union, Mao and Hu Jintao-Communist Party of China, Milosevic -Former Yugoslavia, Rwanda’s genocide, Omar al-Bashir-Sudan, Kim Jong-il-North Korea, Than Shwe-Burma, Robert Mugabe-Zimbabwe, Ahmedin Ahmadinejad-Iran etc.

History has recorded that thousands and millions of innocent people have been killed by self-imposed ruthless dictators in order to stay in the front seat of power forever. Behind the façade of their power they hide their evil acts by using ethnic differences, deceptions and all other means.

In our time, we also witness the role information technology and media has been playing (as if it is God-given gift from heaven for their manipulations), enormously helping those dictators to pursue their objectives; to misinform, fabricate, lie, intimidate, demoralize and harass the innocent population that they rule, making them helpless creatures.

With the run-up to the Election 2010 in Ethiopia, Meles negotiated a lion-share of the radio and TV air time to dominate and defeat his “enemy” (the opposition parties). Those of us who watched the pre-recorded and so called “national election debates”, have wondered how on earth radio and TV air time was distributed on the basis of current number of seats in parliament that parties hold, while the election is for a future parliament. It begs questions as to what has been the logic behind the saga and why the debates has to be held in the caged studios of the TPLF/government owned Ethiopian Television and Radio? Why free speech and freedom of expression of ideas have been harnessed, censored, controlled etc in this way? Why TPLF needed to enact laws to restrict the media? Why the debates have been full of fear and uncertainty? Where does this type of model exist in the world in the 21st Century? Why people (the electorate), I would rather call them “enslaved voters”, are deprived of knowing the truth about TPLF/EPRDF candidates’ crimes? Why the army commander has to come out with warning to name and shame and also implicate Seye’s presentation at the debates? In all these, the Ethiopian Television and Radio Organization has been the weapon that Meles needed to have absolute monopoly on, control and kill voices of the opposition groups as he wished. Meles has also showed on the ETV his predecessor’s (Mengistu’s) crimes to refresh the memories of the enslaved voters, likening the opposition groups with Mengistu. If I may ask, is this not a criminal act that Meles has committed using the ETV, the only TV channel in the country? More…

Dr. M Joseph is an expert in Applied Distributed Programming & VSAT
The writer of this piece, M. Joseph, can be reached at sofomore@googlemail.com

EU chief observer says Ethiopian poll was not fair

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Tens of thousands of ruling party supporters rallied Tuesday in Ethiopia's capital to celebrate victory in the national election, while the chief EU observer said the poll had been marred by an uneven playing field. A top opposition leader denounced the provisional results released by the Ethiopian elections board, but did not indicate what action his party would take.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi arrived midmorning at the main square in Addis Ababa and addressed the crowd as hundreds of blue-uniformed federal police stood guard.

"We'll not boast about our victory, but we'll add to the burden of work that we have to deliver for the next five years," said Meles, who seized power in a 1991 coup


Read Full Story≫

Ethiopia: Government Repression Undermines Poll

(Nairobi) - Ethiopian government and ruling party officials intimidated voters and unlawfully restricted the media ahead of the May 23, 2010 parliamentary elections, Human Rights Watch said today.

In assessing the polls, international election observers should address the repressive legal and administrative measures that the Ethiopian ruling party used to restrict freedom of expression during the election campaign, Human Rights Watch said.

"Behind an orderly façade, the government pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters," said Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "Whatever the results, the most salient feature of this election was the months of repression preceding it."

In the weeks leading up to the polls, Human Rights Watch documented new methods used by the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to intimidate voters in the capital, Addis Ababa, apparently because of government concerns of a low electoral turnout.

During April and May, officials and militia (known as tataqi in Amharic) from the local administration went house to house telling citizens to register to vote and to vote for the ruling party or face reprisals from local party officials such as bureaucratic harassment or even losing their homes or jobs.

