City of Addis Ababa housing administration announced the winners of the 20/80 Condominium lottery winners.
Below you can find the full list of the 20/80 Condominium lottery winners and search.
በአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደር የቤቶች አስተዳደር ኤጀንሲ 13ኛ ዙር
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It’s been one year since East Africa’s most populous country – Ethiopia – experienced a political transformation; a change in leadership, after years of social unrest and demonstrations.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn unexpectedly resigned, leading to the appointment of Abiy Ahmed, a representative of the country’s largest ethnic group, the Oromos. The reforms came swiftly.
Abiy packed his cabinet with a record number of women, he promised to address the social tensions among Ethiopia’s multiple ethnic groups, and he forged an historic agreement to end the 20-year standoff with neighbouring Eritrea. Changes came quickly in the media realm as well.
Dozens of new news websites appeared, more than 20 new media publications are now in business, and numerous journalists, jailed and stifled under Hailemariam and his predecessor, have been freed.
But there’s still a long way to go. “We are dealing with a country that is in its own twilight zone. The transition is in many ways very fragile,” says Tsedale Lemma, editor in chief, Addis Standard. “If you wanted to have a request for an interview with the prime minister, you don’t get that opportunity.
We see more and more government officials using the social media which makes them directly accessible to people … However, I’m very disappointed that the distribution of this information is highly choreographed … So it’s very frustrating that we’re limited into the kind of information, government authorities want us to hear.”
Ethiopian media have years of control and censorship to break free of, and outlets there are still working on forming professional bonds to strengthen their industry. “Media houses need to come together, discuss what should be, how can we help the transition without compromising our journalistic principles. If we do that, we can help but, but expecting the media to not take sides, not to advance certain interest is just not realistic,” says Jawar Mohammed, founder of Oromia Media Network.
He says that one year into the Abiy era, “there is still doubt whether the country could make it to democracy or whether it will fall back to dictatorship, or whether it actually will get worse and go into war.” Tamrat Giorgis is the managing editor of the Addis Fortune newspaper, a media mainstay that reported throughout the 2018 revolution and transition. But according to him, it’s a very, delicate, sensitive, highly emotional kind of contestation awaiting this country. “The media has continued to be an instrument of power, the instrumentalisation of the media continues.
When so many things are on the balance … What do people want from the media? They want the media to be a force of verification. A force, a place, a platform for rational discourse,” says Giorgis. Last year, we spoke with four journalists of different media backgrounds about the role social media played in the political transition.
Now, about nine months later, we’ve gone back to those voices to see how the news space is developing in Abiy Ahmed’s Ethiopia.
Source: Youtube.com
Ethiopia’s transition to democracy has hit a rough patch. It needs support from abroad
By FELIX HORNE
The ascent of Dr. Abiy Ahmed to the post of prime minster in Ethiopia a year ago was a rare positive story in a year filled with grim news globally. Within months of taking office, his administration released tens of thousands of political prisoners, made peace with neighboring Eritrea, took positive first steps to ensure free and independent elections, and welcomed previously banned groups back into Ethiopia. It was an astonishing turnaround in a short period.
But the progress has created new challenges. Ethiopia’s rapid transition away from authoritarianism unleashed waves of dissatisfaction and frustration that had been crushed by the ruling party for decades. If Abiy (Ethiopians are generally referred to by their first names) can’t maintain law and order and come up with a plan to address the causes of that anger without repressive measures, his country’s considerable gains will be threatened.
There aren’t many success stories around the world as nations transition from authoritarianism to democracy. Ethiopia has a chance to become a model, but it will need significant help confronting its challenges.
There’s no evidence that Abiy’s administration has a clear strategy for addressing these growing tensions.
As Ethiopians have become less afraid of voicing opinions, long-standing grievances have taken on new intensity. Disputes over access to land and complex questions of identity and administrative boundaries have led to open conflicts and score-settling, often along ethnic lines. Dissatisfaction has also been growing over long-standing questions about who gets to govern and manage the rapid growth of the capital, Addis Ababa. The rising tensions across Ethiopia have led to the displacement of more than2 million people since Abiy took office. And as tensions increase, this number is likely to rise.
Social media, meanwhile, has grown in popularity, and it is awash with hate speech. Firearms are flooding into many parts of the country. And local and federal authorities are losing control over security in many parts of the country. It’s a toxic mix with critical nationwide elections coming up in just over a year.
