Year: 2015
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EDITORIAL: The Trial of Abubaker Ahmed et al: Ethiopia must avoid a symbolic miscarriage of justice
Monday July 6, 2015 was an important milestone in a court case that has been simmering since Ethiopia’s crackdown on Muslim protestors that began on July 19th 2012. The trial that followed became yet another high profile court case involving the government and a group of individuals; only this time the latter are no journalists, bloggers or opposition political party…
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Opinion – The unfair trial of Muslim Leaders: Why it undermines counterterrorism in Ethiopia
Abadir M. Ibrahim Something was awry at a hearing of the High Court of Ethiopia on July 6, 2015. As the much anticipated conviction of Muslim civil society leaders (Abubaker Ahmed and 17 others) was underway, it was clear that this was no ordinary trial. Security was beefed up, the public gallery was crowded and the atmosphere was tense. A…
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Editorial: Controlling police excesses long overdue!
Much to the expectation of curious spectators of Ethiopia’s current political affairs, the ruling Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) claimed a 100% win in the last general election held on May 24th 2015. When seen against the party’s own record since the first national election in 1995; the thinning global trend of an electoral tale of a 100% wins;…
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Kiilabii Yannikoo – one of a kind
Mahlet Fasil During the military Derg regime of the ‘70s and ‘80s, when the motto of the day was “Everything to the Warfront,” Abitew Kebede, a prominent Afaan Oromo singer and song writer of the era was serving in the army. Abitew’s song Yannikoo, Afaan Oromo for ‘my thoughts’, which he wrote for his mother, first came out in…
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PM Hailemariam to address The Economist Ethiopia Summit
Summit brings together leading policy makers and business leaders with multinational investors Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will be addressing The Economist Ethiopia Summit to be held on October 28-29th at the Sheraton Addis under the theme “Driving Continued Growth.” Organizers say the summit will bring together more than 150 policy makers, business leaders and multinational executives interested in…
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Policing Ethiopia: The force vs. service dilemma
Kalkidan Yibeltal On the last Sunday of May 2015, more than 35 million Ethiopians have flocked to cast their votes in an election that eventually proved to accentuate the absolute hegemony of the incumbent, the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (EPRDF). Two days later the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM), the only international body to observe the election by…
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An Ethiopian court jailed Muslim leaders, activists to lengthy terms
Mahlet Fasil The Ethiopian federal high court fourth criminal bench today sentenced eighteen Ethiopian Muslims including four members of Ethiopian Muslim arbitration committee members, one journalist and thirteen others to a lengthy jail term between seven and 22 years. The eighteen Muslims were charged on counts that include attempted terrorism, conspiracy to establish an Islamic state, and public incitement. The…
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The Obama on a third business date with Africa
Tarikua Getachew, for Addis Standard (@tarikawipeace) No other visit to anywhere from sitting presidents, US or otherwise, has caused as much of a stir as Obama’s upcoming visit to Africa. From human rights organisations to individual letters his third visit to Africa, and in particular his Addis Ababa, stop has received both praise and vilification. But while most have rather…
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IOM speaks of Ethiopian migrants’ suffering in Yemen
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it has helped 3,478 vulnerable Ethiopian migrants stranded by the conflict in Yemen, including 229 medical cases, to return home. Of these, 1,429 were evacuated by IOM from Yemen to Ethiopia. “The remainder were assisted on arrival in Ethiopia at IOM’s Addis Abeba Transit Centre, which provided accommodation, food and onward transportation,” IOM…
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The ICC Dilemma: To cooperate or not?
Mehari Taddele Maru The 25th AU Summit in South Africa began with fanfare and ended with news worthy legal debacle of high political nature. The controversy started when a court in Pretoria, unlike in many African states where President Omar al Bashir visited, issued a provisional order preventing al Bashir from leaving South Africa until it decides on ICC’s request…
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