Ethiopia's political crisis plays out in the regions. Why it's a federal problem
The political crisis in Ethiopia is not showing sings of abating. Ongoing riots in Oromia and Wolayta; state fragmentation in the Amhara region, and the standoff between the federal government and the Tigray region have put the survival of the government in question.




U.S. Halts Some Foreign Assistance Funding to Ethiopia Over Dam Dispute with Egypt, Sudan
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has approved a plan to halt U.S. foreign assistance to Ethiopia as the Trump administration attempts to mediate a dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the East African country’s construction of a massive dam on the Nile River. The decision, made this week, could affect up to nearly $130 million in U.S. foreign assistance to Ethiopia
All indications are pointing Abiy is about to surrender Hedase Dam's control to the Egyptians. The U.S. is believed to have assured Abiy that if he signs the Deal he will be guaranteed to stay in power. If there are any nationalist left in the Abiy government, now is the time to speak up and inform the public. The Trump administration is using the pressure tactic to give Abiy a cover.






The State of Tigray Post-Election Opportunities and Challenges
Lebelo Hailesilassie 08-27-20 - First and foremost, I would like to express my genuine delight that Tigray is poised to make its first-ever regional election on time without the Federal Government the Republic of Ethiopia. I am even more cheerful this election is on chores in a period of political instability and unrest across widespread of Ethiopia, geopolitical challenges and worldwide health crises.
Ethiopian Expands Its Global Hub - Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, unveils its new Aviation Infrastructure blending Modernity with Bio Safety.
Addis Ababa, 25 August 2020 Ethiopian Airlines Group, the Largest Aviation Group in Africa is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed a new passenger terminal at its hub Addis Ababa Bole International Airport with emphasis on Bio Security and Bio Safety measures.
In Support of TPLF and Its Leaders and Against Dr.Aregawi Berhe,Lilay Hailemariam
Gebre Selama 08-26-20 - I have to admit I have opposed TPLF for the past 30 years. I have bashed them for 30 years. However, the current situation in Ethiopia has impacted me too. I am now sympathetic to TPLF leaders. They have done more than their share in the face many attacks from all corners including neoliberals. They cleaned Ethoipia’s mess of 150 years in 27 years.

The self-degrading, belittling, and betrayal of Lilay's interview:
Gebru Boj'Boj 08-26-20 - After years of interrogation, torture, and mistreatments at the notorious Mae'Kelawi prison center, one Saturday late afternoon I and my fellow Tegaru prisoners were shipped off to Alem'Bekagn as it was getting over-crowded and to keep us in Alem'Bekagn until the regime decides on our fate. When we were leaving Ma'ekelawi for Alem'bakagn all of us including the other prisoners who remained in maekelawi believed that our last day had arrived.




All the PM's Bigoted Men.
Haile Tessema 08-25-20 - A lot has been said on the PM's failure in bringing Tigrai into the fold of his much-hyped reform. His unguarded speeches, misguided policies and selective obsession with certain former EPRDF officials of Tigraian origin, particularly Getachew Assefa, not to mention his unholy matrimony with Issaias Afeworki of Eritrea, are often identified as culprits.

