Month: March 2016
- U.S
Bernie‘s big surprise
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is forcing Mrs. Clinton to adjust her strategy. Her coronation as the Democratic nominee seems less pretentious and entitled; Mr. Sanders is making her work for it and that is positive for Democrats. It also gives Mrs. Clinton a much better opportunity to sell herself to Democrats and general election voters; she should take that opening,…
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Donors launch campaign to address funding gaps in Ethiopia drought response
Humanitarian partners in Ethiopia today launched a 90-day campaign to raise awareness on the urgent need for an additional funding for the drought crisis in Ethiopia to address the humanitarian resource gap. “Ethiopia is currently contending with one of the most serious climatic shocks in recorded history with ten million people facing lost harvests and livestock as well as severe…
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Opinion: Taking our voice seriously
Hailegabriel Gedecho My starting point for this short reflection is my discomfort with friends and acquaintances who question (and dismiss) the morality of supporting (to use their pejorative expression ‘mafafam’) Oromo Protests from overseas. As most of these critiques reside in Ethiopia (where public display of solidarity with Oromo Protests is meant risking torture, incarceration, and of course one’s…
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Ethiopia court grants police investigating Bekele Gerba et al, journalist Getachew Shiferaw et al additional 28 days
Mahlet Fasil The federal high court Arada branch 19th criminal bench has today granted the police investigating senior opposition figure Bekele Gerba and 22 others additional 28 days and adjourned the next hearing until April 15th 2016. The police were given the additional 28 days at a closed hearing this afternoon. The same court has also adjourned the…
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Ethiopia’s Constitution: Fractured legitimacy & the urgency of constitutional transfiguration
Part – I By Tsegaye R Ararssa Between 1991 and 1995, Ethiopia had another historical opportunity to (re)constitute itself as a polity. Having used (or abused) that opportunity, on December 8, 1994, the Constitutional Assembly adopted a constitution that came into force in 1995 (see interview here). The controversy around the constitution 21 years after its adoption suggests that…
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Ethiopia’s Constitution: Can it stand the test of time?
Dr. Negaso Gidada studied History at the Haile Sellasie 1st University (now the Addis Abeba University) from 1966 to 1971. From ‘71 to ‘74 he served as school director and history teacher in Aira, in Western Wallaga. He left for Germany in October 1974 and lived there until July 1991. During this time he studied History in the department of…
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Editorial: Political responsibility (not vague apology) should come first
(Revised) Save for yesterday’s vague ‘apology’ from Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, the ruling party in Ethiopia is dead silent on the scale of the tragedy that gripped Ethiopia recently. But it only takes a simple drive through villages within 100 -300km radius and a sit-and-talk session with villagers to understand that what happened in the last four months (and…
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Opinion: The ‘Special Interest’ trickery
Zelalem Kibret After four months and an endless public protest across the Oromiya regional State, the situation remains bleak. Protesters are being killed (albeit sporadically and often in mysterious circumstances) and are being arbitrarily arrested. EPRDF, the ruling party, continued hiding its head in the sand, avoiding and covering up any discussion on the root cause of the problem.…
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News: The Union of the Oromo Gadaa Councils “alarmed” & “deeply disturbed” by unrest in Oromiya; urged for solutions
The Union of the Oromo Gadaa Councils said it was “alarmed” by the unrest in Oromiya and is “deeply disturbed” that many lives were lost and properties damaged in connection with the ongoing #Oromoprotest, which is deep into its fourth month. In a statement released on February 24, 2016 and was sent to Addis Standard, the Union emphasized “the need…
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Opinion: Foreign investment in Ethiopia: a blessing or a curse?
By J. Bonsa, PhD In conflict prone contexts, foreign investors, especially whose actions while entering a given country were not subject to checks and balances, may undermine political stability and fuel social unrest.Depending on the level of accountability in the recipient country, foreign direct investment (FDI) could be a blessing or a curse. In this piece, I will attempt to…
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