The May poll was the first national parliamentary election in Ethiopia since the government violently suppressed post-election protests in 2005; almost 200 people, including several police officers, died after the 2005 poll and tens of thousands of people were arrested, including opposition leaders, journalists and civil society activists.
Read Full Story≫

Ethiopia Ruling Party Leads Vote Marred by Intimidation Reports

By Jason McLure

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s ruling party headed for victory in the Horn of Africa nation’s first national elections since 2005 after a campaign that was marred by allegations of intimidation.

With about 7.3 million votes tallied of an estimated 29 million cast yesterday, Meles’s Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front had 6.8 million, compared with 458,242 for the opposition Medrek alliance, Mergera Bekana, chairman of the National Electoral Board, said today.

The EPRDF was ahead in 20 of 23 seats in the capital, Addis Ababa, with Medrek leading for one parliamentary seat and two constituencies not yet reporting, he said.

“In all regional states, EPRDF is leading,” Mergera said in the capital.

Government and ruling party official used a combination of harassment and arrests and withholding food aid and jobs to thwart Medrek in the weeks running up to the polls, New York- based Human Rights Watch said in a statement today. The government has denied the allegations, saying economic growth in Ethiopia of more than 7 percent annually over the past five years has bolstered its support.

About 31.9 million registered voters were eligible to cast ballots to elect 547 members of parliament and representatives to regional councils.

A former Marxist guerrilla leader who has ruled Africa’s second-most populous nation since 1991, Meles, 55, has been a key ally in the fight against Islamic militants in neighboring Somalia. Under Meles, Ethiopia, Africa’s top coffee producer, has pursued an economic model that mixes a large state role with foreign investment in roads, dams and power.

The government controls the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp., a state-run monopoly, and owns all the land, while companies owned by the state or the ruling party dominate banking and trucking. Almost a sixth of its 85 million people depend on food aid.

Medrek is a coalition that includes jailed opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa’s Unity for Democracy and Justice party and a number of ethnic-based parties.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

Experts Say There Will Be No Contest in Ethiopia's Upcoming Vote

Horn of Africa experts in the United States say there will be no contest in Ethiopia's parliamentary election Sunday. They say it will be unlike the volatile vote in 2005, due to a diminished opposition and a ruling party totally in control.

The last election in Ethiopia in 2005 was fiercely contested, and when the opposition alleged there had been cheating in vote counting, riots broke out and about 200 people, most of them opposition activists, were reported killed.

Africa experts say the ruling party in Ethiopia made sure Sunday's upcoming election will not repeat that pattern.


Oberlin College International Studies Professor Eve Sandberg says the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has made sure its message has been heard by would-be voters. "The current government has been using the media, which they control in a non-stop way to broadcast programs, which talk about how much better this regime is than the previous one and the fact that at least they have built roads, and at least they have painted some buildings, and at least people are not experiencing famine," she said.

Sandberg who recently worked as a political consultant in Ethiopia says, on the other side of the political equation, the opposition has nearly disappeared. "Their leaders are either in jail, in exile, or have resigned because they cannot see any way forward. If they show they are in opposition many of them find that police show up and they are either shot, or detained or harassed," she said.

A series of campaign-related killings in Ethiopia has raised tensions and sparked counter allegations between the government and opposition.

Examples of opposition leaders excluded from the process include Birtukan Mideksa, who heads the Unity for Democracy and Justice. She is in jail under a life sentence after an initial pardon for treason was revoked.

Berhanu Nega, who was elected as mayor of Addis Ababa in 2005, was also imprisoned during the post-election riots. He has since become a professor in the United States and was sentenced to life in prison in absentia for alleged coup plotting.

An expert on U.S.-Africa relations, who was in Ethiopia for the 2005 vote, J. Peter Pham, says major figures of the opposition remaining in the race are divided. "Hailu Shawul who led the opposition coalition the last time around is being opposed by the deputy head of the old opposition, Hailu Araya. They are facing off against each other for the same constituency," he said.