G22 World leaders of 1889
(from our email folder) - The World's Sovereigns". A photomontage made in Europe in 1889 with the main heads of state in the world. From left to right: Yohannes IV of Ethiopia , Tewfik Pasha of Egypt, Sultan Abdülhamit II of the Ottoman Empire, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar of Persia, Christian IX of Denmark, Luís I of Portugal, William III of the Netherlands, Pedro II of Brazil, Milan Obrenović IV of Serbia, Leopold II of Belgium, Alexander III of Russia, Wilhelm I, German Emperor (deceased 1888), Franz Joseph I of Austria, Victoria of the United Kingdom, Jules Grévy of France (left office 1887), Pope Leo XIII, Emperor Meiji of Japan, Guangxu Emperor of China (not confirmed), Umberto I of Italy, Alfonso XII of Spain, Oscar II of Sweden and Chester A. Arthur of the United States (left office 1885, deceased 1886)
And who said Tigrai can not vote without Abiy's permission? The chairman of TIP was right to say Tigrai was a nation before and shall be a nation again! Just drop its ambition to expand its empire and start all over again much as Turkey did in the past! Zeru Hagos Aug 2020
An imperial narrative gets recycled
A powerful and disturbing narrative is gaining traction among reporting on Ethiopia, its bias reflecting the connections of the current and past political and business elites with national and international media, NGOs, and foreign governments. Most see Ethiopia through the eyes of what has long been Ethiopia’s dominant culture, the Amharic language, script, and calendar, and the Orthodox Church. Subconsciously, most outsiders absorb the sense of entitlement ...
Long before Abiy became a tool for the Unitarist/Ahadawian/ TPLF circulated a well-argued paper to warn the population that Abiy was trying to undo the current federal constitution. It even defined the ongoing political contradiction will be between those who aspire to bring the old empire and those who try to maintain the current federal arrangement. For all, it is worth TPLF can not be blamed for what is killing the country. Too bad people did not take the warning seriously then!




Gross Human Rights Violations in Ethiopia by the Abiy Ahmed Government - Petition Letter to the UK Government by Mekete Tigray UK
We, concerned British citizens and residents of the UK of Ethiopian Tigrayan origin and who are organised under a broad democratic platform of "Mekete Tigray" (i.e. Defense of Tigray), are writing to bring to our Government's attention to the Abiy Ahmed (PhD) Government's gross human and democratic rights violations in Ethiopia. These include the systemic and widespread repression of citizens, minority groups and nationalities; and the establishment of a dictatorial rule that transgresses the fundamental pillars of the Ethiopian Federal Democratic Republic (EFDR) Constitution
Say His Name--Meles Zenawi
Elias Dawit 08-20-20 - The absence of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's name from national discourse speaks to the power he holds over those who today walk within the palace compound. The silence of the current leadership in acknowledging his predecessor is a tightly held talisman to ward off the threat of comparison - an unwinnable exposition of weakness and confusion in the face of strength and certainty.
An Open Letterto Lilly Hailemariam:You are where your Father, His Excellency, told me a Tigraway Must Never ever be in!
Hailemariam Abebe 08-24-20 - Over the last two years, I have seen such Tegaru giving interviews to the Abiye controlled media. This is too, the same media whose top guns could face the same predicament as those in the Rwandagenocides! These fellow Tegaru, with the trademark of ties and suits of the morally and legally Poverty Party, are praising Abiye and his clique even though the facts clearly show the regime is committing crimes against humanity. I wonder if these Tegaru understand that cheering and supporting...
Lilay: Tigray can't afford to live in the past; it has a bright future to take care of
Yohannes Aberra, PhD 08-23-20 - The biggest problem that is messing up politics in Ethiopia and leaving the Country without a functioning compass is the obsession with excessive glorification of the past and at the same time the unhelpful act of scratching of old wounds that does not solve our current problems, but only aggravate them. Blata Hailemariam made his own glorious history; and Lilay was expected to do better; but he didn't: "የእሳት ልጅ አመድ።"


A "Noble Way" of Driving a Country to a Ditch
Aynalem Sebhatu 08-20-20 - It is public secret now; Colonel Abiy Ahmed cleverly rode the Oromos and the Amharas' political elites' coattails to the top of the political power. Since his ascent, Abiy Ahmed as the PM of Ethiopia, there has been no shortage of analyses on his personal being and on his leadership capacity. For an evaluation of the PM's personal traits and his psychological profile, it is informative to watch an interview of Colonel Binyam Tewelde by Awol Media.
Crisis Group international (CGI): A Group in Crisis!
Hailemariam Abebe 08-20-20 - I must admit that although I have been a human rights activist and an advocate for democracy in Ethiopia for almost half a century, I have never heard of the organization called Crisis Group International (CGI) until a friend forwarded me their press release of August 14, 2020. As many of you have seen it by now, the press release was entitled "Toward an End to Ethiopia's Federal-Tigray Feud!" After I finished reading it, the sense I got was that this was a news release from a lobbying group hired by the Abiye regime!