ET Language Radio
  VOA
  Deutsche Welle

Gov't Party/News
  ENA
  Walta
  Ethiopian Press Agency
  EPRDF
  OPDO
  Abiyotawi Democracy

News Search
  AllAfrica
  Yahoo News
  Google News
  Africa Confidential
  Indian Ocean News
  BBC Africa News

Ethio News Sites
  AbugidaInfo
  AbbayMedia
  AigaForum
  Ayyaantuu
  CyberEthiopia
  Debteraw
  EthiopiaFirst
  Ethiomedia
  EthioPolitics
  EthioForum
  Ethiopian Review
  Gadaa
  Garreonline
  JimmaTimes
  Mahder
  Nazret
  Nouvelles d'Addis

Blogs
  Addis Journal
  Behailu's Weblog
  Deje-Selam
  Negashi-OJ
  Et-recyler
  ethiopundit
  MeskelSquare

Human Rights
  Amnesty Int.
  US State Dept
  Human Rights Watch

Opposition Orgs
  AEUP
  EDP
  Ginbot7
  OFDM
  OPC
  UDJ
  UEDF
  Solidarity Mvt for New Eth

Armed/Separatist Fronts
  OLF
  ONLF
  Ogaden online
  EPPF-jegna
  EPPF-first
  EPPF-online

Eritrea
  Asena
  Awate
  Asmarino
  Kunama
  Jeberti
  Meskerem
  ELF (Nharnet)
  Shabait

Sudan
  SPLM/A Today
  Sudan.net
  Sudan Tribune

Somalia
  Amin Arts
  Garowe Online
  Somalia Online
  Somaliland Times
  Wardheernews

Djibouti
  Djibouti Net

Kenya
  Coastweek
  Kenya Times
  Nation Media Group

Yemen
  Yemen Observer
  Yemen Post
  Yemen Times

Arab
  al-Jazeera
  Asharq alawsat
  Gulf News

Israel
  Haaretz
  Jerusalem Post

USA/Europe
  CS Monitor
  Global Post-Africa
  Guardian
  Independent
  LA Times
  New York Times
  Times of London
  Wall St Journal
  Washington Post

South Africa
  SA Times
  SA Mail and Guardian

Intl Magazines
  Atlantic
  Economist
  Foreign Affairs
  NYT Magazine
  Slate

UN/ IMF/ WB
  UN Ethiopia
  FEWS
  UN IRIN
  UN OCHA
  IMF
  World Bank
  Donors Group

"First Lady Azeb Mesfin, Chair of the Social Affairs Standing Committee, while presenting the motion to adopt the law said that the enactment of the law was essential to deal with those deemed to be "excessive labour force" in light of the ongoing restructuring that government institutions were going through."

Comment: Excessive labor? Why is Azeb Mesfin an MP and also appointed deputy head of EFFORT, and also in the central committee of the TPLF? What other jobs does she have? Nobody could be found in Tigray to do these jobs except for people related to Meles by blood or marriage? It is obvious that a fanatic ethnicist like Meles cannot trust Oromos and Amharas. But lately it is becoming clear that he cant even trust his own ethnic group and needs to place his kin in control positions over the people of Tigray.

The Meles nepotism and kinship power network needs to be broken up. The people of Tigray said no to aristocratic rule in 1974. They do not need a new aristocratic family to impose itself on them.

"It was simply announced one day that it no longer existed in our country, and from then on it became impossible to treat it or even to diagnose it." - Aleksander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), The Gulag Archipelago

"Meles then concludes that the best practice from the perspective of development and growth is not to let capital get allocated by market forces. Rather, he said, capital should be rationed across the economy according to priorities of the state. To effectively enforce this, there should be state ownership of financial institutions and it presupposes a developmental state, which clearly defines its priorities and has an active presence in the economic development of a nation."

"This is what the incumbent is trying to establish in Ethiopia today."

"There could not be more revealing decision than that taken by the regulatory body of the state owned financial institutions under Eyob Tesafye (PhD). In its recent decision, reported by this newspaper last week, the Agency suspended the state owned Ethiopian Insurance Corporation (EIC) from committing equity worth 30 million Br to the coveted Habesha Cement S.C., a private sector initiative"

Comment: The article explains Meles justification for keeping Ethiopia's financial sector as one of the most primitive in the world. Meles believes that he (the state) should make the decisions on where money is invested, not the market. This is because he is a genius. No one can tell him anything.

In contrast to Habesha Cement, the Messebo Cement Factory had no trouble getting funding from state banks. And recent news indicates it is undergoing a big expansion. It is a conflict of interest for Meles to veto the EIC's 30 million birr investment in Habesha Cement, while he allows his wife, Azeb Mesfin, to obtain state funds for the expansion of Messebo Cement.

Also: (Reporter, May 24) - TPLF aristocrats in parliament arranging luxury lifetime benefits package for top government officials who leave office - free villa housing, free overseas medical treatment, liefetime salary with pay increases... FANTASTIC! It is a great achievement to secure these luxury benefits for ones family in a country where millions of children are malnourished, where hundreds of thousands of children die due to lack of basic health care.

Plus: Indian firm seeks contract to build Ethiopia's rail network - Calcutta News;
Comment - It took six years (1896-1902) to build the railway from Djibouti to Dire Dawa. The railway company then went bankrupt. A new railway company was established in 1908 and the railway reached Addis Abeba in 1915. So even with the six years lost to bankruptcy, the railway was completed in less than 19 years. The TPLF aristocrats have been ruling Ethiopia for 18 years. They have made zero progress in revitalizing the railway. The railcars are in bad shape, the line is in bad shape, the management is in bad shape.

Rail transport is cheaper than road. Ethiopia could save a lot of money by investing in new management and equipment. It would also reduce the congestion and overcrowding at the Djibouti port. Strategically it makes sense to diversify the transport sector. So why haven't the TPLF aristocrats invested in the railway?

