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Meles Zenawi Asres (Ge'ez መለስ ዜናዊ meles zēnāwī, b. May 9, 1955, Adwa) is the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. Note: This article contains special characters. ...
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Download high resolution version (538x650, 95 KB)Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, public domain image from defenselink. ...
List of Heads of Government of Ethiopia (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office) Affiliations:- See also Ethiopia Rulers and Heads of State of Ethiopia List of Presidents of Ethiopia Lists of office-holders ...
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{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 235th day of the year (236th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...
Dr. Negasso Gidada Solon (born 1943) was the President of Ethiopia from 1995 until 2001. ...
Girma Wolde-Giorgis (born December 1924 in Addis Ababa) is the President of Ethiopia. ...
Tamirat Layne (born 1955) is an Ethiopian political figure. ...
This page contains a list of heads of state of Ethiopia since 1974. ...
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is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...
Tamirat Layne (born 1955) is an Ethiopian political figure. ...
Tesfaye Gebre Kidan (1935? - June 2004) was an Ethiopian general who was President of Ethiopia for one week in late May 1991. ...
Dr. Negasso Gidada Solon (born 1943) was the President of Ethiopia from 1995 until 2001. ...
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The landscape of Adwa Adwa (also spelled Adowa, Aduwa, or Adua) is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896. ...
Tigray may refer to a place in Ethiopia or a people in Ethiopia: Tigray Region Tigray Province Tigray-Tigrinya people Category: ...
The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, is the ruling political party of Ethiopia. ...
Azeb Mesfin is a wife of Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. ...
Ethiopian Church in jerusalem The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in transliterated Amharic:Yäityopya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of...
is the 129th day of the year (130th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ...
The landscape of Adwa Adwa (also spelled Adowa, Aduwa, or Adua) is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896. ...
List of Heads of Government of Ethiopia (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office) Affiliations:- See also Ethiopia Rulers and Heads of State of Ethiopia List of Presidents of Ethiopia Lists of office-holders ...
Background Meles Zenawi was born in Adwa, Tigray in Northern Ethiopia, to a Tigrayan father from Adwa, Ethiopia and a mother from Adi Quala, a city in Ethiopia's then Northern most region Eritrea.[1] He received elementary education at the Queen of Sheba School and completed secondary school in 1972 at the General Wingate School in Addis Ababa. He joined the Medical Faculty at the Addis Ababa University (formerly known as Haile Selassie University) where he studied for two years before interrupting his studies in 1974 to join the Tigrayan Peoples' Liberation Front (TPLF). The landscape of Adwa Adwa (also spelled Adowa, Aduwa, or Adua) is a market town in northern Ethiopia, and best known as the community closest to the decisive Battle of Adowa fought in 1896. ...
Tigray may refer to a place in Ethiopia or a people in Ethiopia: Tigray Region Tigray Province Tigray-Tigrinya people Category: ...
Adi Quala is a market town in Eritrea, lying south of Mendefera near the Ethiopian border, over 2,000m above sea level. ...
Secondary school is a term used to describe an institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. ...
For the long-distance runner, see Addis Abebe. ...
Addis Ababa University is a school of higher education in Ethiopia. ...
The Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front, or TPLF, is the core group of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the political party that is leading Ethiopia as of 2005. ...
Rise to power The TPLF was one of many armed groups struggling against the dictator, Colonel Lieutenant Mengistu Hailemariam. Zenawi was elected Leader of the Leadership Committee in 1979 and Leader of the Executive Committee in 1983. He is the chairperson of both the TPLF and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) since the Derg regime was overthrown in 1991. The EPRDF is an alliance of the country's four main political parties coming from the Amhara State, Oromia State, Southern Nations Nationalities & Peoples State and Tigray State. He was president of Ethiopia during the transitional period after the Dergue, during which Eritrea suceded from the country and the experiment of ethnic federalism started. Then in 2000, he was elected to PM in Ethiopia's first ever multi-party elections when his ruling EPRDF party shared parliament seats with the opposition party United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF). He was re-elected to the Prime Minister position for a second term in 2005 following a highly disputed election where some observers accused Meles's government of vote rigging. Mengistu Haile Mariam (born May 21, 1941 [1]) was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991. ...
The Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front, or EPRDF, is the ruling political party of Ethiopia. ...
Derg party badge, c1979. ...
The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (or UEDF) is a coalition of several existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ...
