Ethiopia Rebels Declare Ceasefire for UN Visit

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REFLECTIONS ON THE EVE OF THE THIRD ETHIOPIAN MILLENNIUM
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Rebels in Ethiopia's volatile east declared a unilateral ceasefire so the United Nations can investigate their claims of human rights abuses in the region.

The Ogaden National Liberation Front rebels, ethnic Somalis who have been fighting the government for more than a decade, said they will only defend themselves if attacked.

"We want to give every hand to the UN mission so that the Ethiopian government does not find an excuse to interfere, so that they [the UN] can do a thorough investigation about what's happening in the Ogaden," Abdulrahman Mahdi, spokesperson for the ONLF, told the Associated Press in a telephone interview on Sunday.

Ethiopian officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Mahdi said the ceasefire will last as long as the UN is in the Ogaden, which is near the Somali border. The 14-person UN mission arrived in the region last week.

Ethiopia announced a crackdown on the rebels in June, two months after the ONLF attacked a Chinese-run oil exploration field, killing 74 people.(More...)

Today's Top HEADLINES

-Villages deserted, burned in Ogaden: MSF
-Crisis looming in Ogaden: medical relief agency
-Ethiopian Govt. Denies 'Blocking' MSF
-IRAN, ETHIOPIA to boost economic ties
-Tens of thousands displaced by Ethiopia floods
-Arkebe Iqubay Back on the Scene
-Chavez puts off Africa tour
-Rate of Ethiopia Brain-Drain Alarming - Study
-Fortune’s Gossip on the millennium festivities
-Eritrea Ready for Talks on Border Demarcation with Ethiopia
-Somali opposition figures to unite in Eritrea
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in Review)

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SOME ETHIOPIANS CRINGE AT LAVISH MILLENNIUM BASH

Ethiopians bemoan the fact that in a country where the average annual per capita income peaked at $160 in 2005, ticket prices ranging from $270 to $330 will ensure Ethiopia's Y2K concert is not a popular celebration. "How could you expect the average Ethiopian to afford that kind of price when the amount he receives as salary per year is lower than the ticket price?"...."Not only will they miss the concert, they won't watch it on television as most of them don't have one," (More...)

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INTERNATIONAL HEADLINES

-APEC seeks climate change consensus
-Bush reflects on the visit to Iraq
-Category 5 Hurricane Felix slams ashore
-'Chemical Ali,' 2 others to be hanged
-Intimidation In Tehran
-Myanmar (Burma) Constitution Ensure Military Power

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PENTAGON (U.S.) COMPUTER SYSTEM HACKED BY CHINESE MILITARY

China's military successfully hacked into the Pentagon's computer network, raising fears it could disrupt the US defence department's systems, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The Chinese military's cyber attack was carried out in June following months of efforts, the London-based newspaper said, citing unnamed current and former US officials.(More..)

Also see: China rejects US charge it hacked Pentagon


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Picture of the Day

(Britain honoured Mandela on Wednesday, August 29, 2007, by unveiling a bronze statue of him alongside those of great statesmen such as Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico)

NELSON MANDELA on ETHIOPIA:

"Ethiopia always has a special place in my imagination and the prospect of visiting Ethiopia attracted me more strongly than a trip to France, England and America combined.I felt I would be visiting my own genesis, unearthing the roots of what made me an African." - Long walk to Freedom, the autobiography of Nelson Mandela

Also see: Mandela statue joins ranks of Britain's heroes




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Reloaded: Older Posts Worth Reading

Spent the last true day of summer over on Toronto Island. Now I'm sitting here, slightly sunburned, drinking a glass of raspberry wine (yum) and catching up on my reading. Definitely to check out... Reloaded: a carnival of older posts collected over at One Tenacious Baby Mama. I always like to find new bloggers to read, so this was a real treat.

Reloaded
Sunday 2, 2007

In addition to my post "The Good Life and The Economy" check out:

Mommy On The Floor's "The City On The Hill"

Second Waver's "The Male Gaze, postscript"

Universal Plume's "It's Blog For Loving Yourself Day"

Seminalson's "I'm A Fragile Being: Touch In My Men's Group"

Risa's "You Want Cream In That?"

All About My Vagina's "Please call it 'Sex Safety'"

Darkdaughta's "Race, Class and Everyday Shite", "Western Civilization...A History of Emotional Dysfunction", "My Daughter Wants A Barbie", "Mission Not Accomplished...Sort of"and "Does He Wipe His Track Makin' Ass With Moist Towelettes?"
Reloaded will be happening every Sunday and if you have an old post you'd like to see recirculated, contact Dark Daughta.

BULCHA DEMEKSA: GOVT. DETAINED 107 IN THE PAST 2 MONTHS

By ANITA POWELL
Associated Press
2007-09-06

Ethiopia has detained 107 of its citizens over the past two months without charge, according to an opposition lawmaker who said Wednesday he believed the detainees were suspected of links to a southern insurgency.

Opposition lawmaker Bulcha Demeksa said he compiled the figure of those detained since July in Addis Ababa and southern Ethiopia from reports from family members.

Ethiopian law provides that any one arrested should appear in court within 48 hours and be charged.

Federal police officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday and repeated calls to other government officials went unanswered.

Bulcha said his total of 107 included three staff members of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council in Nekemte, 220 kilometers (137 miles) west of the capital, that the council said were arrested on Aug. 23 and had not been taken to court since.

Hiwot Emishaw, an official of the group, said, "They were allegedly arrested for disseminating papers to incite violence. Our organization is saying they have not been engaged in such an act."

Bulcha told The Associated Press he suspected the detainees have been held on suspicion of belonging to the Oromo Liberation Front, which has been fighting for greater autonomy in southern Ethiopia. One of the detainees, he said, was a 63-year-old man.

The Oromo make up a third of Ethiopia's 77 million people, and have been the center of dissent against the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front.

Bulcha, whose Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement party is a minority in parliament, said that he had complained to government officials, but has not received any response.