The reason is simple. From 1991 to 1998 the TPLF and EPLF both created transport and trade companies that engaged in lucrative business at Assab. Thus the TPLF completely neglected Djibouti and the port and railway were doing very little business during this time. After 1998 the TPLF aristocrats were forced to move their trade and transport companies to the Djibouti line. But they still had little incentive to invest in the railway. The railway is owned by the Ethiopian and Djibouti governments. On the other hand the trucking business is dominated by TPLF-affiliated companies. This is a huge money maker - a basic foundation for the TPLF financial empire. A revitalized railway offering cheaper transport would cut their profits. That is why the Ethio-Djibouti railway has been in shambles for 18 years and counting.

And: Kenya team in Addis over threat to Turkana - East African; The World Bank and the European Investment Bank, which Ethiopia hoped would back the project financially, have since indicated they do not want to get involved.
Comment - Meles refused to follow proper contracting procedures (competitive bidding, environmental review) so financing for this project is questionable.

The Sufis have achieved what the transitional government has not: grass-roots support, which explains how they were able to move so quickly from a bunch of men who had never squeezed a trigger before � a rarity in Somalia � into a cohesive fighting force backed by local clans.

Many Somalis say that the Sufi version of Islam, which stresses tolerance, mysticism and a personal relationship with God, is more congruent with their traditions than the Wahhabi Islam espoused by the Shabab, which calls for strict separation of the sexes and harsh punishments like amputations and stonings.

"We see the Sufis as part of us," said Elmi Hersi Arab, an elder in the battered central Somalia town of Dusa Marreb. "They grew up here."

The Sufis also tapped into an anti-Shabab backlash. The Shabab, who recruit from all clans, and, according to American officials, are linked to Al Qaeda, controlled Dusa Marreb for the better part of last year. Residents described that period as a reign of terror, with the Shabab assassinating more than a dozen village elders and even beheading two women selling tea.

"in particular, Ethiopia's legitimate need for adequate access to the sea..." - United Nations, December 2, 1950

Comment - The UN in 1950, and the WFP in 2009 are not the only foreigners that have worked to ensure Ethiopia's adequate access to the sea. Many others, such as Sylvia Pankhurst have spent considerable time and effort on this issue. Eritreans working in Ethiopia's foreign ministry contributed greatly to the success of Ethiopia's foreign policy in the 1920s to 1960s.

How about the TPLF aristocrats? Did they do anything to secure Ethiopia's "legitimate need for adequate access to the sea?" In fact they said that Eritrea was a colony. End of story. They killed Ethiopian students who protested this issue peacefully. They went out of their way to make sure that Ethiopia had no rights whatsoever to its natural port at Assab - built by Ethiopia at great expense during the Haile Selassie era.

The TPLF treated Ethiopia's need for sea access as a trivial manner. "Port service is like any service. You can buy it anywhere," scoffed Meles in his typical dismissive manner.

The current foreign minister, Seyoum Mesfin, is the absolute worst in Ethiopia's history. The ruling TPLF aristocrats are dominated by the Meles clan, which has a strong identity that straddles the Eritrean border. To them, transferring Assab from TPLF-controlled Ethiopian to EPLF-controlled Eritrean soveriegnty was like moving money from the left pocket to the right pocket. Unlike the UN and WFP they didn't care and still dont seem to care about this critical issue that is endangering Ethiopia's economy and security.

There is nothing wrong with having a strong identity driven by ones place of origin. But if a person, or small group of people want to rule a huge, multi-ethnic nation of 80 million, then they must not let their parochial interests and preferences override the larger interests of the nation. As mentioned above, Eritrean-Ethiopians have contributed greatly to Ethiopia in the past and continue to do so. These broad-minded people are quite different from the fanatic ethnicists that constitute the inner core of the Meles-Bereket power group.

• "I can�t look you in the face because of shame,"

• "I apologize for disappointing the people."

• "You should now discard me."

• "I no longer symbolize the values you pursue. I am no longer qualified to speak for such things as democracy, progressiveness and justice."

Comment - We expect these statements from Meles, Bereket, Seyoum, and the other TPLF aristocrats who bear responsibility for the 6,000 children that starved to death in Gode in the year 2000, for the thousands of abused Ogadeni civilians in 2007-08, for the murdered Anuak, for the unjustly imprisoned Birtukan Mideksa, and thousands of tortured Oromo, for the abandoned Irob and others left defenceless before Isayas Afeworki, for the academics whose careers were destroyed, for the targeted hatred against the population of Gonder and Gojjam, for stealing the votes of all those who hoped for a brighter future in May of 2005...

Also: "An intelligence report seen by The Times, which is due to be presented to the US Congress next week, states: 'An estimated ten foreigners have taken the lead to command both Somali and foreign fighters in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia.' " British and American fighters respond to jihad call in Somalia Times of London

Also, a reason why Shabab is hated: their obsession with digging up graves. Ayro dug up Italian graves in 2004. Now they are doing it again - Al-Shabaab Is Number One Enemy of Islam and Menace to the Somali People - Since taking control of Bay, Juba, and Shabelle regions of Somalia, Al-Shabaab has destroyed many historic grave sites belonging to some of these well-respected scholars who helped spread the religion of Islam in Somalia. Among the graves destroyed and the remains removed include those of Sheikh Nureni Ahmed Sabir, Sheikh Kassim Baraawi, and Sheikh Mohamoud Wa�ays who were all buried in Brava city. In addition, the group also removed the remains of Sharif Mubiidi and Sharifah Daada Maasiti both the descendants of the prophet SCW who were also buried in Brava. Somaliweyn, April 7, 2009

Also: - The Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization accuses Eritrea of Genocide Reporter, May 20, 2009; Multi-stakeholder conference concludes in Semera with a demonstration. Afar refugees from Eritrea ask for better support from the UN, up to 14 thousand Afaris have fled Eritrea and are sheltering in the region

More hunger in Ethiopia - Ethiopia: Humanitarian Bulletin UN OCHA, - 18 May 2009; "a rapid deterioration in the food security situation and increase in malnutrition cases have been reported in some woredas of SNNPR and eastern Oromiya, particularly in West Arsi, East and West Hararghe zones. The situation is manifested by increasing admissions of malnourished children to Out-patient Therapeutic Programs and Stabilization Centers"

Comment: Mozambique, Malawi, and Egypt are among the most recent African countries to achieve food-self sufficiency. This was accomplished without 'revolutionary democracy' and without directives from Meles Zenawi. By contrast, despite nearly 20 years of 'genius' leadership from Meles, Ethiopia remains shackled by failed, outdated, bankrupt, and politically self-serving policies. But no one can tell Meles anything. Countless small children are paying the price EVERY NIGHT for this Melesian arrogance.

