Watching American Diplocrisy at the African Union I enjoy watching American diplomats chilling out and kicking it with African dictators. I like seeing them kumbaya-ing, back-patting and carrying on. Their body language,…
George Ayittey, one of the foremost African public global intellectuals, metaphorically suggests that Africa’s destiny will be determined by the promise of the “Cheetah Generation” or the paralysis of the…
Blaming the Victim Last week, dictator Meles Zenawi hectored his rubberstamp parliament in Ethiopia about the forced expulsion (or as some have described it “ethnic cleansing”) of Amharas from southern…
U.S. Africa Policy: Empty Words, Emptier Promises (This is the second installment in a series of commentaries I pledged to offer on U.S. policy in Africa under the heading “The…
This post originally appeared in the Huffington Post 3/22/2011 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-broken-contract-_b_838793.html Over the past week, Meles Zenawi has been waxing eloquent on contract and leasehold law. Asked by a local journalist…
Originally appeared in the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 2010-2011), pp. 27-51 The May 2010 parliamentary election in Ethiopia was a meaningless exercise in political…
This is my third commentary on the theme, “Where do we go from here?”, following the rigged elections in Ethiopia last month. In this piece, I urge Ethiopian intellectuals to…
Press Release / May 24, 2010 On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day observed on May 3, 2010, President Barack Obama reminded the world of the “critical importance” of…
May 4, 2009 A Plot Here! A Plot There! A Plot Everywhere! April, 2009. “The ‘desperadoes’ are here! They are going to ‘assassinate high ranking government officials and destroy public…
“Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation” (ETC) In August 1998, the World Bank (WB) issued a corruption report on Ethiopia and summarized: In the Government’s view, the following are the major determinants of…