Top Stories
Aid Agencies Say Thousands Of Ethiopians Facing
Starvation
VOA News - May 17, 2008
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says it is taking swift action
to help an estimated 40,000 Ethiopians facing starvation. The Red Cross is launching an emergency appeal
for $1.7 million to provide urgently needed food relief.
Drought is a recurring phenomenon in the Horn of Africa. Many areas of Ethiopia, Djibouti,
Somalia and parts of northern Kenya are facing losses from this year's harvests.
The International Red Cross Federation says it is particularly concerned about the welfare
of some 40-thousand people in the Wolaita, Sidama, Moyale and Bale areas of southern Ethiopia.
It says they are suffering severe food shortages.
Read More.
Famine Looms as Wars Rend Horn of Africa
The New York Times - May 17, 2008
Somalia - and much of the volatile Horn of Africa, for that matter - was about the last
place on earth that needed a food crisis. Even before commodity prices started shooting up around
the globe, civil war, displacement and imperiled aid operations had pushed many people here to the
brink of famine.
But now with food costs spiraling out of reach and the livestock that people live off of
dropping dead in the sand, villagers across this sun-blasted landscape say hundreds of people are
dying of hunger and thirst.
Read More.
Political Resolution Of OLF's European Branch
OromoLiberationFront.org - May 13, 2008
It is clear that Ethiopia shares border with all Horn of African countries. This places Ethiopia at the
centre of the security complex of Horn of Africa. This opportunity gave Ethiopian government to play a
double standard by imposing its interest on neighbouring countries. The Ethio-Eritrean war, the frequent
incursion of Ethiopian army into Kenya and the full occupation of Somalia, alignment and misalignment of
Ethiopian and Sudan governments - all these cannot be solved without probing into the underlying causes of the
problem. The problem is as Ethiopia is the core of the Horn; Oromo is demographically,
geographically and
economically the core of Ethiopian Empire. It needs no prove that the unsolved problem of Oromo quest
incurred always instability in the Horn. Since there is no peace in Ethiopia, Ethiopia looks for proxy
war to suppress its domestic problem. In the last thirteen years TPLF/EPRDF has been tactically engaged in
instigation of ethnic discord. To this effect, it apportions part of nation's territory to the other, and
then instigates territorial claims, which it inflames into armed conflict. We
call up on our people to be aware of "divide and rule" colonial principle.
We call up on all walks of Oromo individuals to stand together to overcome these crucial factors and
co-ordinate every effort that will hasten the fall of Ethiopian regime.
Read More.
Ethiopia's farmers struggle to cope
with drought
Africast - May 14, 2008
Source: OCHA-Ethiopia (April
2008)
Food prices in Ethiopia have continued to soar with reports of an alarming hike of the cost
of the cheapest grain, maize, in some markets of the drought-hit Somali Region reaching 700 birr
(about US$70) per 100-kg bag, up from about 350 birr (US$35).
Meanwhile, poor performance of the short rains (belg) season in the first half of the year
has forced farmers to switch to planting early maturing crops, according to reports by the UN Office
for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Food Programme (WFP).
Read More.
Ethiopia's Bekele to attempt 10,000 metres record in Oregon
Reuters - May 14, 2008
Ethiopian Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele will attempt to break his 10,000 metres world
record at next month's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, organisers said on Monday.
Bekele set his current record of 26 minutes 17.53 seconds on August 26,
2005 in Brussels.
Read More.
A fortuitous meeting and Minnesota doctors
offer an Ethiopian woman a chance at a new life
MN Public Radio - May 11, 2008
Dr. Rick Hodes first met Merdya Abdisa a year ago, when she wandered in to the Catholic
Mission where he works on behalf of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Addis Ababa.
Hodes is an internal medicine doctor who has lived in Ethiopia for 20 years.
His practice is filled with patients suffering from ailments that have gone untreated for far too long. But he had never seen anything
like Merdya's tumor.
Listen to feature audio
(Real Audio).
Govt. rejects license for JimmaTimes
EthioGuardian.com - May 13, 2008
The Addis Ababa government's MOI rejected license for Jimma Times (JT) based on unknown reasons
and JT managers said they will continue to fight for the license.
After JT's global presence was established in 1999 (ET Calendar) through its official website, Jimma
Times managers said it took them more than half a dozen months just to get
their newspaper office space registered by the local government, allegedly
due to local government bureaucracy and inefficiency. Since then, they have
not been able to secure a license for their independent newspaper.
Read More.
Peace Rally by the Australian Oromo Community
Australian Oromo Community Association - May 6, 2008
- The Oromo people are subjugated to enormous exploitation on their
own land along with many other minorities, including Sidama,
Ogaden, etc.
- There is a continuous gross violation of human rights in Ethiopia - well known
to the outside world (indiscriminate imprisonments, torture, killings, etc).
- As a result of this continuous repression and suffering, Ethiopia represents a
major source of refugees in the African continent;
- Lack of basic rights which include freedom of
movement, speech, press, peaceful protest, etc.;
- Misappropriation of Oromo and other people's land to non-residents;
- Lack of transparency, accountability and misappropriation of public funds;
Thus we would like to see Australian State and Federal governments to
take all these into consideration before undertaking any co-operation with
the current 'Tigrean'
government of Ethiopia.
We believe those who value the Human Rights issue will support us in our efforts to
expose these matters well beyond our expectations.
Finally we appeal to broader Australian public to be with us and understand the real
issues that the Oromo are facing.
Read More.