Progress is hampered by the lack of action from Abiy’s government, which has done little to calm inter-ethnic tensions and remedy the underlying issues. And institutions that could resolve such complex grievances are not yet seen as independent enough to address them in a nonpartisan way, following years of ruling party control. And perhaps most worryingly, there’s no evidence that Abiy’s administration has a clear strategy for addressing these growing tensions.
As Abiy’s popularity has waned, so has support for his reform agenda. There is mounting concern that Ethiopia risks becoming ungovernable if conflict and insecurity continue to rise. Some insist that if that happens a return to authoritarianism is the only way to keep the country together. It is not too late for Abiy to turn this situation around and build on the seeds of democracy he nurtured in his first few months in office. But a plan of corrective action, restoration of law and order, and some confidence-building measures are urgently needed from Abiy’s government.
Many Ethiopians living in the diaspora, including in the Los Angeles area, have backed Abiy’s effort at bringing democracy to Ethiopia. Ethiopians living abroad have raised more than $1 million to help some of those displaced by conflict.
Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute »
Their efforts should be backed by the U.S. and other Western nations who have key long-standing partnerships with Ethiopia, including in the areas of migration, counter-terrorism and economic growth. They need to ensure that Abiy’s experiment with democracy succeeds. Should it fail, there would be dire humanitarian consequences for this country of over 100 million, many of whom protested against bullets and arrests from security forces for years in the hopes of a transition to a more rights-respecting government.
The United States and its allies can best support Ethiopians by continuing to offer praise for the reforms while also asking sometimes difficult questions about how Abiy’s government plans to restore law and order and address underlying grievances, and by determining what role the United States and other allies can play in making this happen. In Abiy, Ethiopia has a leader who, based on available evidence, genuinely wants that transition but may need a helping hand.
The next year is likely to determine how history remembers Abiy — and how democratic principles fare in Ethiopia.
Felix Horne is the senior Ethiopia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-horne-ethiopia-abiy-ahmed-democracy-20190408-story.html
LONDON, April 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Fashion giant PVH, which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, said it will investigate reports that Ethiopian workers who make clothes for their high-street stores routinely face verbal abuse and discrimination and earn as little as 12 cents per hour.
Workers in PVH supplier factories in Ethiopia are also forced to do unpaid overtime and lose pay for drinking water at their work stations, according to the U.S.-based Workers Rights Consortium (WRC), which monitors labour conditions worldwide.
Hiring managers at one factory felt the stomachs of job applicants to see if they were pregnant, a WRC report found.
“We will conduct an immediate and thorough investigation and take appropriate action if any violations are found,” a PVH spokeswoman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation late on Monday in a statement responding to the WRC’s findings.
“PVH takes the allegations raised in the WRC report very seriously, noting, however, that some of the interviews are two years old and the [Hawassa Industrial] Park and its practices have evolved since then.”
PVH helped finance the flagship manufacturing hub in the southern Ethiopian town of Hawassa, one of a dozen such parks.
As labour, raw material and tax costs rise in Asian factories, Ethiopia is seeking to offer a cheaper alternative, attracting big brands such as U.S. chain Gap and Sweden’s H&M.
Results of the 2020 Diversity Visa program popularly known as the DV Lottery or Green Card Lottery, are now available on the US State Department website.
The DV Lottery result portal available starting on May 7th, 2019 at 12pm EDT.
The results will remain on the website until at least September 30, 2020, says the State Department.
Only individuals who participated in the lottery during the open registration period which ran last year between October 3rd and November 6th can expect to be in the drawing.
The Diversity Visa program, which is run by the US Department of State, makes 55,000 permanent resident visas (green cards) available each year though a lottery system to nationals of countries with low numbers of immigrants in the United States. Kenya is among countries whose citizens qualified to participate in DV-2020.
Link for the DV-2020 Entrant Check: https://dvlottery.state.gov.
Due to a heavy number of visitors for the website might not working for the first time. Please try again in a few hours.
The State Department, which runs the program, urges entrants to have their confirmation number, last/family name, and year of birth to check their status.
For DV-2020, nationals of the following countries were ineligible to participate in the program because they have had more than 50,000 natives immigrate to the United States over the last five years:
Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam.
Ethiopian church groups have called on the government to block a planned visit to the country by a US-based company that organises tours for gay people.
