29 Apr 2014
“አፍሪካ ተስፋ ይኖራታልን?”
ከፕሮፌሰር አለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም በነጻነት ለሀገሬ በአፍሪካ ተስፋችን ሊሟጠጥ ይችላልን? እ.ኤ.አ ማርች 2004 ኒኮላስ ክሪስቶፍ የተባለው ለኒዮርክ ታይምስ መጽሔት መጣጥፍ የሚያቀርቡት ተዋቂ ጸሀፊ ስለአፍሪካ መጻኢ ዕድል ተስፋ በቆረጠ መልኩ እንዲህ ብለው ነበር፣ “አፍሪካ በቀውስ የምትታመስ አህጉር ነች፡፡ አፍሪካ ላለፉት አራት
28 Apr 2014
“Is there any hope for Africa?”
Should we despair over Africa?In March 2004, Nicholas Kristof, the noted columnist for the New York Times declared in frustration, “Africa is a mess. It is the only continent that has gotten poorer over the last four decades and its famous for civil wars, genocide and mindboggling corruption. Is there any hope for Africa?” Kristof was commiserating over the
20 Apr 2014
Dam! White Elephants in Ethiopia?
Last week, in a bizarre display of faux outrage and indignation, the regime in Ethiopia unleashed its big “experts” to go after International Rivers, an organization that has been leading the global struggle to protect rivers and the rights of indigenous communities that depend on them for nearly three decades. International Rivers, headquartered in Berkeley, CA.,
16 Apr 2014
የሩዋንዳ የዘር ማጥፋት ረዥም ጥቁር ጥላዉን በ(መካከለኛው) አፍሪካ ጥሎአል
ከፕሮፌሰር አለማየሁ ገብረማርያም ትርጉም በነጻነት ለሀገሬ የ1994 የሩዋንዳ የጭፍጨፋ እና የእልቂት ጸጸት በ2014 የመካከለኛው አፍሪካ ሪፐብሊክ ሰማይ ላይ እያንዣበበ ነው! ባለፈው ሳምንት የሩዋንዳ ህዝብ እርስ በእርስ የተራረደበትን 20ኛውን ዓመት የሩዋንዳ የዘር ፍጅት መጥፎ ገጽታ ለማስታወስ የሀዘን ሳምንት አውጆ ድርጊቱን በመራር ሀዘን ዘክሮታል፡፡ እ.ኤ.አ በኤፕሪል 6/1994 በመንግስት የስልጣን እርከን ላይ የነበሩ አክራሪ የሁቱ ጎሳ አመራሮች፣
13 Apr 2014
The Long Shadow of Rwanda on (Central) Africa
Déjà vu 1994 Rwanda in 2014 Central African Republic Last week, the people of Rwanda began a solemn week of official mourning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide. On April 6, 1994, Hutu extremist leaders in government, their political supporters and organized militiamen coordinated a systematic killing spree, which lasted over 100
06 Apr 2014
Saving the ICC: A Proposal for a Witness Protection Program
Justice delayed, again? In late January of this year, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Kenyatta at the ICC: Is Justice Deferred, Justice Denied?” In that commentary I openly expressed my angst over the endless delays, postponements and backpedalling talk about “false evidence” and “lying witnesses” surrounding the Uhuru Kenyatta trial at The Hague. I felt
31 Mar 2014
“Nineteen Eighty-Four” in 2014 Ethiopiana
“Big Brother is Watching You!” secretly: The snooping thug state in 2014 Ethiopiana The secrecy-obsessed regime in Ethiopia has a huge creepy dragnet of secret electronic surveillance programs to sniff out the deeply-buried secrets of the people of Ethiopia. They spend sleepless nights interrogating themselves about what the people could do to them. Who do
23 Mar 2014
EITI or Clare’s Corruption Club?
Clare Short has won! Congratulations, Clare! Brava! Last week, Clare Short, Chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), succeeded in bullying the EITI Board members into voting to admit the ruling regime in Ethiopia into her Club. She did it the old-fashioned way— arm-twisting, browbeating, bulldozing, rear-end kicking, a little bit of jawboning and
16 Mar 2014
Rise of the Daughters of Ethiopia!
“We can’t take it anymore!” Semayawi Party in Ethiopia has done it again! This time it is the young women of Semayawi Party who took to the streets of Addis Ababa during the 5k run held as part of the International Women’s Day celebrations on March 9. They spoke; no, they cried out the unvarnished truth
09 Mar 2014
Mining Corruption in Ethiopia: A Reply to Clare Short
Open letter or open pandering to corruption? “As I look around the EITI implementing countries, I do not accept that the situation for civil society in Ethiopia is worse than a great many of them.” That was the didactic pronouncement of Ms. Claire Short, Chair of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in her “Open