Early support for EPRDF EPRDF's victory was said to be a triumph for the thousands of Ethiopians who were killed, for the millions of Ethiopians who were victims of the country's biggest famine during the Derg regime when some estimates put up to 1.5 million deaths of Ethiopians from famine and the Red Terror. Accordingly, the big support it received from peasants and rural areas helped EPRDF maintain peace and stability. Foreign support was diverse; Western nations, as well as the Arab League, supported the EPRDF rebels against the communist Moscow-supported government (although the TPLF was at the time Marxist) at the height of the Cold War. Mengistu Haile Mariam, in December 2006 convicted of genocide in absentia for his role the Red Terror The Ethiopian Red Terror (1977-1978) was a violent political campaign in Ethiopia undertaken during the leadership of the Derg, a socialist military junta. ...
Marxism is both the theory and the political practice (that is, the praxis) derived from the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
Early opposition to EPRDF There were some misconceptions that the United States helped the EPRDF rebels to get power in Ethiopia and many angry demonstrators in Addis Ababa protested against Herman Cohen, the State Department's chief of African affairs who attended a conference that demonstrators viewed as legitimizing the EPRDF. A New York Times article in 1991 said, The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...
"Demonstrators cursing the Americans ignore two realities. The cold war is over in Africa, and Ethiopia is no longer a focus of superpower rivalry. Otherwise it would have been unthinkable for four contending Marxist groups to turn to Washington for help. The other reality is that Mr. Cohen cannot undo at the conference table what has happened on the battlefield."[2]
Since then, Addis Ababa remained the base of opposition to EPRDF and the most active region for opposition parties who adhered to peaceful movement, while the southern region of Ogaden remained the most active region for armed opposition forces.
Even though EPRDF's success was praised by some of the fronts, ethnicities or Ethiopians who suffered under the Mengistu dictatorship, there was an anti-EPRDF sentiment in Addis Ababa and in Washington D.C. by those who sympathized with DERG regime or held high positions under the previous regime. After the accusations and the demonstrations by Pro-Derg Ethiopians in Washington D.C. in 1991, a U.S. spokesman, Paul B. Henze, made this statement under the auspices of U.S. House of Representatives' Africa Select Committee on Hunger:
- "It is depressing to read of the denunciations of the United States by Ethiopians living in exile in Washington, some of whom served Mengistu in high positions for as long as ten years before departing. The attitude of the American government and people toward Mengistu was consistent. We never liked him and believed he was doing great harm to his country. But we also respected those who tried to serve him and gave them asylum. Their emotional outbursts leave the impression that vocal groups in Washington, see this as a disaster. They sometimes leave the impression they would have preferred to see Mengistu remain in power. They profess rage at U.S. endorsement of EPRDF forces. Also some of the statement we have been hearing from exiles in Washington this week give the impression that Tigreans are not Ethiopians. Peculiar, for Tigre and highland Eritrea were the place where Ethiopian civilization first developed 3,000 years ago."[3]
These were just the beginning of the opposition to Meles Zenawi's EPRDF party after it gained power and more strong opposition was followed.
Interim to Prime Minister Following the defeat and exile of Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991, the July Convention of Nationalities was held. It was the first Ethiopian multinational convention where delegates of various nations and organizations were given fair and equal representation and observed by various international organizations including the United Nations, Organization for African Unity, European Economic Community, and the United States and the United Kingdom. Out of the 24 groups, the ones with the most number of mandates in the council were EPRDF (32), OLF(12), IFLO (3) and OILF(3.) Near the end of the year, Meles Zenawi became the Interim President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995. Meles Zenawi was then elected as Prime Minister and Dr. Negasso Gidada as President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1995 following the first elections, that were heavily boycotted by opposition parties. International Election Observers concluded that had opposition parties contested, they could have won seats. In 2000 Meles was elected Prime Minister after national elections where the main opposition UEDF gained parliamentary seats. Meles was also elected for another term after his party, EPRDF, won the elections, while the top opposition groups, the CUD, UEDF, UEDP and OFDM, gained a lot of votes in the 2005 elections. UN redirects here. ...
Flag of the Organisation of African Unity, later also used by the African Union. ...
The European Community (EC), most important of three European Communities, was originally founded on March 25, 1957 by the signing of the Treaty of Rome under the name of European Economic Community. ...
List of heads of government of Ethiopia (Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office) Affiliations See also Ethiopia Rulers and Heads of State of Ethiopia List of Presidents of Ethiopia Lists of office-holders ...