Somalia, May 19, 2009: Al-Shabab's pyrrhic victory? IRIN; According to a political observer in the capital, however, the capture of Jowhar may be a sign that Al-Shabab has peaked. "In my opinion this is as far they will reach," he said. "They have entered hostile territory, where they are less popular than even the Ethiopians [troops] were." "

Witnesses report Ethiopian troops in limited cross border operation ( BBC): Ethiopia troops 'back in Somalia'

• "One resident said he saw Ethiopian troops digging trenches in Kalabeyr, a town 22km (14 miles) from the Somali-Ethiopian border."

• Kalabeyr resident Fadumo Du'ale told the BBC's Mohamed Olad Hassan on Tuesday: "They have crossed the border late last night and they are here now. They look to be stationing here."

• Another resident, Tabane Abdi Ali, told the BBC: "We recognise them because of their military uniform and the language they were speaking."

• Bus driver Farah Ahmed Adaan told our correspondent he had spotted "a lot" of Ethiopian troops with 12 military vehicles.

Bereket Simon: Ethiopian government spokesman Bereket Simon told our correspondent the reports were "fabricated"

Mogadishu, May 17, 2009:Rebels Threaten Somali Government Washington Post; "The battle underway has an air of finality -- a fight that will determine whether an internationally recognized central government survives or the historically moderate Muslim nation becomes al-Qaeda's official African headquarters"

Also: Sharif's hometown of Jowhar has been captured by milita led by wanted terrorist Hassan Turki, who rushed up from his base area along the Kenya border to support the Shabab final offensive. Thug Inda hadde "white eyes" has changed sides yet again, this time going back to Sharif's side. Meanwhile, Meles Zenawi has gone silent on the situation.

Mogadishu, May 16, 2009: US alarmed at Eritrea 'arms link' BBC, "There seem to be fairly serious and creditable reports that al Shabaab does have, amongst its fighters, a number of individuals of South Asian and Chechen origin," said Mr Carson.

Summary: Over the past two years the Islamists have split into at least four factions: (1) Shabab, led by Mukhtar Robow et al; (2)Hizb ul Islam, led by Aweys; (3) Islamic Courts Union (ICU) led by Sharif; and (4)Inda hadde thug group led by "white eyes" himself.

The ICU signed a peace agreement with the Transitional Government (TFG), and Sharif of the ICU was elected President. However the TFG forces from Puntland allied to former president Yusuf largely abandoned Mogadishu and returned to their Majerteen home areas.

Aweys returned to Mogadishu and rapidly joined forces with Shabab to attack Sharif and the ICU. Inda hadde "white eyes" defected to the Shabab/Aweys alliance when it seemed they were gaining strength. Latest reports say that wanted terrorist Hassan Turki has now arrived from Kismayo with reinforcements for Shabab.

Major gains by the Shabab/Aweys faction, have left the moderate Sharif isolated with the remnants of the TFG and the remnants of the ICU. His main protection is now the AMISOM peacekeeping contingent.

Although Sharif appears popular among the Somali population at large, there are no civil organizations to translate this into concrete support. The only other sources of support for Sharif are (a) old Hawiye clan warlords like Mohammed "I love Jowhar" Dheere and Abdi Qeybid (who were part of the TFG), and (b) the new Ahlu Sunnah Hawiye anti-Shabab Islamist militia in south central Somalia (Ethiopian-supported?).

More info: The Battle for Mogadishu � Round One M Weinstein

Comment On the Ethiopian Review interview with Isayas Afeworki The Ethiopian Review website, a prominent diaspora website that has involved itself in opposition affairs, has posted news today (May 15, 2009) that it has conducted an interview with Eritrean dictator Isayas Afeworki.

While the contents of the interview have not yet been posted, this event is a sad milestone for Ethiopians in the diaspora and their role in oppositon politics. The Ethiopian Review has been serving as a cheerleader for Isayas Afeworki for some time now, going so far as to declare him "Man of the Year" for 2008. Most serious observers probably took this as a sign of mental instability or silliness.

Although he rules a small country, Isayas Afeworki ranks alongside the great tyrants of the last century in terms of the suffering he has inflicted on his people. He is the equal of Mengistu Hailemariam in this respect. This cynical, manipulative, violent person has nothing positive to offer the Ethiopian democratization movement.

The Ethiopian oppositon should keep the focus on representing the interests of the people of Irob Wereda, of Zalambessa, of Badime, and the people of Ethiopia as a whole. These interests are diametrically opposed to the agenda of Isayas Afeworki.

The Ethiopian oppositon should keep the focus on principles of human rights and democracy. These principles are completely alien to Isayas Afeworki.

