Ethiopia Travel Alert: U.S. Department of State

May 18, 2015

The State Department alerts U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Ethiopia of the upcoming elections scheduled for May 24, 2015. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution and remain abreast of the security situation throughout the electoral period. This Travel Alert expires on June 30, 2015.

The State Department recommends U.S. citizens maintain a high level of security awareness during the electoral period and avoid political rallies, polling centers, demonstrations, and crowds of any kind as instances of unrest can occur. Review your personal security plans; remain aware of your surroundings, including local events; and monitor local news stations for updates. Although there have been no specific incidents of violence targeting U.S. citizens, U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution and stay current with media coverage of local events. Election results are scheduled to be announced June 22, 2015.

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A Statement of Declaration by the Legitimate Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

May 18, 2015

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Ethiopia shall Soon Stretch out Her Hands unto God (Psalm 67:13)

A Statement of Declaration by the Legitimate Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church on the Recent Heart-rending News Concerning Ethiopian Christian Victims in Libya at the Hands of ISlS and on the Sufferings of all other Ethiopian Refugees or Immigrants in the Middle East and Africa. Read more…

Senate should not confirm Gayle Smith – Alemayehu G. Mariam

May 12, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam (This article originally appeared in the The Hill)

President Obama visited Ghana in 2009 and told Parliament, “History is on the side of brave Africans.”  He warned Africa’s strongmen, “History is not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power.” He declared to the world, “Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

Obama has tapped Gayle Smith to run the U.S. Agency for International Development. African strongmen will be very pleased by the news; but she is the wrong choice for the job.

El-Sisi: Ethiopia’s Friend in Need, Indeed!

May 10, 2015

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

A friend in need is a friend in deed, indeed!

Last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stunned the world by rescuing more than two dozen abducted Ethiopians marked for beheadings in Libya by the ruthless self-styled terrorist group known as “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL) (also known as “Islamic State of Iraq and (Syria) al-Sham (ISIS)”).

Ahram Online, Al-Ahram’s English-language website, announced, “The Egyptian army freed the Ethiopian workers who arrived at Cairo airport on Thursday morning,

5 Practical Recommendations for U.S. Policy on Ethiopia: Freedom House

Photo: The United States Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

May 12, 2015

by Vukasin Petrovic | Director of Africa Programs

Ethiopia, one of the United States’ closest partners in Africa, is also one of the continent’s least democratic countries. According to Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2015 report, Ethiopia ranks 43 out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of the political rights and civil liberties enjoyed by its citizens.

The government, led by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since the early 1990s, has routinely marginalized or eliminated any group or individual it considers a threat to its authority,

Ethiopia: Growth, poverty, torture and arbitrary killing, all in one package

May 13, 2015

by Ephrem Madebo

On her recent trip to Ethiopia, Wendy Sherman, President Obama’s Under Secretary for Political Affairs said: Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies on the African continent. Ethiopia is a democracy. Two weeks ago, Marie Harf, Acting Spokesperson of the State Department said that, the speech made by Wendy Sherman in Addis Ababa fully reflects the U.S. Government’s positions on these issues. Evidently, diplomacy is the patriotic art of lying for one’s country, but Wendy Sherman’s double lie in just one statement is neither patriotic nor artistic, it’s a barefaced lie that exposed her true face.