Dr. Negasso Gidada Solon (born 1943) was the President of Ethiopia from 1995 until 2001. ...
More than 30 other political parties participated in the election. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi was elected into office after the elections, the top favorites being the EPRDF and Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD).[4]. These elections have been the most contested and the most controversial in Ethiopia's short democratic history, with some opposition parties arguing that the election was stolen by the ruling party. Allegations of fraud were especially strong in the rural areas, as the opposition parties won in most urban areas, whereas the EPRDF won mostly in rural districts. The Coalition for Unity and Democracy (Amharic: , commonly referred to by its English abbreviation CUD, or occasionally CDU; its Amharic abbreviation, used in Ethiopia, is Qinijit, in English writing often referred to as Kinijit[1]) is a coalition of four existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for...
Although the aftermath of the election led to riots and demonstrations against the results, particularly in the capital, it received an enormously unproportional and chaotic response by the police forces. Some opposition parties blamed the government for the violence. At the end of the demonstration, six police officers and 193 protesters/rioters were dead showing both the violent nature of the protesters as well as the irresponsible action of the police force. Many protesters and around 75 police officers were also injured.[5] This led to many rounds of accusations between the government and the protesters where the Information Minister Berhan Hailu said the government was "sorry and sad", but blamed the violence on the CUD.[6] The opposition parties have continuously accused the government of a massacre. EU election observers concluded the election failed to meet international standards for a free and fair elections while the Carter Center concluded the election was fair but with many irregularities and a lot of intimidation by both sides especially the government.[7][8] Meanwhile CUD opposition members continued to accuse the ruling party of fraud. However some accusations of fraud coming from opposition parties were very strange. For instance, a day before the final count of votes in Addis Ababa, the CUD opposition party accused the ruling party of fraud and decided not to accept the result in Addis Ababa. But it ended up that the CUD party was actually refusing its own victory, since the vote count showed that the CUD won 100% of the votes in Addis Ababa.[9] According to critics, this strange event led to speculations that the main opposition party, CUD, had already planned not to accept the result no matter what, in order to paint a bad image of Meles's ruling party, the elections and gain the support of the international community for the predestined failure of the election.[10]
In an interview, the United States AID director repeated that the Carter Center understands that the ruling party (EPRDF) won the election and most of his peers confirm that as well. The USAID director also blamed some EU observers, accused them of bias and blamed them for favoring the opposition. He said some European observers practiced out of their jobs and went "over board in encouraging the opposition and making them think that somehow they had won the election."[11] He concluded that American government never believed the opposition won the election. [12]
Also an inquiry on the violence claimed the property damage caused by the rioters and protesters in Addis Ababa and other cities totaled to 4.45 million Ethiopian Birr, including 190 damaged buses and 44 cars as police officers tried to restrain the rioters. The SBS journalist, Olivia Rousset, indicated that the government used too much force to calm the rioters. She also said that the "stone-throwing rioters" tried to take the guns from the security forces. [13] Some EU observers have also shown their discontent at the post election violence, suggested that the police response was unproportional and blamed the government. In a rare response, Meles Zenawi said that he was disappointed that "some people have misunderstood the nature of the problem and misinterpreted it." And on the final report, the independent commission concluded that the aggressive steps taken by the police force was to "avoid large scale violence and to protect the constitution" and that the reason behind the riotings might have been the protestors' unfamiliarity with the "process of democratization" e.g., respecting election results. However, the commission also acknowledged that there were serious errors that needed to be addressed regarding the capabilities of the Ethiopian Security forces to control riots.[14] However, three members of the Inquiry Commission have defected and given their testimonies to members of the U.S. Congress and the International Media. The former Supreme Court Judge of the Southern Ethiopian nations and nationalities, Judge Frehiwot Samuel, who was also Chairman of the Inquiry Commission, and his Deputy, Judge Wolde-Michael Meshesha, have fled Ethiopia with a video and final report of the Commission’s findings that shows the commission deciding through eight to two vote, that the government has used excessive force and that there were grave human rights violations. [15] Some leaders including UK's Tony Blair condemned the violence but repeated that Meles's ruling party "won the election."[16] Other European organizations also praised the elections saying it was a "free and fair multi-party election." [17]So far, most of the US representatives have not changed their outlook and the US government supports the Ethiopian government in both military and aid assistance. Other analysts also described progress in Ethiopia's first multi-party parliament in history.[18] For other uses, see Birr (disambiguation). ...