Rock-hewn churches at Lalibela
The Toto Tours itinerary includes the ancient churches of Lalibela
Ethiopian church groups have called on the government to block a planned visit to the country by a US-based company that organises tours for gay people.
The groups were particularly angry that the itinerary published by the Toto Tours company includes religious sites.
Many Ethiopians are deeply religious and disapprove of homosexuality, which is also prohibited under the law.
The owner of Toto Tours told the BBC the company had received threats and hate messages on social media.
“We are humble and loving people, we come with no harm in mind, nothing we do is going to harm anybody, and yet we are being threatened with harm,” Dan Ware told the BBC Amharic service.
Mr Ware said he was afraid, and urged the Ethiopian tourism ministry “to be careful”.
“The eyes of the world will be on us when we come and whatever is done to us will reflect tremendously on the Ethiopian culture and its tourism industry.”
The Toto Tours website says it is planning a trip to Ethiopia in October this year. The itinerary includes Bahir Dar, a centre of Christian mysticism, as well as Lalibela, famed for its ancient churches carved out of rock.
Both destinations are in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia.
The president of Selestu Me’et, a coalition of Ethiopian Orthodox church associations, told BBC Amharic that the government “should ban this group from entering the country and visiting the sacred sites”.
“They should not be allowed to leave their mark,” Dereje Negash said. “Our religion condemns this act, and it’s disgraceful.”
He emphasised that homosexuality was illegal in Ethiopia, and said the tour company should not be allowed to “violate the law of the land”.
Mr Negash is also a deacon of the Ethiopian Orthodox church, and has been lobbying against homosexuality in the country.
ADDIS ABABA, June 22 (Reuters) – Ethiopia said there was a failed coup attempt against the head of one of the country’s nine regional states on Saturday, underscoring the challenges facing the new prime minister as he tries to spearhead political reforms amid widespread unrest.
“There was an organised coup attempt in Bahir Dar but it failed,” Negussu Tilahun, spokesman for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, told state TV on Saturday, referring to the regional capital of Amhara state.
He said efforts were under way to apprehend the coup plotters, who he said attempted to oust Ambachew Mekonnen, the regional government head in Amhara, north of the capital Addis Ababa.
It was unclear who might be behind the unrest, and no group had publicly claimed responsibility.
Three residents of Bahir Dar, who asked not to be named because they feared for their safety, said they heard gunfire.
One said it erupted in the town at around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) and continued for some time.
“There is gunfire … roads to the area where we are hearing the gunfire are closed,” the resident told Reuters by phone.
A lecturer at the university told Reuters at around 10:00 p.m. that the gunfire had lasted at least four hours so far.
“I first thought it was just a normal kind of incident and then we began to hear heavy gunfire,” he said.
The third resident, a woman, said she could hear gunfire from her house and that transport in the city had stopped.
The development underscored continuing instability in parts of the Horn of African country. The reformist Abiy took power last year after three years of sporadic, deadly protests forced his predecessor to resign.
Read More on Reuters: https://af.reuters.com/article/ethiopiaNews/idAFL8N23T0MJ
Addis Ababa (AFP) – Ethiopia’s army chief, the president of Amhara state and three other top officials have been killed in two separate attacks.
While the government has said the attacks took place within the context of an attempted coup in Amhara and are possibly linked, the overall motives remain murky.
– What happened? –
On Saturday, what the government has described as a “hit squad” entered a meeting of top Amhara officials and opened fire, killing regional president Ambachew Mekonnen, his top adviser and the state’s attorney general.
A few hours later in Addis Ababa, some 500 kilometres (310) miles away, army chief Seare Mekonnen was shot dead by his bodyguard. A general visiting him was also killed.
The government said he was co-ordinating the response to the “attempted coup” at the time.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office also said it appeared to be a “co-ordinated attack” without giving more details.
– Was it an attempted coup? –
French researcher Gerard Prunier, an Ethiopia expert, dismissed the idea of a coup.
“There was no attempt at a coup d’etat, because a coup d’etat implies significant movement of troops or the seizing of control of strategic points like airports or media.”
International Crisis Group analyst William Davison said there was no sign of an attempt at seizure of national power.
“It was definitely an attack on the Amahra leadership and there may have been an ambition to take control of the regional government, but (the attackers’) intentions are not clear,” he told AFP.
“Hopefully the government will provide more information soon on the incidents and the connection between them.”
– Who is responsible?-
Ethiopian authorities have pinned the blame on Amhara’s security chief Asaminew Tsige, who was gunned down by police while on the run on Monday.
