Never Again!

On June 6-8 and November 1-4, 2005, following the Ethiopian parliamentary elections in May of that year, hundreds of citizens who protested the theft of that election were killed or seriously wounded by police and security personnel under the exclusive command and control of… Read full post »

It is proper to congratulate President Obama on his re-election to a second term. He put up a masterful campaign to earn the votes of the majority of American voters. Mitt Romney also deserves commendation for a hard fought campaign. In his concession speech Romney was supremely gracious: &ldq… Read full post »

It’s Not Just About an Election  

In September, I expressed my support for President Barack Obama’s re-election. I told my readers that I enthusiastically supported candidate Obama in 2008 but was disappointed by his Administration’s policy in Ethiopia and Africa follow… Read full post »

There are few things more difficult or dangerous than speaking truth to abusers of power. But for Reeyot Alemu, the 31 year-old young Ethiopian heroine of press freedom, no price is high enough to keep her from being “the voice of the voiceless”. She will speak truth to power even… Read full post »

October is international Breast Cancer Awareness month. Throughout the month, public and private organizations in many countries promote programs and activities aimed at breast cancer risk reduction, early detection, treatment and research. It is well-established that breast cancer is one of t… Read full post »

For the past several months, there has been much display of public sorrow and grief in Ethiopia. But not for the millions of invisible Ethiopians who are suffering and dying from starvation, or what the “experts” euphemistically call “acute food insecurity”. These Ethio… Read full post »

Respeaking Truth to the Powerless

For several years now, I have been “speaking truth to power”. In fact, the tag line for my blog page is “Defend Human Rights. Speak Truth to Power.” It is a special phrase which asserts a defiant moral and ethical position against thos… Read full post »

Hailemariam Desa… Read full post »

It seems Ethiopia finally has a new prime minister. Two days ago, the leaders of the ruling EPDRF party approved Hailemariam Desalegn, the current deputy prime minister [DPM], to replace the late Meles Zenawi as party chief and prime minister. But Hailemariam will not be sworn in until early O… Read full post »

Disappointed but… 

Did I enthusiastically support presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008? Absolutely! Do I agree with everything he has done over the past four years as president? No! Has he carried out all of the promises he made in 2008? No! Am I disappointed in President O… Read full post »

It is time to bury the hatchet and move forward in Ethiopia! Nelson Mandela taught that “If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.” I would add that your enemy also becomes your friend and your ally. Historically,… Read full post »

For over two hundred seventy five weeks, without missing a single week, I have written long expository commentaries on the deeds and misdeeds of the man who has been at the helm of power in Ethiopia for over two decades. Meles Zenawi has now passed on. The cause of his death… Read full post »

George Ayittey, one of the foremost African public global intellectuals, metaphorically suggests that Africa’s destiny will be determined by the promise of the “Cheetah Generation” or the paralysis of the “Hippo Generation”. As he explains,

The Cheetah Generation… Read full post »

Those who know where Mr. Meles has gone are not talking; and t… Read full post »

An AWOL “Prime Minister”?

What happens when a “prime minister” goes AWOL? That is, absent without constitutional leave of absence.  Dictator Meles Zenawi has disappeared from public view for several weeks now. He was last seen in public on June 19 at the G20 Summi… Read full post »

In an interview I gave to the Voice of America Amharic program last week, I was asked to comment on the nature of constitutional succession in the event of death, disability, resignation, illness, incapacity or removal from power of the prime minster (PM) in Ethiopia. The answer I gave seems t… Read full post »

President Nelson Mandela turned 94 on July 18, 2012. May he live long with gladness and good health!

All who love and revere President Mandela call him Madiba. He is the ultimate symbol of human love, hope,  courage, charity, endurance, patience and perseverance. He is the personificatio… Read full post »

Free to Speak 

To paraphrase an old expression, “There are two things that are quintessentially important in any society. The first is free speech and I can’t remember the second one.” 

Free speech is the bedrock of all human freedoms. In my view, the value a soci… Read full post »

“Bondage” is the state of being bound by or subjected to some external power or control. When people are bound by debt, they are in “debt bondage”. When they are held in involuntary servitude, they are in “bondage slavery”. Before much of Africa became “indep… Read full post »

Over the past six years, I have written numerous columns defending press freedom in Ethiopia. In a 2009 commentary entitled, “The Art of War on Ethiopia’s Independent Press”, I expressed astonishment over the heavy handed treatment of the free press: &ldq… Read full post »

The Sky is Falling!

Most of my readers know how much I enjoy “bedtime stories”. Recently, I wrote about my favortie bedtime story of Pinocchio in Africa. Ever heard of the story of Chicken Little? One day Chicken Little was scratching around the yard  when something fell/… Read full post »

One People, One Country!

For the past two decades, Ethiopia has been the scene of crimes against humanity and crimes against nature. Now Ethiopian religious leaders say Ethiopia is the scene of crimes against divinity. Christian and Muslim leaders and followers today are standing together and lockin… Read full post »

Over the past few months, I have been penning occasional commentaries in a series I called  “Ethiopia’s transition from dictatorship and democracy”. In my last such commentary, I argued that “on the bridge to democracy, there is often a collision between individual… Read full post »

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition

At the recent 2012 G8 Food Security Summit in Washington, D.C., Abebe Gellaw, a young Washington-based Ethiopian journalist, stood up in the gallery and thunderously proclaimed to dictator Meles Zenawi, “… Food is nothing without&n… Read full post »