KIAB

News & Interview of AEUP President Ato Hailu Shawel with Swedish Radio

This week program starts with news that includes request for Diaspora contribution from Kinijit AEUP Support America (KASA) Chairman Ato Teferi Cherinet. It is followed by archive interview of AEUP President Ato Hailu Shawel with Swedish Diaspora Radio. Program ends with AEUP election campaign message transmitted in Ethiopia. Interview provides latest update on election 2010 situations that includes implementation of the agreement, various concerning issues, upcoming general assembly and more. For those that reside in the Washington Metro area we recommend to stay tuned to this educational & informative program that broadcasts every Sunday, at 3:00 p.m Eastern Standard Time on WZHF 1390 A.M.

Djibouti Port Fees Will Fuel Inflation

Ethiopia pays $700 million annually in port fees to the tiny Red Sea state, which has been its main gateway for imports and exports... Djibouti had said the tariff hike would take effect in mid-August. But then the Ethiopian government said the move had been postponed indefinitely after Djiboutian President Omar Ismail Guelleh visited Addis Ababa in July. New charges had been imposed as of Dec. 1 and is expected to create an inflationary situation. Ethiopia will pay Djibouti a total of $722.5 million for port services annually. Traders are also concerned about a reduction of free storage at the port to eight days from 15 days for import cargoes and to three days from 10 days for export cargoes. Full Text

Ethiopian Airlines Delays Salary Raise For Employees

March 13, 2010 - In its annual staff meeting held at the Addis Ababa Conference Center, Girma Wake, CEO of Ethiopian, told employees of the airline that this was not the right time to make a salary increment, reports Ethiopian Reporter. According to the report, following record profityear, most of the employees had expected to hear news of a salary increment and bonus payment. Full Text

Video - World Indoor, Ethiopia 3 Gold & 2 Bronze

Ethiopian athletes collected three gold medals, ranking Ethiopia second (2nd), next after the United States at the on-going International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) championship in Doha, Qatar. On Sunday, March 14, Kalkidan Gizahenge won women's 1500m while compatriot Gelete Burka got the bronze. On Staurday March 13, record fourth straight world indoor for Meseret Defar who won the women's 3000m. She was joined by Sentayehu Ejegu who won the bronze medal. Also on Saturday Deresse Mekonnen defended his 1500m World Indoor title wining mens's Gold in 1,500m while fellow Ethiopian Mekonnen Gebremedhin came out a respectable 4th. View video of the competitions.

2009 Human Rights Reports: US Department of State

Human rights abuses reported during the year included unlawful killings, torture, beating, abuse and mistreatment of detainees and opposition supporters by security forces, often acting with evident impunity; poor prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention, particularly of suspected sympathizers or members of opposition or insurgent groups; police, administrative and judicial corruption; detention without charge and lengthy pretrial detention. On April 16, Tirch kebele (Dejen woreda, Amahara region) and woreda officials searched the house of Waltenegus Abate, vice chairman of the AEUP in that woreda, without a warrant. Although officials accused him of hiding armaments, none were found. Before leaving, local police reportedly beat his seven- and 12-year-old daughters while inquiring about his whereabouts and fired shots into the air. US State Dept HR 2009 Report

Fighting violence against women in Ethiopia

Semhal Getachew is a women's rights lawyer from Ethiopia. She was one of the speakers at an International Women's Day forum organized in Vancouver. In this interview, she talks about domestic violence, one of the biggest problems facing women in Ethiopia today. Semhal revealed lack of implementation and priority on Women's crucial issues that includes abuse and violence. The women’s' right advocate stressed on the need for improvement and accountability of the regime. Click to Listen

Ethiopia reinstates hefty fines against publishing houses

CPJ - New York, March 10, 2010—The Ethiopian Supreme Court reinstated fines on Monday against four newspaper publishing companies over their coverage of the disputed 2005 national election. The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ethiopian authorities to end their continuing pursuit of politically motivated charges related to the election. Full Text

AEUP Accuses EPRDF of Arrests Against Code of Conduct

The All Ethiopian Unity Party (AEUP) accused the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) of violating the code of conduct, which the parties agreed to follow by arresting more of its members even as others were set free. "Violations of the code of conduct are being committed by members of the EPRDF in Addis Abeba and the [other] regions," said a statement released by the party on March 5, 2010. The violations have been going on for the past two months, since the parties had agreed on the code of conduct ... Full Text

News, Editorial and AEUP Press Release

This week program starts with news that includes a brief update from AEUP Vice President, Ato Assefa H/Wolde on AEUP activities. Next is an article dedicated to Women's International Day, 2010 on Women's Struggle and Strength. It is followed by AEUP press Release on March 6, 2008 that expressed AEUP’s serious concern on the implementation of the election 2010 political party’s code of conduct. It is remembered that the agreement and commitment of each political party on this code of conduct was broadcasted to Ethiopian people using various media outlets at the time.

Geldof and BBC at loggerheads

According to the report, the money - designated for famine relief - was then diverted to support military and political campaigns, including through arms purchases. One of the rebels said that as many as $US95 million ($A105 million) may have been siphoned off, leaving only five per cent of the received funds for relief efforts. Geldof and the World Service’s news and current affairs editor Andrew Whitehead participated in a fiery debate on the World Service last night. He told The Independent that “this is a Ross/Brand moment in BBC standards for me”, arguing that the BBC had been deceived by individuals with “a political axe to grind”. But the BBC has given strong backing to Plaut’s report, which the reporter says was based on a wide range of sources over a nine-month investigation. Full Text