Afrik
January 1, 2009
Bertukan Mideksa jailed for life for refusing to say sorry
Ethiopian opposition leader Bertukan Mideksa, has begun serving life in jail after she was re-arrested for snubbing the government’s call to apologise for alleged remarks rebuffing her pardon while in Europe.
The leader of a coalition of political parties, who was released from jail [...]
Ethiopian opposition to contest jailed leader’s life sentence
Ethiopian Separatists Accuse Government of Killing 48 Civilians
Bloomberg
January 1, 2009
Jason McLure
An Ethiopian separatist group accused government soldiers of killing 48 civilians in a village in the country’s eastern Somali region last month.
The villagers were shot in an attack on Dec. 17 at Mooyaha, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest of Degehebur near Ethiopia’s border with Somalia, the Ogaden National Liberation Front [...]
Paucity of political leadership at root of Somalia’s problems, says top UN envoy
IRIN
December 31, 2008
Somalia’s problems are driven by a lack of responsible political leadership, the top United Nations envoy to the Horn of Africa nation said today.
In a letter to the diaspora, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, said that there is an “emerging consensus that ultimately your country’s problems stem from the absence of accountable [...]
Ethiopia ‘packing up in Somalia’
BBC
December 31, 2008
Ethiopian troops have started to prepare to leave Somalia on the day they were supposed to complete their withdrawal, witnesses say.
The troops were packing mattresses, personal belongings and loading trucks with military supplies, they said.
But there was no sign that the Ethiopians had started to leave the capital Mogadishu, as they [...]
US concern over Ethiopia opposition arrest
AFP
December 31, 2008
ADDIS ABABA — The US embassy in Addis Ababa on Wednesday voiced concern over the fate of an opposition leader who was jailed after her pardon from a life sentence was revoked.
Birtukan Midekssa, head of the Unity for Democracy Justice party, irked the regime when she reportedly claimed during a recent visit to [...]
Ethiopia’s pardoned critic jailed
BBC
December 30, 2008
Ethiopia’s main opposition leader has been sent to prison to serve a life sentence, after a pardon granted to her last year was revoked.
Birtukan Medeksa was among more than 100 people jailed for offences after controversial polls in 2005.
A dispute over the terms of her release caused her re-arrest.
Her colleague [...]
Ethiopian Govt’s Resolute Stand on NGOs
Fortune, Ethiopia
December 28, 2008
YOHANNES ANBERBIR
Two senior government officials said their government’s stiff stance over the draft bill on registration and regulation of Charities and Societies will not change.
Berhan Hailu, minister of Justice (MoJ), and Brehanu Adelo, secretary of the cabinet with ministerial portfolio told a parliamentary public hearing on the bill held last Wednesday, December [...]
Somali president’s resignation could resolve crisis: Ethiopia
AFP
December 30, 2008
ADDIS ABABA — Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed’s resignation after a drawn-out power struggle could boost efforts to stabilise the country, a senior Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.
Yusuf announced his resignation on Monday following a bitter feud with his prime minister, adding concerns about increased political instability to fears of a security vacuum [...]
Interview with Nuredin Abdulkadir, an Eritrean opposition leader
http://en.ethiopianreporter.com/content/view/458/1/
Reporter, Ethiopia
Our objective is to bring about a democratic rule or parliamentary rule…
Sunday, 28 December 2008
Our objective is to bring about a democratic rule or parliamentary rule where you can have assembly and freedom of the press
Mr. Nuredin Abdulkadir is the foreign relations head of the Eritrean Nahda Party, one of the many [...]
Ethiopia Will Suspend Power Exports to Neighbors, Reporter Says
Bloomberg
December 28, 2008
Jason McLure
Ethiopia will suspend electricity exports to neighboring Sudan and Djibouti while it deals with a local shortage because of delays in completing new power projects, the Reporter said.
Ethiopia’s state-run electricity utility, which produces between 700 and 800 megawatts of electricity, faces a 100- megawatt shortfall due to growing demand and delays [...]