Asaminew was only last year released from almost a decade in prison over a 2009 coup plot, under a mass prisoner amnesty that began under former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and continued under his reformist successor Abiy.
Analysts describe him as a hardline Amhara nationalist who was likely facing removal from his job over efforts to form a militia and rhetoric pushing for territory in neighbouring Tigray to be reclaimed.
He recently appeared in a Facebook video calling for civilians to arm themselves in preparation for attack and observers believe he was on thin ice.
“It is possible that his impending removal, supported by federal government … triggered the fatal attack,” ICG’s Davison wrote in a separate comment on Twitter.
The motives of Seare’s assassin meanwhile, are completely unknown.
– What sparked trouble in Amhara? –
Amhara is the second-largest region in the country, divided along ethnic lines into nine autonomous states — although there are about 80 ethnic groups overall.
Along with the Oromo of neighbouring Oromia, the Amhara spearheaded two years of anti-government protests over economic and political marginalisation which led to the fall of former premier Hailemariam Desalegn.
Abiy has embarked on a series of democratic and economic reforms to the authoritarian one-party state that have been praised across the globe, but at home the changes have unleashed ethnic violence and turmoil as different groups jockey for resources and power.
This has left hundreds of thousands displaced in bloody clashes along the borders of some of the regions in Africa’s second-most populous country, with a population of over 100 million people.
Like other regions in the country, Amhara has seen ethnic clashes, territorial disputes, and bitter political rivalry.
“Abiy Ahmed is very good at foreign diplomacy, and is a very intelligent man, but unfortunately for him, his understanding of Ethiopian politics is not good enough,” said Prunier.
“He has very much under-estimated the power of ethnic nationalism, in particular that of the Amhara.”
He said the Amhara, whose emperors ruled Ethiopia for over a century, struggled to accept the loss of power after the fall of the communist Derg military junta in 1991 which gave way to the powerful EPRDF coalition of four parties that has ruled ever since.
One of these is the Amhara Democratic Party (ADP), and with the EPRDF severely weakened after years of turmoil in the country, its members are finding themselves out-muscled by nationalist parties within the region.
Competition is especially heating up with the promise of democratic elections in 2020.
– What next for Abiy? –
The ambitious 42-year-old is faced with a potentially explosive situation that analysts say could snowball if not handled correctly.
“Obviously Abiy and his government need to restore order and ensure the situation doesn’t escalate, or spread into instability in other sensitive locations,” said Davison.
“Then Abiy, the federal government, and the ruling coalition need to acknowledge the scale of Ethiopia’s political crisis, which is driven partly by major rifts within the EPRDF and its consequent dysfunction.”
“This is the first step to addressing the problems and it will be hard to improve security, and so create conditions for a successful election next year, if progress is not made in this regard.”
Prunier believes the task could be very difficult in the face of a “moribund” EPRDF.
“The parties it is made up of have become minorities among the ethnic groups they are supposed to represent”.
“The situation in Ethiopia is beginning to dangerously resemble that of Yugoslavia before war broke out.”
Ethiopia has planted more than 200 million trees in a day, officials say, in what they believe is a world record.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is leading the project, which aims to counter the effects of deforestation and climate change in the drought-prone country.
Some public offices have been shut down to allow civil servants to take part.
The UN says Ethiopia’s forest coverage declined from 35% of total land in the early 20th Century to a little above 4% in the 2000s.
Mr. Abiy launched the tree-planting exercise as part of his Green Legacy Initiative, which is taking place in 1,000 sites across the country.
Officials were assigned to count the seedlings being planted, reports BBC’s Kalkidan Yibeltal in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Innovation and Technology Getahun Mekuria tweeted that more than 220 million trees have been planted:
The aim is to plant a total of four billion indigenous trees.
Promotional videos have run on state media urging the public to plant and care for trees, our reporter says.
Staff from the United Nations, African Union and foreign embassies in Ethiopia have also been taking part in the exercise.
The current World Record for planting trees in a single day is held by India, which used 800,000 volunteers to plant more than 50 million trees in 2016.
Critics of Mr. Abiy say he is using the campaign to distract the public from the challenges his government is facing, including ethnic conflicts which have forced some 2.5 million people from their homes.
Source: BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-49151523
In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, several major airlines around the world have announced suspension of flights to China. However, Ethiopian Airlines has not followed suit.