Battle of Mogadishu (Again), May 15, 2009: -

• About 300 foreigners fighting Somali government: U.N , Reuters; "We are aware that one of them from Afghanistan has been killed in the fighting," Nicolas Bwakira told reporters

• Somali military chief replaced amid insurgent push , Earthtimes; The insurgents have laid siege to the presidential palace, which African Union peacekeepers are helping to protect, and are reportedly waiting for more ammunition before renewing their assault. Arms were reported streaming in to Mogadishu just before the onslaught began last Thursday

• UN cites concern on Eritrea aid to Somali militants ,Reuters; In an accusation backed by some security experts and diplomats, Somalia's government said earlier this month that Asmara continues to support al Shabaab militants with planeloads of AK-47 assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons

'Dissident Movements' and Non-Violence: - "The 'dissident movements' do not shy away from the idea of violent political overthrow because the idea seems too radical, but on the contrary, because it does not seem radical enough." Vaclav Havel, excerpt from The Power of the Powerless, Czechoslovakia, 1985

Shabaab al-Mujjahideen: Migration and Jihad in the Horn of Africa Nefa Foundation Report, May 2009

They took the Arab mujahideen brothers to the town of Gode. [Muqrin] was asked by one of the crusader soldiers, "Where did you come from� and why?" He replied, "we came here to fight you until you leave this Islamic country."

The Saudi was eventually brought to the capital Addis Ababa and handed over to his own embassy to continue serving out his punishment back home in the Arabian Peninsula. Upon his release from a Saudi prison, al-Muqrin joined Al-Qaida's local outfit in Saudi Arabia. It was the same Abdelaziz al-Muqrin who, in June 2004, masterminded the abduction of American engineer Paul Johnson in the Saudi capital Riyadh, and who later personally beheaded Johnson in a video distributed over the Internet.

...

During the summer and fall of 2008, Shabaab released several video clips of most wanted Kenyan Al-Qaida terror [embassy bombing] suspect Saleh Ali Saleh al-Nabhan leading the instruction at one such camp, alongside chief Shabaab spokesman Mukhtar Robow. Al-Nahban addressed the camera and offered his greetings "to the courageous commander and my honorable leader: Shaykh Usama Bin Laden," "Allah knows how much we long for your meeting and the delight of your gentle voice."

...

On November 18, 2006, FBI Special Agent Robert Walby, at the time assigned to the case of Ruben Shumpert, received an odd telephone call from Shumpert himself: "[he] informed [me] that he was in Somalia, that he finally felt free, and that he did not intend to return to the United States. I confirmed through other means that the call had in fact originated from Somalia."

Nine days later, on November 27, Shumpert again called Special Agent Walby "and repeated that he was in Mogadishu, Somalia, and made what I interpreted as veiled threats on my life, saying that he and I were in a battle and that we were sworn enemies from this day forward. He then added that he and his Muslim associates would destroy everything the United States stood for." According to Walby, as Shumpert declared his intentions over the telephone, a crowd in the background enthusiastically chanted "Allahu Akhbar!"

Shumpert was present for the Ethiopian conquest of Somalia in December 2006, and ...fled with other foreign fighters to remote, forested regions of Somalia near the Kenyan border. In the fall of 2008, Shumpert attempted to leave his hideout with three other militants. One of them, who later turned out to be a spy for the Americans, betrayed them. Shumpert and the three others were all killed.

EPRDF Internal Tension (?): Tefera Walwa's wife imprisoned, then released Reporter, May 6, 2009. (She was arrested for protesting her father's imprisonment. Her father is accused of communicating with his son about a coup or assassination plot. His son is Andargatchew Tsige, an exiled leader of the accused Ginbot7 party. Tefera Walwa is a top official of the ANDM - Amhara party of the EPRDF and minister of capacity building. The recent book by former EPRDF press official Tesfaye Gebreab, portrays Tefera Walwa as a devoted TPLF fan who crushed an early ANDM protest against TPLF dominance).

TPLF ABUSES ITS SUPPORTERS: The latest press releases from Bereket Simon illustrate how the TPLF abuses its supporters. Take for example Aigaforum. On this website one can see a dedicated group of Ethiopians devoting their time to try to uplift their country. They organize fundraisers for local communities back home. They spread good news about various developments in Ethiopia. They try to encourage a positive outlook for the country and promote Ethiopia's development. All on their own time. And with their volunteer efforts they have developed a website that is far superior to anything Bereket Simon has created with multimillion dollar budgets in his various public relations capacities.

Now why manipulate these people by planting what has turned out to be false information about a coup attempt? Why betray their trust by using them as a tool to disseminate fabricated information designed to destroy individuals who have been targeted by the Meles/Bereket group? (e.g. when Gen Kemal Gelchu defected in 2006 information was spread that he was involved in sexual misconduct. Where is the evidence? Why sneakily spread such rumors? Doesn't the TPLF have the backbone and integrity to make its charges openly in court using CONSTITUTIONAL procedures? Now the same defamation tactic is being used again.)

The TPLF should respect its supporters. It should let its supporters exercise their CONSTITUTIONAL rights to access information. The TPLF should allow Ethiopian TV and Radio to present the full information to TPLF supporters about the latest coup or assassination plot. Let the accused speak (before they are tortured into submission). Let the ICRC visit these people in prison and make sure they are treated well. The gratuitous abuse of an obviously non-violent person like Birtukan Mideksa raises concerns about what will happen to less well known people charged with "terrorism."

Lets hear their side of the story - free and unfettered - on the state radio and state tv that belongs to all ethiopians. ETV and radio do not belong to the TPLF. TPLF already has its own radio station. Stop violating the constitutional rights of TPLF supporters to access information. Let TPLF supporters make up their own minds! Don't treat them like children that need to be controlled and told what to think!

How about if the TPLF listens to its supporters for once. How about reading some of the pleas from TPLF supporters for Birtukan Mideksa's release? Has the TPLF ever taken a single action in response to concerns expressed by its supporters? As a leninist, vanguard organization, the TPLF is not designed to listen to voices from below. It is designed to transmit the "inspired leadership" of Meles/Bereket group down to the people. The latest coup/assasination drama is an example of how the TPLF organizes and drives the people in a certain direction to accomplish a specific goal of the Meles/Bereket group. There will come a point when people get fed up of being driven like cattle.