Terrence Lyons from George Mason University says he is disappointed, but not surprised by current political conditions. He says competition is still taking place within the ruling party. "Some of the folks who have been in power for almost 20 years are retiring and a younger generation, some perhaps more technocratic or more professional is coming up. There are endless speculations about what might happen when and if Prime Minister Meles Zenawi were to step down and who might be the successor. So, there are a lot of those kinds of questions that are percolating now," he said.

A former rebel leader, Mr. Meles has been prime minister since 1995. All of the experts interviewed for this report expect his party to win much more easily than in the 2005 election.

The prime minister's supporters say he has done much more than recent Ethiopian leaders in building up the country's economy, health and school system, while also keeping a vast multi-ethnic society stable, even as neighboring countries experienced repeated strife.

Ethiopia Will Keep Opposition Leader in Prison Beyond Elections

May 13, 2010, 7:52 AM EDT
By Jason McLure


May 13 (Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia’s government will ignore foreign and domestic pressure to free opposition leader Birtukan Mideksa from prison and keep her incarcerated beyond this month’s elections, Communications Minister Bereket Simon said.

“We are not in a position to intervene in any legal affair,” Bereket told reporters yesterday in Addis Ababa, the capital, in response to a question about the jailed leader of the Unity for Democracy and Justice party. “The government has repeatedly declared its position is not to budge to any foreign or local pressure.”

Birtukan, 35, has spent 500 days in prison since she was arrested on Dec. 29, 2008, after the government accused her of violating the terms of a pardon under which she was released in 2007. She was originally jailed on treason charges following protests after Ethiopia’s disputed 2005 elections. Her continued imprisonment comes amid claims by government critics that the May 23 vote won’t be free and fair.

“The best evidence that these elections cannot be genuine democratic elections is that this woman, who should be running, is unable to do so because she is jailed for life,” Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European parliament who headed the EU’s electoral mission to Ethiopia in 2005, said in a May 11 phone interview.

Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department labeled Birtukan a political prisoner, and the United Nations Human Rights Council listed her as a victim of arbitrary detention.

Her supporters say the former federal judge was jailed because she was the opposition leader most likely to organize a successful nationwide challenge to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, which has ruled the country since 1991.

“Had she been part of the election, not only the people here but the whole country would have voted for her,” Leulseged Wubeshet, a 23-year-old Birtukan supporter, said from her home neighborhood in northern Addis Ababa. “She’s more popular than the others.”

--Editors: Paul Richardson, Philip Sanders.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jason McLure in Addis Ababa via Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.

American Goes on Hunger Strike to Support Ethiopian Opposition Leader

By Alula Kebede
washington, DC
06/05/2010

American documentary filmmaker and activist Chris Flaherty is on a hunger strike at the front gates of the White House in Washington, D.C. to support Birtukan Mideksa, an Ethiopian lawyer and major opposition party leader serving a life sentence in Ethiopia.

Birtukan, leader of the largest opposition group in Ethiopia, Unity for Democracy and Justice, has been held at the Kaliti prison for the past 16 months on a treason conviction.



Flaherty became interested in Birtukan's case while doing research for his film about Ethiopian politics and the 2005 election. He is convinced that the Ethiopian government claims about her are inaccurate. He is using his strike to bring her case to the attention of the Obama administration. He is calling on the President to identify her as a prisoner of conscience.



"This is important to me as she was jailed simply because she stands by what she believes. To me that is a strong character. She believes in the same values that I believe in as far as democracy and freedom are concerned. I would hunger-strike for anyone like that," Chris said. "She shouldn't have been in jail in the first place."

Kebadu Belachew, an Ethiopian-American, took three days off from work to join Flaherty on the hunger strike in front of the White House.

Birtukan was arrested in December 2008 for allegedly violating the terms of an earlier pardon. She and several fellow opposition leaders previously served two years in prison on government charges.

Flaherty's film, Migration of Beauty, will broadcast in the United States this month.

Listen to the Amharic report on Flaherty's strike.

Press Group Concerned by Detention of 2 Ethiopian Journalists

A U.S.-based rights group has expressed concern about the detentions of two Ethiopian television journalists being held by the government since last week.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday that editor Haileyesus Worku and reporter Abdulsemed Mohammed, who were working for the government-run Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency, have not been formally charged since their arrests.