Arguably the most influential airline in Africa, Ethiopian Airlines reaffirmed its support to the Chinese government and its people.
It further insists that it will work with all relevant Chinese and Ethiopian agencies to protect passengers and crew members from the disease. This, in full compliance with the guidelines of the International Air Transport Association, W.H.O. and the Centre for Disease Control.
የኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ በኮሮና ቫይረስ ምክንያት ወደ ቻይና የተለያዩ ግዛቶች የሚያደርገዉን በረራ እንደማያቋርጥ አስታወቀ፡፡
Source: CGTN Africa
Ethiopia skips latest US talks with Egypt over dam dispute
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia will skip the latest round of U.S.-brokered talks this week on a disputed Nile dam project with Egypt and Sudan, the country’s water ministry announced Wednesday.
A final deal on the massive Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam had been expected this month, but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in his Ethiopia visit last week that an agreement now might take months as “a great deal of work remains.”
The dispute over what will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam pits Ethiopia’s desire to pull millions out of poverty against Egypt’s concerns over a critical water supply.
Ethiopia will skip the talks in Washington on Thursday and Friday “because the country’s delegation hasn’t concluded its consultation with relevant stakeholders,” the ministry of water, irrigation and energy said on its Facebook page. “The decision has been communicated with the U.S. Treasury secretary.”
The announcement came amid widespread concerns in Ethiopia that its delegation has been pressured by the U.S. to reach a deal on $4.6 billion dam that is nearing completion. The U.S. became involved in the talks after Egypt’s invitation.
Egypt wants the dam to be filled more slowly to reduce restrictions on the flow of the Nile.
Ethiopia says the dam is needed to provide electricity for development. In January it announced that it will start filling the dam, now more than 70% complete, in July at the start of the rainy season.
“There was lots of discomfort recently due to the behavior and changing role of the U.S. among policy makers in Ethiopia,” political analyst Abel Abate Demissie told The Associated Press.
Source: AP
https://apnews.com/4a79f6abe0fb65668c6e67cfb831c89f
Ethiopian Government Statement on the Negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
29 February 2020
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia noted with disappointment the Statement issued by the United States Department of Treasury on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) released on 28 February 2020, following a meeting held without Ethiopia’s participation. Ethiopia had notified Egypt, Sudan, and the US that it needed more time to deliberate on the process.
Ethiopia as the owner of the GERD will commence first filling of the GERD in parallel with the construction of the Dam in accordance with the principles of equitable and reasonable utilization and the causing of no significant harm as provided for under the Agreement on the Declaration of Principles (DoP).
Ethiopia does not accept the characterization that the negotiation on the Guidelines and Rules on the First Filling and Annual Operation of the GERD (Guidelines and Rules) is completed. The “text” reportedly initialed by the Arab Republic of Egypt in Washington D.C. is not the outcome of the negotiation or the technical and legal discussion of the three countries. Ethiopia made it clear that the Guidelines and Rules must be prepared by the three countries. The Countries are yet to address outstanding issues pertaining to the finalization of the Guidelines and Rules.
Ethiopia, with the full knowledge and agreement of Egypt and Sudan has addressed all dam safety related issues during the International Panel of Experts process. Egypt and the Sudan had expressed their appreciation under Principle 8 of the DOP and Ethiopia will continue to implement it in good faith.
Ethiopia is committed to continue its engagement with the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of the Sudan to address the outstanding issues and finalize the Guidelines and Rules on the first filling and annual operation of the GERD.
Source: Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On the first day of March 124 years ago, traditional warriors, farmers and pastoralists as well as women defeated a well-armed Italian army in the northern town of Adwa in Ethiopia. The outcome of this battle ensured Ethiopia’s independence, making it the only African country never to be colonized. Adwa turned Ethiopia into a symbol of freedom for black people globally. It also led to a change of government in Italy.
The town of Adwa is located in Northern Tigray, closer to the southern border of Eritrea. Yeha, the capital of Ethiopia’s ancient empire from 980-400 BC, and the monastery of Aba Garima, which was founded in the sixth century AD, are located near the town.
The battle between Ethiopia and Italy took place in the mountainous terrain of the area.
Adwa still stands as witness to what ordinary Africans can do when they come together.