Bulcha Demeksa: INTERVIEW-Ethiopia opposition says anti-govt plot invented Reuters, May 5, 2009

"Without third party verification I can't believe there was a plot," Bulcha Demeksa, leader of one of the largest opposition parties, the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement, told Reuters.

"This government is just looking for an excuse to imprison potential politicians."

Former Ethiopian president Negaso Gidada, now an independent member of parliament, also told Reuters he doubted Berhanu's involvement, but said the government was using the alleged plot to root out dissenters in its military.

"Humanitarian aid should be continued, but development assistance should be conditional on a country being democratic," said Bulcha. "How can you imprison and kill your people and have the world treat you like a democracy?"

Another general imprisoned, search underway for additional army officers accused of planning assassinations: Former General Asaminew Tsige arrested Reporter, May 3, 2009.

COMMENT - This sounds like an ethnic cleansing of an army that was heavily dominated by the TPLF to begin with. The solution is to restrict positions above the rank of captain to TPLF members. Alternatively, the TPLF can transform itself into a true multiethnic party. If the TPLF can cleanse itself of paranoid ethnicists like Meles and Bereket, then it will have a chance to make the needed reforms.

Workers Rights: Workers right to unionize not respected in Ethiopia Reporter, May 3, 2009.

COMMENT - Workers ask Meles for help!? This is the guy who is directly repressing them. Dashen brewery is a TPLF/EPRDF company. This is an internal contradiction of Melesian Revolutionary Democracy. The TPLF wants to be owner, manager and worker representative all at the same time. It doesn't work. In fact this is one of the contradictions that will generate more and more conflict and hatred towards the TPLF, even in companies like Guna, Mesfin, Messebo, Adwa textile etc.. These workers will surprise everyone by being on the frontlines of the struggle against the TPLF dictatorship.

Bereket Simon says: Ethiopia says plotters sought to assassinate officials
Reuters, May 1, 2009.

COMMENT - Bereket Simon is an unprincipled, completely discredited person. He has been putting out complete lies as government information. In any case, the charged individuals are human beings with constitutional rights. They have not been proven guilty. TPLF followers would be adivsed to redirect their outrage to the party that is violating Ethiopia's constitution - the TPLF ruling group.

Why isn't Ethiopian state TV/Radio providing the complete story? Where are the interviews and statements from the accused and from their friends and relatives? State resources should never be used in a one-sided manner to destroy individuals. This is abuse of power. TPLF followers should demand that ETV and ENA provide the charged individuals with time to present their side of the story. TPLF followers should demand thier constitutional rights to hear BOTH sides of news issues.

Furthermore if indeed the news is true, TPLF followers should think very carefully why top-ranking Oromo and Amhara officials are abandoning the EPRDF? Shouldn't the outrage be directed at those TPLF officials (Meles and Bereket) who have designed a system that is full of ethnic tension and internal mistrust? Berhanu Nega is not responsible for the internal decay of the EPRDF.

Credit Crunch - The Ethiopian Version
Access Capital, Apr, 2009.

"The burden of monetary adjustment is being felt most acutely by the private sector, even though the source of Ethiopia�s rapid monetary expansion in recent years emanated from the public sector. Previous analysis by Access Capital has shown that the lion�s share of banking system credit was absorbed by the public sector in recent years; for instance, more than three-quarters of the 19.2 billion birr in new loans provided by the banking system last year went to the government and public enterprises."

COMMENT - What is the loan percentage when the party-affiliated companies are included? What is the economic policy of the TPLF? Does it favor a private-sector economy or a gov't-controlled command economy? Let the facts speak for themselves.

Teklewold Atnafu intro to National Bank of Ethiopia Annual Report 2007/2008
Feb 20, 2009. "With its 42.9 percent share in GDP, agriculture remains the major contributor (28.5 percent) to the annual economic growth as agriculture and allied activities increased by 7.5 percent, reflecting increased productivity, more land area brought under cultivation as well as favorable weather conditions.

The industrial sector, with a share in total GDP of 13.0 percent, grew by 10.4 percent and its contribution to overall growth was 11.6 percent. The growth in industry was a reflection of expanded investments in hydroelectric power generating stations and the water sub-sector. The contributions of the manufacturing, mining and quarrying, and construction sub-sectors have also been noticeable.

Similarly, the steady increase in the share of the services sector in overall real GDP over the last four years has been reinforced and the sector depicted a growth rate of 42.9 percent by the end of 2007/08. Its contribution to the annual economic growth also reached about 63 percent."

COMMENT - According to the National Bank Ethiopia's growth is coming mainly from services. Forty-two point nine percent growth in one year! Industry grew by 10.4 percent. On a per capita bais this would only be around 7.5 percent (due to population growth). And Teklewold Atnafu says the industrial growth is largely due to expansion of utilities.

This suggests that the ADLI strategy is a failure. The normal pattern of industrialization is for agricultural productivity to increase dramatically. Think of the green revolution in east Asia in the 1950s-60s. Agricultural output should grow by forty percent - not services! The surplus from agriculture is then invested in industrialization. This starts a positive cycle reinforcing agricultural growth. As industrial productivity increases, services develop as an important sector in the economy.

In Ethiopia, manufacturing growth is not rapid enough. But services fed by remittances, aid, and govt' spending is increasing at a wild rate. A lot of this is importing and distributing goods. Some of it is also government services. Expanding the government bureaucracy increases the service sector. Hiring "600 public relations experts" as the TPLF did recently, expands the economy. Fielding 400,000 candidates for local elections and supporting them with money (obtained from who knows where!) also expands the economy.

Cadre services. That is how Meles can make the economic statistics grow by 11.2 percent this year.

Terrorists moving from Afghan border to Africa
AP, April 28, 2009. "There is growing evidence that battle-hardened extremists are filtering out of safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and into East Africa, bringing sophisticated terrorist tactics that include suicide attacks."

COMMENT - Who is taking responsibility for the failed intervention in Somalia? The military did its job. The foreign policy was a failure. Seyoum Mesfin again. How much more damage is this guy going to do before he is removed for incompetence?

