Amhara Region has a new president- Gedu is out and Ambachew(Ph.D.)is in
March 8, 2019 - The Amhara Regional parliament has ousted Gedu Andargachew and appointed Ambachew Mekonnen as the new president. If you recall Gedu was part of "team lemma" and has been at the helm when thousands of people were uprooted and killed in the Amhara region. Experts we talked told us while change is good in general they do not expect things to change much in the region while Demke Mekonnen remains the chairman of ADP. In fact, said one of the regional expert, the politics in the region may turn for the worst since Gedu was the better angle among them! At least Gedu was not in favor of arresting Berket Simon and Taddese and willing to make peace with Tigrai! In another development, Oromia is being rocked by yet another demonstration. No one knows how long Abiy will remain head of ODP! Unless the current behind the door discussion becomes fruitful TPLF and all other political forces who support the federal arrangement are ready to take the political engagement in the country into another level. We were told there is a very good chance the discussion behind the door will succeed well but nothing is assured! Aigaforum March 8, 2019

Ethiopia says $1.3 billion needed to assist displaced people
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Ethiopia is appealing for $1.3 billion from the international community to assist 8.3 million displaced due to ethnic conflict as well those vulnerable to climate shocks and disease."As I speak today, 8 million people require emergency food or cash assistance," said Mitiku Kassa. He said that most of the displaced are in the country’s Oromia and Somalia regions. Ethiopia's number of internally displaced people nearly doubled in 2018 creating the need for so much humanitarian assistance in 2019, he said.
...and what is the Abiy government doing about this? Nothing unless you consider Isaias Afeworki whom he is spending a lot with lately is an expert on conflict resolution and Eritrea and Somalia as countries of robust democracy and economic development where Abiy can learn a lot to mitigate the disaster looming over the country! Sad!
Regionalization of Ethiopia
Assefa A. Lemu 3-7-19 - Regionalization can be defined as "the politico-administrative process by which regions emerge as relevant units of analysis for economic and political activity and welfare and service provision". In most cases, regionalization comes from top to down as devolution of power like it was the case in Ethiopia during the Transitional Period of 1991-1995 where fourteen regions were created by EPRDF as a part of governmental reforms.

Against Identity Politics The New Tribalism and the Crisis of Democracy
Francis Fukuyama FRANCIS FUKUYAMA is Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and Mosbacher Director of the institute's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. This essay is adapted from his forthcoming book Identity... Beginning a few decades ago, world politics started to experience a dramatic transformation. From the early 1970s to the first decade of this century, the number of electoral democracies [2] increased from about 35 to more than 110. Over the same period...



The worst thing you can do to your own people is to divide them
Dr. Yohannes Aberra Ayele 3-7-19 - No two people think alike; not even identical twins. The core of freedom lies in allowing this to persist and defend it. While allowing the right to differ working towards narrowing down the differences is the noblest of all leadership. This act of good governance is ...

Kenya and Somalia row over offshore rights is rooted in the carve-up of Africa
The borderlines separating Kenya and Somalia were first drawn in the late 19th century. Like everywhere else on the continent, this was the work of cartographers working for European colonial powers. Across the continent they replaced porous spaces in which people engaged openly across culture, language, religion, kinship, and ethnicity with straight-line geometrics.East Africa was no exception

US Reiterates Shoring up Ethiopia's Reform
Addis Ababa March 05/2019 United States of America will continue to provide the necessary support to further underpin the ongoing reform in Ethiopia, Congresswoman and Chair of the House of Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Africa, Karen Bass said ..."We are complementing that with a range of support underway including additional support to analyze constraints of economic growth and devise plans of action to address them, including embedding senior US government officials at key Ethiopian economic ministries and operations for a sustained period of time," he elaborated.
In a normal case, no one will question the wisdom to have support from the advanced countries! But, Ethiopia is not in a normal situation! The country is being played as a pawn in the west-east chase game. It is sad what has been achieved through meticulous planning of the revolutionary democrats is being undermined from within. The USA is ill-informed to intervene in Ethiopia's democratic struggle in such a manner. There is no doubt such involvement will cause too many people to be disenfranchised and cause civil strife and war! Ethiopia is not a homogenous country! No single ethnic group will be able to carry on the job of unifying the country. The least the US can do is to realize such truth and leave the democratic challenges to Ethiopians! Stay out of Ethiopia's internal affairs and let the work of key infrastructure development continue. Zeru Hagos March 5, 2019



Dr. Debretsion's message at 123rd anniversary of Adwa Victory
March 2019 - On behalf of myself and Tigray Regional State, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you and say congratulations for the 123rd victory of Adwa.We feel glad while celebrating the victory day under the theme, 'Victory of Adwa: A living fingerprint to our unity in diversity.'The grand victory has become the source of a lot of lessons, which has national, continental and international significances. It obviously indicates our ...

