Is Zenawi Running a Repressive Regime in Ethiopia? (1)

Lagos — Parts of southern Ethiopia resemble the scenery in a Tarzan movie. When I was there last fall, the green forested hills were blanketed in white mist and rain poured down on the small farms and homesteads. In the towns, slabs of meat hung in the butchers' shops and donkeys hauled huge sacks of coffee beans, Ethiopia's major export, along the stony dirt roads. So I was surprised to see the signs of hunger everywhere. There were babies with kwashiorkor, a disease caused by malnutrition, which I'd assumed occurred only in war zones. Many of the older children were clearly stunted and some women were so deficient in iodine they had goiters the size of cannonballs.

This East African nation, famous for its ancient rock-hewn churches, Solomonic emperors, and seemingly intractable poverty, has a long history of famine. But I had always assumed that food shortages were more common in the much drier north of the country than in the relatively fertile south. Although rainfall throughout Ethiopia had been erratic in 2008 and 2009, the stunting and goiter I saw were signs of chronic malnutrition, which had clearly existed for many years.

What was causing it? Ethiopia's long history of food crises is shrouded in myths and political intrigue. In 1984, famine killed hundreds of thousands of people and left millions destitute. At the time, the UN attributed the famine to drought. But most witnesses knew it had far more to do with a military campaign launched by Ethiopia's then-Soviet-backed dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam against a rebel group based in the northern province of Tigray, known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Government forces isolated the peasantry, destroyed trade and markets, and diverted food aid to their own troops.

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Ethiopia accuses Egypt of delaying Nile treaty

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia said Tuesday that it would go ahead with a new deal with six other countries on sharing the waters of the Nile and accused Egypt of "dragging its feet" on a more equitable treaty.

The new agreement replaces a 1929 colonial-era treaty between Egypt and Britain, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects. The country also has access to most of the water from one of the world's longest rivers.

"Ethiopia and six other countries in east and central Africa will sign on May 14 a framework agreement on the equitable utilisation of the Nile river," Ethiopian government spokesman Shimelis Kemal told reporters.

"It's a deal based on international customary law, but Egypt is dragging its feet. All seven countries have rejected the previous agreement between Egypt and colonial Britain," he said.

Egyptian Water Resources Minister Mohammed Allam on Monday warned Nile basin countries against inking the deal which excluded his country.

Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda agreed to the new deal on April 13, only to be shunned by both Egypt and Sudan -- the river's two largest consumers.

At the heart of the dispute is the 1929 agreement between Egypt and Britain, acting on behalf of its African colonies along the 5,584-kilometre (3,470-mile) river, which gave Egypt veto power over upstream projects.

An agreement between Egypt and Sudan in 1959 allowed Egypt 55.5 billion cubic metres of water each year -- 87 percent of the Nile's flow -- and Sudan 18.5 billion cubic metres.

Some of the Nile Basin countries say past treaties are unfair and they want an equitable water-sharing agreement that would allow for more irrigation and power projects.

Egypt, a mostly arid country that relies on the Nile for the majority of its water, argues up-stream countries could make better use of rainfall and have other sources of water.

ICG: Ethiopia: Ethnic Federalism and Its Discontents

This report from the International Crisis Group examines the potential for conflict in Ethiopia ahead of the June 2010 elections as ethnic tensions and dissent rises. The report urges the international community to encourage more meaningful democratic governance in the country.

The Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), led by its chairman and prime minister, Meles Zenawi, has radically reformed Ethiopia's political system. The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the Federal Democratic Republic and also redefined
citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds. The intent was to create a more prosperous, just and representative state for all its people. Yet, despite continued economic growth and promised democratisation, there is growing discontent with the EPRDF's ethnically defined state and rigid grip on power and fears of continued interethnic conflict. The international community should take Ethiopia's governance problems much more seriously and adopt a more principled position towards the government. Without genuine multi-party democracy, the tensions and pressures in Ethiopia's polities will only grow, greatly increasing the possibility of a violent eruption that would destabilise the country and region

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New Strategy to Resolve the Somali Conflict

I hereby forward to the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) institutions, wider Somali public and the international community an alternative strategic plan to resolve the catastrophic situation and leadership paralysis long prevailing in Somalia. The current TFG whose term expires August 2011 has totally failed due to lack of national vision, poor leadership and systemic corruption. This government continues to cling to the erroneous opinion that it can implement its mandate by end of its term. It fails to recognize at a great peril to the future of our people the realities on the ground that demand swift and concrete changes of mandate, strategy and the entire modus operandi. TFG’s long publicized military offensive to rout the armed opposition, dubious peace deals and the illegal process of writing new constitution for the country in neighboring countries’ five star hotels are empty measures designed to deflect public opinion so to prolong its stay in office which means continuation of the status quo.

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Ethiopia’s May election – Is it an ‘Election in Name Only’?

Every year the US State Department releases its annual Human Rights Report. The report lists and condemns countries whose governments allegedly abuse the human rights of their citizens.
This Year’s “2009 Human Rights Reports: Ethiopia” by the US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, was unlike previous ones harsh – in tone and substance - to the government of Ethiopia. The report accuses the Ethiopian regime of engaging in widespread human rights abuses such as “unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees,” and host of other horrible crimes. In the Somali Regional State (aka Ogaden),

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US Issues Travel Alert to Ethiopia

The United States is warning Americans to exercise caution when traveling to Ethiopia before and after national elections in May.

The U.S. State Department noted Tuesday that past elections in Ethiopia have turned violent, especially in the days after poll results are announced.

It urged U.S. citizens to avoid political rallies, polling places on election day, and demonstrations.

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Ethiopia: The Voodoo Economics of Meles Zenawi

“There are lies, lies and implausible lies,” to quote Meles Zenawi, the dictator-cum-economic spinmeister of Ethiopia. Last week, Zenawi told a snickering Parliament a story that is the equivalent of the proverbial bull that gave birth to a calf (or in Amharic “bere welede”): “We will be seeing an economic growth rate of 10.1 percent this year, while inflation will fall to 3.9 percent. This is the result of sound economic policy." (Sorry, but this is the result of voodoo economics!)