Adwa still stands as witness to what ordinary Africans can do when they come together as farmers, pastoralists, women and rural people, workers and artists. They are able to score a decisive victory against global colonialist forces. Since the beginning of slavery and colonialism in the 16th century, similar battles had occurred around the world. The outcome of every war was the same. Europeans ended up ruling the native peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Ethiopia stood as the antithesis of the colonial worldview. Regarded as the origin of humankind, it was, according to Harvard professor Ephraim Isaac, “about 10,000 years ago, one single nation or community of a single linguistic group.”
The people spoke an Afrasian language, which is the origin of almost all languages currently spoken in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.
Ethiopians developed the Geez or Ethiopic writing system. From the fourth century, an indigenous Christianity, Orthodox Tewahido, developed through the synthesis of belief in the Ark of the Covenant, the gospel and ancient traditional practices.
The Kebra Nagast, the national epic that elaborates this belief, provided the basis for the emergence of a Solomonic dynasty that incorporates diverse lands and cultures into one country. Muslim immigrants were welcomed and protected by the Christian king in the seventh century.
In the 19th century, the three successive kings, namely Emperor Tewodros of Gondar, Yohannes of Tigrai and Menelik of Shoa, sought to centralize power.
A decade before the Battle of Adwa, European powers had decided the fate of Ethiopia. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-5, 14 European countries divided Africa among themselves. Before the conference, only about 10% of Africa was controlled by Europeans; the remaining 90% was ruled by indigenous and traditional rulers. Italy had a colonial possession over Assab port since 1882. At the Berlin Conference, European colonial powers agreed that Italy could take over Ethiopia as its future colony.
Italy expanded its presence in the Red Sea, an area that had become important since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. With British support, Italy took control of the port city of Massawa in 1885. From Massawa, Italy moved slowly inland, leading to a number of clashes with locals, which culminated in the battle of Adwa. Italy suffered heavy defeats but this didn’t deter them.
Wikimedia Commons
Italy’s expansion across Ethiopia was facilitated by the devastation caused by rinderpest—an infectious viral disease—that killed up to 90% of the country’s livestock. Famine and disease wiped out a third of the population between 1888 and 1892. This period is regarded as Kifu Ken, evil days.
Italy took advantage of the devastation. It sought to divide and conquer Ras Mangasha of Tigray and Nigus Menelik of Shoa. The Italians eventually signed the Treaty of Wuchale with Menelik in May 1889. The treaty was written in Amharic and Italian. The treaty would later be the trigger for the battle of Adwa. Menelik was to discover that the language in the two versions of the treaty differed. The Italian version effectively made Ethiopia Italy’s protectorate, in contrast to the Amharic version.
As the tragic devastation of the Kifu Ken eased, Menelik began preparing for war against the Italians. On Feb. 27 1893, he renounced the Treaty of Wuchale. He then ordered the creation of food depots at major towns along the way to Adwa for the upkeep of his army. The Italians fortified their positions in Tigray, attacking Mangasha at Coatit on Jan. 13 1895.
On Sept. 17 1895, Menelik declared a total mobilization of war against Italy. He called on all Ethiopians to defend their country, family and religion. He ordered every capable person to fight and those incapable to pray for Ethiopia’s victory.
Ethiopians from every tribe, culture and community answered Menelik’s call. Regional leaders from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds responded unanimously creating an army of 100,000. They had inferior weapons but a strong cause.
The first showdown occurred at Amba Alagi on Dec. 7 1895, where a relatively smaller Italian army was wiped out. The second encounter was at Mekelle, where the Italians were stationed behind a strong fort. The Ethiopians surrounded the Italians for two weeks and, upon Empress Tayitu’s advice, cut off the fort’s water supply.
The Italian commander agreed to surrender if they would be allowed to leave with their firearms. Menelik agreed that they could leave the garrison unharmed.
A key leader of the Ethiopian forces was Etege Tayitu Bitul, wife of Emperor Menelik. A fearless strategist she led 6,000 cavalry to the war front
But the Italians remained in their strongholds, fortifying their position at Adigrat and Sauria. Menelik was not in a hurry to attack these forts. After two weeks of inactivity, General Baratieri decided to advance for a surprise attack. It was Mar. 1 1896, or, according to the Ethiopian calendar, Yekatit 23, 1888, the day of Saint George. The priests carried the Tabot, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, a religious icon that symbolises the sanctity of Ethiopia, to the battlefield. The 20,000 Italian and Italian-trained native troops who advanced in three columns fought bravely with their cannons and machine guns before facing a decisive defeat. Causalities were severe on both sides.