First hated the minority, and next hated the majority:what is it they love?
Dr. Yohannes Aberra Ayele 3-5-19 - The most written and the most spoken about the figure in the recent history of Ethiopia had been "6%". This was the calculated percentage of the share of the people of Tigrai out of the total population of Ethiopia. No matter the government be an ...





Panic at the disco!
Aesop 03/03/19 - There’s this band called “panic at the disco”. They remind me of those in a panic today. They also have this song called: “Hey look ma I made it!” It reminds me of our great fighters. Our children of light (now elders) didn’t crave power from the cradle. Why? Because they were elites. True elites shine amidst the darkness. Our children shined amidst discrimination.



Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II's stolen hair to be returned by UK
A British museum is to return a lock of hair that the Ethiopian government considers a national treasure.It was cut from the head of Emperor Tewodros II, who killed himself rather than be taken prisoner by the British during their 1868 invasion of Ethiopia..

Fasting: Beyond the consumption of animal products.
Haile Tessema, March 4, 2019 - During the Dergue era – owing to the endless Marxist-Leninist indoctrination at school and in endless youth association discussion meetings – very few young people were religious. In fact, without fully understanding the concept, just about everyone subscribed to the theory of Darwinian evolution..

The Next Arab Uprising: The Collapse of Authoritarianism in the Middle East
Two perfect storms have struck the Arab world in the past decade. In 2011, in what was at first optimistically called "the Arab Spring," popular uprisings unseated autocrats across the region. Hopes ran high that these peaceful protest movements would usher in a new era of democracy in the Middle East...

EU helps internally displaced persons in Ethiopia
With three million internally displaced people, Ethiopia is currently experiencing one of the world's most serious and neglected humanitarian crises. Eight million people urgently need food aid. Another eight million people need support to meet their basic needs. This episode of Aidzone highlights Europe's role in a country torn between democratic reform and ethnic conflict.

Vision Ethiopia Eighth Conference:Colloquium on the Interface Between Cultural and Natural Heritage First Call for Papers
March 3-3-19 - The Board of Directors of Vision Ethiopia is pleased to announce that the Eighth Conference will be held in Ethiopia, between June 12 and 14, 2019. It will be followed by a post-conference tour of historical sights and scenes...Papers must have theoretical depth and be supported by reliable scientific evidence. They must be cross disciplinary, grounded in the pertinent literature, and have policy orientation and relevant applications. It must also be palatable to an international audience.
"Wag the dog" coming to the Amhara Region.
Haile Tessema, March 02, 2019 - First the definition of the term "wag the dog" that derives from the phrase "the tail wags the dog, which can be seen when a dog begins to wag its tail, and its body then follows". When it comes to politics, "An unpopular party would wag the dog using a variety of provocative political maneuverings aimed to deliberately divert attention".
Ethiopia's neglected crisis: No easy way home for doubly displaced
It was the second time in less than a year that Meret - like thousands of others from the Gedeo community who have lived in Oromia's West Guji zone for decades - had been chased from her village because of her ethnicity. A merry-go-round of forced evictions by groups of armed young men...
What a shame! While millions of people are displaced and uprooted all over the country the PM top priority is centered on how to beautify Addis Ababa! Guess what the Egyptians are coming to the dinner since they know well today's Ethiopia priority is exactly what they have worked for years it should be! It is sad really! [forwarded with comment March 1st, 2019]

Ethiopian elite lost in electoral maze under Abiy's gaze
In Ethiopia today, most political forces keep repeating the same mantra: we need to get everything in place for free and fair polls in 2020. Elections are heralded as the last crucial stepping-stone to the completion of a democratic transition that is believed to definitively turn the page on the authoritarian order and struggling ethnic federal system established in 1991.