April 28 2009: Who decides whether armed struggle is legitimate? - In 1987, Mengistu Haile Mariam won an election and became president of Ethiopia. All the countries of the world recognized the Mengistu government. But the TPLF refused to accept the election results. And future PM Meles was a leader of the armed struggle against Mengistu.

In 2005, Meles claimed to have been elected Prime Minister. In fact, the data show that his party lost the election. On the night of May 15, 2005 Meles ordered a nationwide campaign of violence, intimidation, and fraud. Many opposition members were beaten and imprisoned. The police killed unarmed protesters, executed an elected member of parliament, and murdered the wife of an opposition leader.

Furthermore, the Meles organization (TPLF) has transferred over two billion birr from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia into its allied business group (EFFORT) and refuses to pay back the money.

Meles has ordered bloody Darfur-style repression campaigns in Gambela and Ogaden. This has been documented by respected international human rights organizations.

The Meles regime is creating intense ethnic tension by a thorough ethnic cleansing of the top government positions. All sensitive and powerful government positions are restricted to members of Meles' ethnic group (preferably, members of his mixed Eritrea/Adwa clan). An example was the defection several years ago of 9 security professionals sent for advanced training in Israel. All were Eritreans or of mixed Eritrean heritage (as is Meles). Meles trusted them (but they betrayed him). How can such a hateful ethnicist be prime minister of a multi-ethnic country of 80 million?

The Meles regime is undertaking extensive nationwide programs to destroy any possibility for the emergence of civil society and the evolution of democracy.

It is up to every Ethiopian to decide whether it is appropriate to fight for his rights using armed struggle against an illegitimate regime.

April 26 2009: - Oromia tax bureau burglarized Reporter amharic

COMMENT - Who did it? Is this a symptom of internal distress? Is the coalition of TPLF/EPRDF and corrupt businessmen starting to breakup?

The TPLF strategy after the 2005 elections was to spend a lot of money and engage in various activities to lure people into financial and business co-dependence with the TPLF. Well that strategy is out of gas.

Ethiopia has low tax collection rates as compared to the rest of Africa and the world. Ethiopia makes up for low tax revenue by obtaining foreign loans and grants, having excessive fees for government monopoly services (e.g. telecommunications), excessive tariffs and customs duties, and remittances.

It is good that the government is making a renewed push to increase tax revenue. But why now? And are the TPLF companies going to be paying tax when they have never even bothered to pay back their loans?

Why now? Because Ethiopia is facing an economic crisis and the government doesn't have enough money to continue the many projects it started. Previously they borrowed whenever they needed money. That led to excessive expansion of the money supply and severe inflation. Can't do that anymore. The Chinese construction company CRBC temporarily stopped road work due to lack of payment. The gov't apparently does not have enough money to finish Gilgel Gibe III etc... Then there are the huge TPLF/EPRDF party-related expenditures and payoff to servile ethnic allies. So the TPLF must raise revenue.

Is TPLF going to pay tax? Of course not. Maybe token amounts but nothing comparable to what a private company would. This is one huge competitive advantage and the TPLF will continue abusing this power. The recent apppointment of Azeb Mesfin to Effort deputy is a sign of this. She is there for a specific purpose - to keep everyone in line. There is tension within the Effort companies. Workers need pay raises to compensate for inflation. They want competent management - not TPLF party hacks and nepotism (e.g. Azeb). But TPLF is using Effort as a huge money laundering enterprise. It is likely a main source of funding for the TPLF/EPRDF.

The solution for the Effort companies is to first nationalize them and then privatize them. The workers will be better off for four reasons.

(1) They will have competent managers appointed on the basis of merit (not on the basis of their blood relation to the Meles clan or on the basis of their political support to Meles.)

(2) The Effort companies will be focused on actual business and not serving as a tool to fund the vast TPLF/EPRDF cadre network.

(3) Once the Effort monopoly in certain sectors is broken, the private sector will fluorish in Tigray expanding opportunities for all. This will lead to better opportunities for Effort workers in Tigray.

(4) Workers will be able to establish their own independent unions.

April 26 2009: - "Holiday price hike at empty Easter markets "Presumably due to the tough economic conditions, the number of shoppers out preparing for Easter is surprisingly low. And, as Elias Meseret discovered, those with the cash to go and buy a sheep for a post fasting feast will have to dig deep into their pockets." - Capital, April 19, 2009.

COMMENT - This is not consistent with the Meles claim of 11.2 percent economic growth.

April 25 2009: - Ethiopia arrests 'coup plotters' BBC

COMMENT - There was a successful coup on the night of May 15, 2005 when Meles Zenawi launched a nationwide operation to hijack the election. In any case, as can be seen in the following quote from the AP version of the story, this is just a tactic by the TPLF to help it continue crushing the rights of the Ethiopian people.

In 2001, the TPLF did the exact same thing after the student riots in Addis Abeba. The police claimed they found weapons and computers that implicated Lidetu Ayalew. Now they are using Lidetu in a different way so they have temporarily dropped the previous fabricated charges against Lidetu.

Meanwhile, Birtukan Mideksa, who has never been linked to any type of violence, is in jail. Meles hopes to break her and use her as he is using Lidetu.

These stupid little dramas don't fool anyone.

Independent observers remain suspicious of the motive of the arrest.

"The government has years of experience in staging clampdowns on innocent people that are pictured with piles of guns, bombs and binoculars," one observer who asked anonymity said. "The double-edged sword serves the government to conduct a pre-emptive strike [on would-be dissidents] on the one hand, and of striking fear into the heart of the civilian population on the other."