The men were arrested April 22 for allegedly misusing state property. A government spokesman told CPJ that that journalists had been caught "red-handed" smuggling property belonging to their workplace with the intent to sell it.

CPJ Africa Program Coordinator, Tom Rhodes, said his group is skeptical of the charges because Ethiopia has a long history of arresting journalists under politically motivated charges.

CPJ noted that in 2009, VOA reporter Meleskachew Amaha was imprisoned for three weeks for old tax charges that were later dismissed, among other similar cases.

The group says it is calling for due process and transparency in the case.

Ethiopian Opposition Demands Independent Probe Into Activist's Death

Ethiopia's main opposition coalition is demanding an independent investigation into the death of a campaign worker allegedly beaten to death for his political activities.

Despite strong denials by ruling party officials, leaders of the opposition group Forum say Biyanza Daba Gadisa was beaten outside his home early this month in a small community in western Oromia. He died several days later in an Addis Ababa hospital.

An executive of the local Forum council, Olbana Lelisa, says ruling party officials in Biyanza's neighborhood followed him home and hit him with a gun butt after he refused to stop campaigning against them.

"The main cause is that he is agitating for Forum, the organization," Olbana told an interpreter. "They said you have to stop this agitation against the Ethiopia's main ruling party and abide by our order. And he said, I will not stop. I have to agitate for my party's sake."

A government spokesman Shimelis Kemal called reports of the beating "the biggest lie we have heard."

Speaking to VOA, Shimelis said Biyanza would never have worked for the opposition, because he was a registered member of the ruling party in Oromia. He said the victim had not been beaten, but had died of complications from malaria and typhoid.

The spokesman described the charges as "part of a series of lies concocted by the Forum to smear the electoral process." He said investigations of previous allegations had always shown the opposition to have been wrong.

But senior Forum leader Beyene Petros questioned the impartiality of previous investigations. He charged ruling party officials in communities across mostly rural Ethiopia are carrying on a coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation, and called for an independent probe into Biyanza's death.

"He is our activist who goes around and posts posters, distributes leaflets, campaigns on our behalf," said Beyene. "So we are demanding that an independent inquiry committee be formed to review this case. We feel it is a politically motivated killing or attack that ended in fatality." He added "Its a very sad case."

. Read Full Story≫

Meles warned party leaders not to boycott the vote, saying it would be like starting a dangerous fire and walking away.

Ethiopia's heated election campaign has spilled onto the floor of parliament, with bitter and at times personal exchanges between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and opposition leaders. The prime minister was forced onto the defensive on issues from the economy to allegations of political dirty tricks.

With less than six weeks to go before elections for a new legislature, Prime Minister Meles used a nationally-broadcast speech to trumpet his government's achievements. He said the economy is expected to register double-digit growth for the seventh consecutive year, inflation has slowed to under four percent, and the number of Ethiopians needing food aid is less than predicted.

Ethiopia's heated election campaign has spilled onto the floor of parliament, with bitter and at times personal exchanges between Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and opposition leaders. The prime minister was forced onto the defensive on issues from the economy to allegations of political dirty tricks.

With less than six weeks to go before elections for a new legislature, Prime Minister Meles used a nationally-broadcast speech to trumpet his government's achievements. He said the economy is expected to register double-digit growth for the seventh consecutive year, inflation has slowed to under four percent, and the number of Ethiopians needing food aid is less than predicted.

"Favorable conditions have been set for the conduct of elections which are peaceful, democratic and credible to the people," he said.

But when the floor was opened for opposition comments, Mr. Meles found himself facing a barrage of criticisms.

Merera Gudina, leader of a party representing Ethiopia's largest ethnic group, the Oromos, drew a rebuke from the house speaker for challenging the prime minister's economic figures.

The Oromo leader also charged the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front with rigging next month's elections through its control of the electoral machinery. He spoke in Amharic, but afterward summarized his remarks in English.