One of the key leaders of the Ethiopian forces was Etege Tayitu Bitul, wife of Emperor Menelik. A fearless strategist and brilliant administrator, she led 6,000 cavalry to the war front, and employed traditional music and war chants that motivated the fighting spirit of the warriors.
The Adwa victory led to a change of government in Italy. Due to public protest and failure of his colonial policy, prime minister Francesco Crispi resigned.
Negotiations between the two countries resulted in the Addis Ababa Treaty. One of its key components was the unconditional acceptance of Ethiopian independence and sovereignty.
News of an African victory spread throughout the world.
Adwa turned Ethiopia into the symbol of redemption and freedom for black people. Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, Bob Marley, George Padmore and others drew inspiration from the African victory. The first Afro-Brazilian newspaper was named O Menelick, publishing pride in black identity and African connection with prominent women writers from 1915-1916.
Adwa connected black people with Africa’s ancient glory and future hope, as Marcus Garvey wrote:
Look to Africa for the crowing of a black king. He shall be the redeemer.
The green, yellow and red Ethiopian flag was adopted by several African countries after colonial liberation and a universal national anthem was created for black people.
Yirga Gelaw Woldeyes, Senior Lecturer, Curtin University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
United States Congressman John Garamendi ask United States to not to side on Nile dam negotiation
In the letter sent to Steven T. Mnuchin Secretary of the US. Department of the Treasury Congressman John Garamendi asked the United States to act as an impartial party to the discussions on the GERD and should not pick sides.
He said in the letter “I strongly urge you to proceed with caution and act as an honest, impartial broker in the critical discussions between Ethiopia. Egypt, and Sudan regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam GERD”
Read the full letter from the office of Congressman Garamendi below.
March 5. 2020
The Honorable Steven T. Mnuchin
Secretary of the Treasury
US. Department of the Treasury
Dear Secretary Mnuchin,
I am deeply concerned that your efforts to broker a resolution in water rights discussions between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan are headed toward a dead-end. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Ethiopian American Caucus, I strongly urge you to proceed with caution and act as an honest, impartial broker in the critical discussions between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
As someone who has spent nearly four decades representing communities directly affected by water supply and water rights issues, I can attest that the often fraught and always complicated dynamics of this issue require care till and strategic attention. The implementation of the GERD project has far-reaching economic. political. security. and environmental implications for all of the countries of the Nile Basin.
Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan must come to a solution on the GERD based on the changing hydrology of the Nile river. and these concerns should guide the discussions. You have articulated the goal of your participation in these discussions to be an agreement that “addresses all issues in a balanced and equitable manner.” This goal has not yet been achieved, As you know. Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry withdrew from the latest round of discussions. and has expressed concerns that that the United States is not playing a constructive role in the negotiations.
United States must act as an impartial party to the discussions on the GERD. and should not pick sides. Moreover; U.S. involvement should be informed by extensive consultations with water policy experts, both inside and outside of the U.S. government. I urge you to expand your consultations with water policy experts, and do more to ensure that the concerns of all parties to this discussion are considered. Imposing a political solution to this issue will not work.
JOHN GARAMENDI
Member of Congress
The plane had been carrying humanitarian and medical supplies to help the country fight the spread of coronavirus.
Ethiopia on Saturday admitted it was behind the shooting down of a privately owned Kenyan plane in Somalia earlier this week, resulting in the deaths of all six people on board.
The plane was shot down on Monday by Ethiopian troops protecting a camp in the town of Bardale in southwestern Somalia, the Ethiopian army said in a statement to the African Union (AU).
The aircraft had been carrying humanitarian and medical supplies to help the country fight the spread of coronavirus when it went down in Bardale, about 300km (180 miles) northwest of Somalia’s capital Mogadishu.
The Ethiopian soldiers mistakenly believed the plane was on a “potential suicide mission” because they had not been informed about the “unusual flight” and the aircraft was flying low, the statement said.
“Because of lack of communication and awareness, the aircraft was shot down,” the military said. “The incident … will require mutual collaborative investigation team from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya to further understand the truth.”
Kenya expressed shock over the incident earlier this week, saying the plane’s mission had been to aid Somalia in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
Soldiers from Ethiopia and Kenya are among those deployed to Somalia as part of an AU peacekeeping mission to fight the armed group al-Shabab.
The shooting down of the plane comes amid strained ties between Kenya and Somalia.
