August 29th, 2010

Press Release

When the TPLF/EPRDF forces controlled Addis Ababa and ended 17 years of tribulation, the majority of Ethiopians gave the TPLF leaders the benefit of the doubt and received them with a warm welcome hoping that change towards freedom, justice and democracy was around the corner. However, 19 years and four elections latter, the only change the Ethiopian people have witnessed is the swing from military dictatorship to a naked ethnocentric dictatorship. Today, unlike any other time Ethiopia’s survival as a nation is endangered by the very regime claiming to lead it. Consequently, there are calls from all corners of Ethiopia for liberty and justice that must be answered to safeguard the continuity of the country and the freedom of the Ethiopian people.

August 27th, 2010

Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) has started online streaming, live service. Click here to watch our 24hrs service.

Note: This is a two-week trial service. To get continued service, please sign up here and log in to our secured page. If you have already donated, you will get login information by your email to get our services. ESAT's management is working hard to resume its transmissions to Ethiopia. We will soon be back on air with the help of all concerned citizens. Together we shall overcome the challenges!

August 25th, 2010

The unending humiliation and indignity faced by Ethiopians in Saudi prison. Beating by police, deaths by starvation, and death due to disease have become the daily occurrences for Ethiopians in a Saudi prison. Listen to yet another sad story of our never ending humiliation and tragic condition as a people.

• Click here to listen DW Amharic report

Ethiopians in Saudi

August 24th, 2010

A Brand Spanking New Constitution:In February 2008, following the ethnically-driven post-election violence in Kenya, I wrote an editorial commentary entitled “The Ethiopianization of Kenya”:

After a half century of national existence, democratic experimentation and stability, Kenya has degenerated into a tribal/ethnic basket case beset by violence, fear and loathing… Kenya could have easily avoided this calamity. It had all of the tools at its disposal — a functioning and well-oiled electoral process, a civically engaged population, a democratic political culture enriched by prior voting experiences, an active and independent press, and a reasonably professional and independent judiciary, among others.

August 14th, 2010

August 9th, 2010

Note: This is the fourth installment in a series of commentaries I intend to offer on U.S. foreign policy (or lack thereof as some would argue) in Ethiopia. In this piece, I argue that the Obama Administration’s recently announced Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative to go after corruption in Africa and elsewhere could prove to be an extraordinarily effective tool to improve human rights on the continent. By focusing on corruption, the Obama Administration could reasonably demand good governance practices of African “leaders” while maintaining cooperation on counter-terrorism and security issues.

4 August 2010

Some voters began queuing before polling stations opened

A count is under way in Kenya after its referendum on a new constitution, a key measure for political reform.

The BBC correspondent in the west of the country says voting appears to have passed off without incident, which would be a first for the country.

The vote was part of a deal to end violence after the 2007 election, when more than 1,000 people died.

Presidential powers would be limited and a commission set up to settle potentially explosive land disputes.

26 July 2010

ote: This is the second installment in a series of commentaries I intend to offer on U.S. foreign policy (or lack thereof as some would argue) in Ethiopia. In this piece, I argue that the price of U.S. lip service to human rights in Ethiopia without action is demoralization of the brave and dedicated Ethiopians who struggle everyday against dictatorship and tyranny, trivialization and crippling of efforts to build a strong human rights movement and disempowerment and discouragement of ordinary Ethiopians aspiring to a democratic future

If the Silenced Majority Could Talk…

If the silenced majority inside of what has become Prison Nation Ethiopia (PNE) could talk, what would they tell President Obama and Secretary Clinton about U.S. human rights policy? Would they pat them on the back and say,

EMF (16 July 2010) Meles Zenawi called emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss on extended resumption of ESAT, reliable sources said. After the meeting, Zenawi ordered a panic attack on ESAT signals, which resulted in a brief interruption of ESAT, its own ETV and Eritrea’s ERITV on Thursday, 15 July.