Four more Ethiopian journalists sentenced; pardon anticipated

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New York, August 2, 2007 — Ethiopia’s High Court handed down heavy prison sentences to four journalists jailed in connection with their coverage of deadly post-election unrest in 2005, after the journalists waived their defense and pleaded guilty in anticipation of a pardon, according to local sources. All of them worked for now-defunct Amharic-language weeklies.

Editors Dawit Kebede of Hadar and Wosonseged Gebrekidan of Addis Zena were sentenced Monday to four years in prison each on charges of “inciting and conspiring to commit outrages to the constitutional order,” their former lawyer, Weneawake Ayele, told CPJ.

Monday’s ruling followed the Friday convictions of editor Goshu Moges of Lisane Hezeb and freelance columnist Tadios Tantu, jailed in February 2006 on similar charges, after accusations of “belonging to an illegal political organization,” according to Ayele. Moges, who had issued public statements critical of the government crackdown on the press and government opponents, was sentenced to 10 years and Tantu to 15 years.(More...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Letter from Senator Feingold to Condoleezza Rice on the Ogaden
-Red Cross confirms pullout from Ethiopian region
-Ethiopia pledges to contribute troops to Darfur
-Grenade Blast Kills an Ethiopian Soldier in North Mogadishu
-Civilians die in Mogadishu battle
-At least 10 killed as Mogadishu violence surges
-Israel's Interior Minister says aliya from Ethiopia should stop
-Ethiopians slam comments of Israel's Interior Minister
-Kenya plans to import power from Ethiopia
-The Khat Controversy: Stimulating the Debate on Drugs

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

-Sierra Leone militia leaders convicted
-Hostage crisis: Seoul to seek US help
-Search Resumes For Victims of Minnesota Bridge Collapse
-Olmert and Abbas 'to discuss Palestinian state'
-Russia plants flag under N Pole
-164 dead in South Asia monsoon flooding
-Brain electrodes help man speak again

Picture of the day

(Abune Petros)
The following is an Excerpt from the Ethiopian Orthodox church newspaper Vol. 1, No. 8.9.10, 1945:

"When Abune Petros came to the place of execution and was given to say his last words, he took his hand cross and removed the blue cloth that was rapped around it and blessed the people and said the following last words: “... May God give the people of Ethiopia the strength to resist and never bow down to the fascist army and its violence. May the Ethiopian earth never accept the invading army’s rule.” After that a swarm of bullets from the execution platoon pierced and killed bishop Abune Petros."

- Abune Petros: Martyr of the Millenium (by Fesseha Mekuria and Sven Rubenson)
-[VIDEO] - "Petros Yachin Se’at" (Petros At That Hour)" -a play by Poet-Laureate Tsegaye Gebremedhin

(Sources: Imperial Monuments of Ethiopia, mediaethiopia.com)




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Ungrateful Canadians

... "Just 20 per cent said they 'strongly support' Canada's fight in Afghanistan".

Harumph. At least our BFF has thanked us for our role in Afghanistan, unlike those ungrateful taxpayers. Look what they're making us do! We have to make them pay $104,575 so we can learn how to sell the war to them.

The federal government could significantly boost support for the Afghan mission if it were to emphasize diplomacy and human rights, according to opinion polling compiled over seven months for the Department of National Defence.

Really? You mean emphasizing the needless suffering and civilian deaths doesn't work?

Nik Nanos, president of Ottawa's SES Research, said the government-commissioned survey is "standard ... technique for political campaigns."

"You start introducing content and you measure how you can move the dial," he said.

Right, good to know how best to massage the facts.

The poll, at a cost to taxpayers of $104,575, is the latest to look at how to present Canada's military mission to a skeptical public. Others have warned the government against appearing too militaristic, presenting the mission as payback for the 9/11 terror attacks and aligning itself with the U.S. government. All have underscored the fact that combat remains a tough sell in Canada.

What? We don't want our sons and daughters killing and dying?

Alex Morrison, head of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, said the challenge is how Ottawa can be honest about the military's role and still make it palatable to the public. The blame lies with previous Liberal and Tory governments that emphasized peacekeeping to such an extent that Canadian soldiers are now viewed as "simply a bunch of do-gooders," he said.

Ah yes, the eternal struggle of propaganda: how best to manipulate the public, while removing the risk of being caught outright lying. Good thing we can blame previous governments: they were so darn good, they made us look bad.

A New Battle in Congress: Lobbyists v Human Rights

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(Scott A. Morgan) We all noticed last fall when the American Voters decidely threw out an Incompetent Republican Congress and replaced them with the Democrats. But it is becoming clear that if WE expected a change in how things are run in Washington we were sadly mistaken.

Like in the last Republican controlled Congress A Bill that was designed to address the internal climate in an African Country that is an ally was introduced. Sadly it appears that it is travelling down the same road. If certain people have their way this legislation will not see the floor to be voted on.

H.R. 2003 which deals with Freedom Democracy and Human Rights in Ethiopia was reintroduced in the House after a journey that had some treachery in it. After clearing the House International Relations Committee (now the Foreign Relations Committee) it was tabled by then Speaker Hastert. Now under the leadership of Speaker Pelosi it may suffer the same fate as it did in the last Congress.(More...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Ethiopian rebel group (ONLF) says troops kill aid workers
-Questions shower Ethiopian ex-leader Negaso Gidada
-Rumblings of trouble in Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea)
-Red Cross repatriates Eritreans, Ethiopians
-UN says Mogadishu violence scaring returnees
-Spy recalls secret mission saving Ethiopian Jews
-‘Rahab S’nt Qen Yifejal?’ Reflections of a Well-Fed Visitor
-Model Liya Kebede Launches Baby Line LemLem

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

-UN to send peacekeepers to Darfur
-Shock at sex crimes in DR Congo
-Poll: Bad news for McCain, good news for Obama
-Rescue operation launched to free Korean hostages: report
-Sunni bloc quits Iraq govt
-Death verdicts for Iran reporters (Iran has sentenced two dissident journalists for being "enemies of God")
-Riyadh gives talks with Israel cautious welcome
-Lottery player wins twice by mistake

Picture of the Day

(1955: First Ethiopian Jews Arrive In Israel to Attend Mizrachi Religious School. Almost all eventually return to Ethiopia as educators and community leaders. [Photo: AMIT.])
"The early origins of the falashas are shrouded in mystery, and, for lack of documentation, will probable remain so forever....There can, however, be no denying that Ethiopia....country in which the flashas have lived since time immemorial, has long been under remarkably strong Jewish influence, and that in Ethiopia the two religions, Christianity and Judaism, blended in a manner virtually unknown elsewhere in Christendom." - Richard pankhurst

-The falashas, or Judaic Ethiopians, in their Christian Ethiopian setting (Dr. Richard pankhurst)


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