Last month, Kenya accused Somali troops of an “unwarranted attack” across its border near Mandera, a northern outpost town, describing the incident as a provocation.
Somalia, meanwhile, has long accused its larger neighbour of meddling in its internal affairs, something Kenya has denied.
Source: AlJazeera.com AlJazeera.com
The three countries have been holding talks for years, without reaching a deal. Those talks came to an acrimonious halt in February when Ethiopia rejected a U.S.-crafted deal and accused the Trump administration of siding with Egypt.
Egypt’s Irrigation Ministry on Saturday accused Ethiopia of bogging down the talks with a new proposal that it called “worrisome.”
“The Ethiopian proposal aims to scrap all the agreements and understandings reached by the three countries during the negotiations spanning nearly a decade,” said ministry spokesman Mohammed el-Sebaei.
Ethiopia wants to begin filling the dam’s reservoir in the coming weeks, but Egypt has raised concerns that filing the reservoir behind the dam too quickly could significantly reduce the amount of Nile water available to Egypt.
After months of deadlock, Sudanese, Egyptian and Ethiopian water and irrigation ministers resumed talks last week, with observers attending from the U.S., the European Union and South Africa, which is the current head of the African Union.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – At least 50 people were killed in Ethiopia’s Oromiya region in protests following the fatal shooting of a popular singer, a regional spokesman said on Wednesday, laying bare splits in the prime minister’s political heartland ahead of next year’s polls.
Musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead on Monday night in what police said was a targeted killing.
Protests reflecting anger at the killing of a popular figure and a sense of political marginalization broke out the next morning in the capital and other towns and cities in the surrounding Oromiya region.
The dead included protesters and members of the security forces, spokesman Getachew Balcha said. Some businesses had also been set on fire.
“We were not prepared for this,” he said.
Police said late on Tuesday that a policeman was also killed in Addis Ababa, and three explosions there had killed and injured an unspecified number of people.
Prominent Oromo opposition leader Bekele Gerba and media mogul Jawar Mohammed were also arrested when Jawar’s bodyguards refused to disarm during a stand-off with police.
Haacaaluu, whose funeral will be held Thursday, provided a soundtrack to a generation of young protesters. Their three years of bloody street demonstrations forced the unprecedented resignation of the previous prime minister and the appointment of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018.
Abiy, Haacaaluu and Jawar are all Oromo, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, which has long complained of being excluded from power.
Jawar was a prominent supporter of Abiy’s appointment but became more openly critical last year. Jawar’s popular gives him the ability to mobilize support quickly across Oromiya and his power base could pose a significant challenge to Abiy’s party in next year’s elections.
Ethiopia’s federal structure means power was traditionally derived by claiming the support of large ethnic voting blocs. Under the previous administration, voting was rarely free or fair and opposition activists were often jailed, torture or driven into exile.
Abiy has allowed much greater political freedoms and promised the next polls will be free and fair. But his new ruling party, based on a pan-Ethiopian vision, faces stiff competition from newly emboldened regional powerbrokers like Jawar determined to stake claims for their people after decades of repression.
166 die during protests after shooting of Ethiopian singer
Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead in Addis Ababa on Monday night, fuelling ethnic tensions
At least 166 people have died during violent demonstrations that roiled Ethiopia in the days following the murder of popular singer Haacaaluu Hundeessaa, police said Saturday.
The singer, a member of the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia’s largest, was shot dead by unknown attackers in Addis Ababa on Monday night, fuelling ethnic tensions threatening the country’s democratic transition.
“In the aftermath of Haacaaluu’s death, 145 civilians and 11 security forces have lost their lives in the unrest in the region,” said Girma Gelam, deputy police commissioner of Oromia region, in a statement on the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.
Another 10 are known to have died in the capital Addis Ababa.
Girma said that a further 167 had “sustained serious injuries” and that 1,084 people had been arrested.
Officials have attributed the deaths to a combination of lethal force by security officers and inter-ethnic violence.
Girma added that the violent unrest had now “completely stopped”.
Haacaaluu’s music gave voice to Oromos’ widespread sense of economic and political marginalisation during years of anti-government protests that swept the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, to power in 2018.
Source: The GuardianThe Guardian
The city of Addis Ababa housing administration announced the winners of the 20/80 and 40/60 Condominium lottery winners.
UPDATED November 15, 2022
Below you can find the full list of the 20/80 and 40/60 Condominium lottery winners and search.
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