"The EPRDF is trying to be both the referee and a player. If you are both the referee and a player, who is going to win is clear from the beginning," said Gudina.

Ethiopian Democratic Party leader Lidetu Ayalew caused a stir when he charged ruling party officials in his devoutly Christian district were trying to discredit him by spreading false rumors he had converted to another religion.

Mr. Meles called such acts 'deplorable', and promised that if the charge turns out to be true, the 'disreputable elements' would be expelled from his party.

He accused the opposition of whipping up passions with inflammatory charges. Again through an interpreter, he warned party leaders not to boycott the vote, as happened during the 2008 local elections, saying it would be like starting a dangerous fire and walking away.

"If my estimation is correct, some of you are walking this direction," said the prime minister. "I think you are making a huge mistake because to light the fire and at the last [moment] to go into hiding, would not be good, because to light the fire and [be] behind it, and also to fight and use the blood of children, that would not be something that is useful," he said.

Officials said Tuesday's address was likely Prime Minister Meles's final speech in parliament before the May 23rd elections. Analysts say the ruling party is expected to easily retain control of the legislature.

Ruling party officials attribute the bright outlook to effective policies and an opposition in disarray. Opposition leaders say their poor prospects are the result of the ruling party's firm control of the electoral process.

Silence Not Golden In Ethiopia

While a friend and supporter of Ethiopia, the United States nevertheless cannot remain silent on censorship, which runs counter to the country's constitution.

With national elections in Ethiopia fast approaching, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi appears intent on controlling both the medium and the message. Reports of the harassment of opposition political figures and interfering with international media broadcasts into the country undermine the image of his government, and if the polling is to be credible, it must be an open process.

Following the jamming of the Voice of America's radio broadcasts in Ethiopia's dominant Amharic language for the last four weeks, the government there appears to now have turned its attention to VOA's Internet service in the East African nation. Numerous reports have been received that VOA's website is unavailable inside Ethiopia, where individuals both inside and out of Africa often turn when they cannot get a radio signal.

The prime minister accused VOA of broadcasting destabilizing propaganda and has admitted seeking ways to block it. Committed to broadcasting unbiased and comprehensive news throughout the world, VOA initiated satellite broadcasts into Ethiopia and is exploring other ways to get its programs through.

While a friend and supporter of Ethiopia, the United States nevertheless cannot remain silent on such actions and censorship, which run counter to the country's constitution. It is watching with great interest and encourages all parties there to act responsibly during the election campaign. An election cannot be run under the guise of democratic process if all candidates cannot participate freely and state their case or if political news is suppressed.

Media Group to Ethiopia: Stop Jamming VOA Broadcasts

An international media group is calling on Ethiopia to top jamming VOA broadcasts.

The head of the International Federation of Journalists, Aidan White, on Friday condemned Ethiopia's restrictions on broadcasts by VOA's Amharic language service.




White called the government's jamming "unprofessional" and "intolerant." He also said it goes against government claims that Ethiopia is committed to press freedom.
The Ethiopian government began interfering with VOA's broadcasts in February. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has accused VOA Amharic of trying to destabilize his government.

The United States has rejected Mr. Meles' claim as "baseless."

In March, VOA started broadcasting its Amharic-language programs to Ethiopia by satellite in order to bypass jamming efforts.

The Voice of America is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government. It broadcasts more than 1,500 hours of news and other programming every week in 45 languages to an audience of more than 125 million people.

VOA says Ethiopia blocks website as US row escalates

By Barry Malone

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - U.S. funded-broadcaster Voice of America said on Monday that Ethiopia may have blocked its website in a move which may lead to further U.S. criticism of its closest ally in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia holds national elections on May 23 and international press freedom advocacy groups say the government is intimidating and harassing journalists ahead of the vote. The government denies that.

"We have received reports that VOA's website is unavailable inside Ethiopia, and we are investigating the causes," VOA Director Danforth Austin said in a statement.

Government spokesmen were not immediately available to comment.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi this month accused VOA's radio service in Ethiopia's dominant Amharic language of broadcasting "destabilising propaganda" and said his government was testing its ability to jam it.

