=============================================================== In memory of Liu Xiaobo, Chinese dissident, human rights advocate, co-author of Charter ’08, Nobel peace laureate (2010) and political prisoner who died in Chinese government custody on July…
Author’s Note: The ruling Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) in Ethiopia is said to be on the verge of passing a “law” protecting “Oromia’s special interest in…
Author’s Note: This July 4th, I “celebrate” my eleventh year of writing uninterrupted weekly Monday commentaries. On July 4, 2006, I formally and publicly declared my engagement in human rights advocacy,…
“No Political Prisoners in Ethiopia” and “Negotiating With the Opposition” The Voice of America (Amharic) last week reported “16 Ethiopian opposition political parties agreed to discuss the anti-terrorism and other…
U.S and U.K. issue warning to their citizens planning travel in Ethiopia Time was tourists flocked to Ethiopia in search of the “Land of 13-Months of Sunshine” and adventure. Ziggy…
Last week, for the third time in the past year, the Thugtatorship of the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (T-TPLF) unplugged the internet. The reasons are a bit fuzzy. Some T-TPLF…
Al Mariam’s Voice of America Interview (Amharic) on Global Peace Index, June 7, 2017
Author’s Note: Last week, Vision of Humanity issued its 2017 Global Peace Index (GPI). Its report on Ethiopia is certainly the most distressing though unequivocal, straightforward and clear-cut. The state…

This op-ed piece first appeared in The Hill on 7/20/2017; and is available at this link: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/foreign-policy/342924-trumps-africa-policy-should-end-us-aid-to-dictators-rights It was published on almariam.com on Earlier this month, President Donald Trump was criticized for letting…