April 21 2009: A CALL FOR THE IMPRISONMENT OF AZEB MESFIN - Azeb Mesfin, wife of Meles, is now deputy head of the TPLF organization called EFFORT. EFFORT runs a large number of businesses that were established using loans from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE). These loans, which almost bankrupted the CBE, have never been paid back. After the Ethiopia-Eritrea war, the ethiopian economy shrank (negative GDP growth) and the TPLF was forced to seek emergency funds from the IMF and World Bank. One of the conditions for these loans was reform of the CBE. The TPLF agreed to this condition, but then used a variety of tactics to avoid doing anything. However, the TPLF was forced to allow an audit by an international firm (KPMG). The auditors report in 2003 revealed the huge non-performing loans to EFFORT. Non-performing means the TPLF wasn't even paying the interest on the loans.

Meanwhile in 2001, Meles Zenawi pushed through a law that eliminates bail for suspects charged with corruption.

As a result of this law, In 2001 CBE president Tilahun Abbay and 40 other bank staff were imprisoned and accused of making illegal loans to businessmen. They had to wait 7 years in jail for court verdicts.

Also private businessmen such as Eskinder Yoseph were jailed because they had non-preforming loans and yet receieved additional loans.

In 2006 CBE president Gezahegn Yilma was found dead. The government claimed it was "suicide".

The next CBE president Abie Sano was only 35 years old. His appointment violated the NBE Banking regulations as he lacked the required 10 years of senior management experience.

Abie Sano was replaced by a 31-year old. Again, his appointment violates the law as he lacks the required experience as specified by the NBE regualtions.

CONCLUSION: ALL SENIOR MANAGEMENT OF EFFORT SHOULD BE PLACED IN JAIL IMMEDIATELY UNTIL THE LOANS TO THE EFFORT COMPANIES DETAILED IN THE KPMG AUDIT ARE INVESTIGATED. ALL THE MAFIA-TYPE MANIPULATIONS, INTIMIDATIONS, SUSPICIOUS DEATHS, etc.. NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED.

THE MELES CORRUPTION LAW OF 2001 DOES NOT SPECIFY AN EXEMPTION FOR AZEB MESFIN. SHE NEEDS TO BE PUT IN JAIL IMMEDIATELY.

April 19 2009: MELES APOLOGIZES FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - Fortune Newspaper Meles Interview Excerpt

There was never anytime where we said money supply has no impact on inflation; only illiterates can say that. Some people said that our economy is over-heating and therefore, we needed to reduce growth, but we said no. We said we can reduce money supply without inadvertently or by design affecting growth.

We agreed on a monetary target with the IMF. One of these proposals by the IMF was that our budget deficit should be as low as 1.5pc; that is what we have agreed to last year with the IMF.

Only illiterates...

Perhaps Meles can explain how a sharp reduction in bank loans to the private sector, and to government enterprises, has no impact on growth? Perhaps Meles can explain under what economic system does production increase when inputs decrease (e.g. foreign exchange-dependent imports)?

One can see therefore how Meles sticks by the fictional 11.2 percent growth. How smart he must be to make such a precise and accurate estimate one year in advance! Well, if all it takes is an order to the NBE to print the desired numbers, yes, then its not too hard.

Only illiterates...

"Not even a junior accountant could make such a mistake" Meles said a few years earlier when the auditor general raised alarm about excessive government borrowing and excessive increases in the money supply.

But the auditor general was right. Meles had expanded the money supply in an irresponsible manner not seen recently in any country other than a few badly run countres like Zimbabwe. And the people of Ethiopia paid a severe price (sky-high inflation) when Meles behaved in his typical dictatorial manner and ignored all expert advice.

Reading the Meles interview, one would be surprised to learn that a country experiencing such wonderful 11.2 percent growth, would have rushed to the IMF for an emergency loan. Read the IMF staff report, and even the NBE's letter to the IMF. IMF documents on Ethiopia Its a completely different story.

Only blind, deaf-mute, but well-fed, illiterates can continue supporting Meles now. (e.g. the obese president of famine-country Ethiopia, Girma Woldegiorgis).

April 14 2009: MELES: Discredited not Vindicated - Over the past two decades, Meles has had repeated policy disagreements with the IMF, the World Bank, and virtually every country that gives Ethiopia aid. Many important Meles policies have been challenged by a wide range of Ethiopian academics, researchers, and professionals. Ethiopians have published numerous studies and analyses that suggest a different path regarding land tenure policy, financial policy, telecom policy... etc.

As the leader of a soverign state, Meles need not listen to foreign advice. But he is asking for money from foreigners. And it is at that point that these foreigners try to give him advice.

Regarding Ethiopian experts, (or more basically, the Ethiopian people) the TPLF has absolutely no need to listen. Meles operates on the basis of discredited theories that were popular in the 1970s - "revolutionary democracy" and "vanguard party" - so no one can tell him anything.

But he had to listen to the IMF and World Bank in order to get their money. They not only talked, they imposed conditions: - break up the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia they told him. Subcontract the management of the bank to experienced foreign banks.

Meles agreed. Contracts were issued! The Bank of Scotland was going to take over management of the CBE. No, something was wrong. They backed out. Then an Indian Bank was going to come in. But that didn't work either.

Instead the TPLF told everyone that the CBE president had committed suicide. Shot himself ?! A 35-year old was appointed to replace him. Then the 35-year old was gone and a 31-year old has been brought in.

We are told the Bank is healthy now. Its non-performing loans have dropped to a small percentage. What happened to the huge portfolio of bad loans to EPRDF-affiliated companies? They were transferred to the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE).

The TPLF's Messebo Cement is doing great business due to the cement shortage. The DBE could foreclose on this company and other EPRDF companies to recover some of the unpaid loans. That money belongs to all the Ethiopian people. But for some strange reason the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) is taking no action.

The above explains some of the policy disagreements that the IMF and World Bank had with Ethiopia. They organized special workshops and presentations for Meles - they brought in banking professionals from Uganda and other countries in East Africa to testify to Meles about the benefits of banking liberalization.

But Meles is engaged in something far beyond the comprehension of the IMF and World Bank staff.