Meles compared VOA to Radio Mille Collines, whose broadcasts are blamed by many for sparking the 1994 Rwanda genocide. He said he would order the service jammed if testing succeeded. Read Full Story≫

Ethiopia: Repression Rising Ahead of May Elections

(Nairobi) - The Ethiopian government is waging a coordinated and sustained attack on political opponents, journalists, and rights activists ahead of the May 2010 elections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. On May 23, 2010, Ethiopians will vote in the first parliamentary elections in Ethiopia since 2005, when the post-election period was marred by controversy and bloodshed.

The 59-page report, "‘One Hundred Ways of Putting Pressure': Violations of Freedom of Expression and Association in Ethiopia," documents the myriad ways in which the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has systematically punished opposition supporters. Since the 2005 polls, the party has used its near-total control of local and district administrations to undermine opponents' livelihoods through withholding services such as agricultural inputs, micro-credit, and job opportunities. The report also documents how recently enacted laws severely restrict the activities of civil society and the media. Read Full Story≫

Fears over Ethiopia's press code for poll coverage

by Aaron Maasho Aaron Maasho – Tue Mar 23, 1:46 pm ET

ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – A new press code that sets guidelines for coverage of Ethiopia's elections in May has drawn fire from embattled media staff, who face fines and jail time if found guilty of violations.

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia approved the framework two weeks ago, ahead of the May 23 polls, but journalists are already voicing their disapproval and fears over its restrictions.

The code bans journalists from carrying out interviews of voters, candidates and observers during election day, while it also prohibits predictions ahead of the announcement of results.

Transgressors face one year in jail for reporting on the latter.

"We stand against every article that is stipulated in the law. It simply puts an unreasonable amount of burden on any journalist," Anteneh Abraham, head of the Ethiopian National Journalists Union, told AFP Tuesday.

"We simply can't work under those conditions. The strict restrictions have instilled fear in all media workers," he added.

Further restrictions have also been placed on coverage from inside polling stations during the same day, in particular the limited access granted for photography and video footage. " Read Full Story≫

Ethiopian PM Says He Will Authorize Jamming VOA

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi says he is prepared to order jamming of VOA broadcasts in Amharic, the country's main official language. Mr. Meles compared VOA Amharic to the hate media that incited the Rwanda genocide.

The Ethiopian leader denies having authorized the interference VOA Amharic listeners have been experiencing since February 22. But speaking to reporters Thursday, he acknowledged ordering preparations for jamming, and said as soon as the equipment is working properly, he would give the go ahead.

"We have to know before we make the decision to jam, whether we have the capacity to do it," said Meles Zenawi. "But I assure you if they assure me at some future date that they have the capacity to jam it, I will give them the clear guideline to jam it. But so far there has not been that formal decision to jam." Read Full Story≫

When Humanitarian Aid Winds Up in the Wrong Hands

British rock impresario and Africa aid promoter Bob Geldof, a.k.a. "Saint Bob," was back in the headlines this past week after blowing his stack at the BBC for a story it aired alleging that Ethiopian rebels had diverted 95% of the $100 million in Ethiopian famine relief raised in the mid-1980s — much of it by Geldof's iconic Band Aid concert.

Geldof's spirited denials (he called the BBC a "rotten old cherry" and said there was not a "shred" of evidence to support the claim) drew support from NGOs that worked in Ethiopia at the time, along with those who remember the miseries of the famine which killed hundreds of thousands of people, as well as the gumption Geldof showed by pulling together rock stars from the U.S and Britain to help feed the victims. In the days since, however, Geldof has raised eyebrows for his apparent refusal to acknowledge the possibility that money may have been skimmed off the top, which many aid agencies and humanitarian workers say routinely happens in developing nations. In fact, doubts in the last few years about whether relief supplies reach their intended sources in conflict zones have given rise to a whole new way of thinking about humanitarian aid — and caused some to question whether giving aid in times of war does any good at all. Read Full Story≫