The Long Shadow of Rwanda on (Central) Africa

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Déjà vu 1994 Rwanda in 2014 Central African Republic

Last week, the people of Rwanda began a solemn week of official mourning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide. On April 6, 1994, Hutu extremist leaders in government, their political supporters and organized militiamen coordinated a systematic killing spree, which lasted over 100 days and consumed the lives of more than 800,000 mostly ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus. In 1994, Rwanda had a population of  5.5 million, of which 14 percent were Tutsi. Today Rwanda has a population of 11.5 million, of which the Tutsi population is less than 10 percent.

Staff of international human rights organisation detained in Ethiopia

Ethiopian immigration officials detained a member of staff from ARTICLE 19’s East Africa office on 3 April for 29 hours without any access to legal advice or consular support. Fortunately, Patrick Mutahi, a trainer in protection, reacted according to strict ARTICLE 19 security protocols, notifying Ethiopian contacts of his detainment before his mobile phone was confiscated.

Following a rapid campaign for his release, Mutahi was deported back to Kenya on 4 April, and was warned that he would face jail if he returned.

ARTICLE 19 is one of the last remaining international human rights organisations working in Ethiopia and providing independent information to the UN Human Rights Council, and we are therefore concerned that the situation will only deteriorate further.

Egypt’s Potential Presidential Candidate Threatens to Use Force Against Ethiopia’s Dam

An Egyptian potential presidential candidate hopeful announced today that he will order the use of military force against Ethiopia if the latter does not suspend the construction of the Grand Renaissance dam.

In announcing his presidential bid at a press conference on Sunday, lawyer Mortada Mansour said that “water for Egypt is Egypt’s life”.

“There are signed international conventions… .There are two agreements, one in 1929 and the other in 1959 to regulate water usage between Egypt and Sudan,” Mansour added.

“There are international organizations that failed [to mediate] and Ethiopia stuck to its position. Just like they threatened to use their army, Egypt has an army.

Saving the ICC: A Proposal for a Witness Protection Program

April 7, 2014

by Alemayehu G. Mariam

Justice delayed, again?

In late January of this year, I wrote a commentary entitled, “Kenyatta at the ICC: Is Justice Deferred, Justice Denied?” In that commentary I openly expressed my angst over the endless delays, postponements and backpedalling talk about “false evidence” and “lying witnesses” surrounding the Uhuru Kenyatta trial at The Hague. I felt  there was perhaps some monkey business going on.  “I don’t want to say I smell a rat but I feel like I am getting a whiff. Is the stage being set to let Kenyatta off the ICC hook?”, I rhetorically asked. I am even more jittery now that Kenyatta’s trial is postponed once again.

How Ethiopia Spies on Its Diaspora Abroad (Wall Street Journal‎)

Wall Street Journal ‎- By FELIX HORNE, 

March 31, 2014 - Many Europeans are upset over revelations that the United States government spies on them. But European companies are selling surveillance tools and know-how to other governments, allowing them to spy abroad. Their customers include some of the world’s most abusive governments and at least one of them—Ethiopia—is targeting its diaspora population in Europe. The results extend beyond outrage over privacy violations: They put people in danger.The global trade in this powerful “spyware” is virtually unregulated and that needs to change. Using digital technology to monitor the Ethiopian diaspora in Europe, the regime in Addis Ababa has brought its abuses right into Europe’s midst. The EU needs to regulate the sale of such technology, at least to governments with such questionable human-rights records.

Ethiopian American Council (EAC) Endorses Isiah “Ike” Leggett for Re-Election

Isiah “Ike” Leggett

April 2, 2014

Ethiopian-American Community in Maryland Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett Upcoming Montgomery County Elections

“I am an Ethiopian.”

Those were the opening words from Montgomery County Executive Isiah “Ike” Leggett as he delivered the keynote speech at the Ethiopian Battle of Adwa Commemoration Ceremony held recently, for a standing-room-only audience, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The ceremony was sponsored and organized by the Ethiopian-Heritage Society in North America (EHSNA).