To be frank there really is no serious debate in the developing world about this. Nobody suggests that Kenya or Uganda or Paraguay or Cambodia or Botswana should go back to a primitive, state-controlled banking sector like Ethiopia's. The temporary nationalization being discussed in the industrialized countries is a totally different issue that Meles has no business commenting on.

Similarly, except for a few nations, the entire world agrees that a private, competitive telecom sector is the best policy choice. The results speak for themselves. The Meles policy of state control has been discredited. Even Al-Amoudi complains bitterly about this.

Thanks to Meles, private investment in telecoms is almost impossible. Ethiopia is thus forced to enter into a sole-source, non-competitive contract with a third-rate, inexperienced firm like China's ZTE. ZTE is providing the financing. The alternative is to license private companies. They would rapidly invest their own money. But this is illegal in Ethiopia. Other countries - even stateless Somalia - are enjoying the fruits of the telecom revolution while Ethiopia remains last as usual. The hard facts discredit Meles.

Land tenure is another similar policy choice where Meles is discredited. No country in the world is planning to nationalize land and turn their farmers into tenants. The example of Ethiopia is there for everyone to see. A famine country led by a discredited dictator who won't listen to anyone.

April 4 2009: The financial (mis)adventures of Meles Zenawi - The TPLF is currently facing a crisis. The 2005 election results showed that, contrary to the unreal expectations of Meles, the TPLF cannot base its legitimacy on popular support. Thus came the "developmental state." The TPLF would crush democracy but justify itself by rapid economic growth. Meles wrote a dissertation which claimed that economic growth in Africa can only be produced by TPLF-style parties that remain in power for decades.

To prove his thesis, Meles ordered a huge expansion in Ethiopia's money supply to fund a wide variety of government spending programs. This was a departure from Ethiopia's long tradition of conservative monetary policy that lasted through the Haile Selassie, Derg, and early TPLF eras.

It is unclear why Meles thought that this huge monetary expansion would not generate inflation. In any case, by 2008 the consequences were clear - crippling inflation and damaging foreign exhange shortages. Soon Meles was back at the IMF declaring an emergency. He admitted that the money supply had expanded too rapidly and agreed to sharply cut government borrowing. In return he got a $50 million loan - a drop in the bucket.

The G20 summit seems to offer Meles a lifeline. He expects lots of money to be transferred to the TPLF - WITH NO CONDITIONS ATTACHED - by September 2009 at the latest.

One problem, however, is the antagonistic relationship between Meles and (a) many parts of the Ethiopian private sector (b) most of the Ethiopian diaspora (c) internationally respected human rights organizations, and most importantly (d) the vast majority of the Ethiopian people.

The Ethiopian people are being hurt by the current economic crisis. Additional aid will help stabilize the Ethiopian economy, and that will help the Ethiopian people. But in the long run, this type of UNCONDITIONAL aid will allow Meles to prolong his rule and continue implementing a set of economic policies that are pro-TPLF but are not pro-growth.

Aid to Ethiopia needs to be clearly delinked from aid to the TPLF. This requires conditionality. Ethiopians in the USA can impose conditionality on the TPLF through their congressional representatives. The IMF gold sale and the increase in its assets will require approval by the US congress for the USA's share. This is where common Ethiopian people can make a difference - by proposing sober, informed, amendments to the legislation that advance the interests of the USA and of the Ethiopian people.

April 2 2009:Short Comment on Coffee Exports from Mengistu to Meles

Ethiopia Plans Own Coffee Exports to Earn Currency (Update1)

SPECIALTY COFFEES FROM ETHIOPIA FACE EXTINCTION THANKS TO THE NEW TPLF COFFEE REGULATIONS: The TPLF has apparently decided to establish a limited number of regional coffee brands (Harar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe..). ALL coffee will be graded and labeled by these brands and brought to the exchange. The TPLF claims that specialty coffees (small, but highly prized brands with devoted customers) are less than two percent of the market and therefore not important. Thus these small brands will be merged in with the seven or so regional brands. It will essentially be illegal to buy them because all coffee must go through the ECX, which will randomly mix all the coffee from a certain region together.

Specialty coffee marketers spent a lot of time and effort working to establish quality throughout the supply chain - farmers, mills, warehouses - to avoid problems such as using pesticide bags to ship coffee. (Japan, which buys 20 percent of Ethiopia's output, banned Ethiopian coffee this year after finding high pesticide residues.) It will now be impossible to trace the coffee from its source to its destination. Thus all the hard work to ensure quality is lost. The specialty coffee importers are hoping that the TPLF comes to its senses and allows them to bypass the ECX.

Read the comments from a specialty coffee board:

Coffeed.com - What is the Ethiopian governments motivation for this policy?

- Aricha and Beloya have been beloved coffees for Ninety Plus, roasters, and consumers worldwide. They may be brought to the brink of extinction by new legislation in Ethiopia which prohibits separate lot development for direct export in Yirgacheffe and Sidama. Ninety Plus will continue to do everything in its power to keep these coffees alive, but it has become clear that volumes - if they exist at all - will be extremely limited from Aricha and Beloya in 2009.

---

This is commodity thinking at its worst, ... We pray Ethiopia will relent even at this late time in the current season. Specialty coffee exporters, when recently protesting, were told they were irrelevant because specialty represented 1% of Ethiopia's sales. That's vision!

---

All of the exporters I talked to [...] expressed a ton of frustration over all this, and there is legit concern that the govt. is not going to listen to reason, despite a strong amount of solidarity within the private industry on the issue. It amounts to a big middle finger being held up to business people, and a total disregard for the Specialty industry.

April 1, 2009: Chinese contractor CRCB stops work on three projects in Addis Abeba
Reporter, April 1, 2009
COMMENT: This seems to be the result of (a) the deepening finanical crisis and (b) the predictable incompetence of the 11th grader, former EPLF captive and political survival artist Kuma Demeksa. The reporter called around to several city offices trying to get information but no one knows anything and no one says anything. Meanwhile, deep drainages have been dug and left open alongside a major road.