Democratization (British English: Democratisation) is the transition from an authoritarian or a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. ...
Meanwhile many international media outlets continued to display the post election bloodshed, followed by criticism of Meles's ruling party. At the same time, some people implied that opposition members were planning to use violence or provoke it as a means to gain power.[19] In fact, various events were said to show that many opposition supporters, even in universities, try to provoke the police hoping that the security forces will overreact and create chaos. [20] About the violence U.S. state department reports said some opposition supporters were engaged in a peaceful movement to "create greater democratic space" but some opposition supporters were "demonstrating to overthrow the government" and were engaged in "violent protests." [21][22] Other reaction to the election issue was condemnation of the EU election observers. An Irish committee said "the situation in Ethiopia had not been helped by inaccurate leaks from the EU election monitoring body which led the opposition to wrongly believe they had been cheated of victory."[23]
The above article lacks to demonstrate the fact that the EPRDF regime has both tastes. EPRDF has done notable improvements in different areas of reform. Allowing the different nations and nationalities of Ethiopia to use their first language as the medium of instruction for primary education and regional working language (With its limitations), The transformation to a free market economic system (With its limitation of immature liberalization in my opinion), introduction of a "virtual" multi-party election system (which resulted in the killings of hundreds of innocent civilians by government forces) and a lot more. The truth seems that the EPRDF is better than the previous Military regime yet clearly fails to be reflective of its claimed democratic structure. The fact is in the 18 years of the EPRDF regime a single person runs the nation which is four terms and two years taking a US as a benchmark.
Domestic policy
Structural reforms
Land and agriculture The state cannot unlawfully use private lands, but the government has a “custodian” like policy where it guards the rural farm lands from randomly being sold by its owning farmers. Generally in circumstances of natural disasters such as drought or bad weather, farmers might have no choice but to sell their land. To solve this problem, the government believes it should not allow the random buying and selling of land. The government states that some parts of its agriculture sector are where Ethiopia has comparative advantage from other countries and Ethiopia can not afford the dropping of output from that sector and the sector needs monitoring & support.[24]
Accordingly, the government states that it should focus on its agriculture sector while it is developing its industrial sector simultaneously, so that it can balance everything once the other sectors are developed and increase productivity. Thus it believes privatization would be employed in the future but not presently. It has also increased the nation's development capacity.[25] The leadership has transformed its construction sector leading to a rare construction boom since the late 1990s until cement and other shortages caused it to slow down.
Since this approach to land ownership is unconventional (especially to western nations) and very controversial, opposition political parties have used this to their advantage during elections. Yet the government seems unfaltering and states that flexibility is needed to address the lack of industrial development in the country despite accusations from the opposition.[26]
In April 2008, the country finalized its first commodity exchange, the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX), to "revolutionalize the country's backward and inefficient marketing system" according to Meles Zenawi.[27]
Multi-party system Meles Zenawi is the first Ethiopian leader in Ethiopian history to develop a multi-party system of governance, with a multi-party parliament. [28] Though the country had its national elections first in 1995 under Meles, Ethiopia established a multi-party representative government in 2000 after the election of the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) opposition party. Alongside the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), the UEDF and its leaders Dr. Merera Gudina and Dr. Beyene Petros became the most critical politicians inside Ethiopia. Other critical top opposition policians included Bulcha Demeksa,Lidetu Ayalew, Hailu Shawel, Birtukan Mideksa, Temesgen Zewdie and Hailu Araya. Most opposition politicians are known for openly displaying deep hatred for the ruling party, with some labeling Meles as a "dictator" and others calling for Meles Zenawi's resignation.[29] After the disputed 2005 national elections, dozens of opposition parties, led by the CUD, UEDP-Medhin, UEDF and Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), control almost one third of the Ethiopian parliament seats. [30] The Parliament of Ethiopia consists of two chambers: The House of Federation (Upper Chamber) The House of Peoples Representatives (Lower Chamber) This politics-related article is a stub. ...
The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (or UEDF) is a coalition of several existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ...
The Coalition for Unity and Democracy (Amharic: , commonly referred to by its English abbreviation CUD, or occasionally CDU; its Amharic abbreviation, used in Ethiopia, is Qinijit, in English writing often referred to as Kinijit[1]) is a coalition of four existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for...
Hailu Shawel (born 1936) is an Ethiopian engineer and the chairman of the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CDU). ...
The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia. ...
Ethnic federalism The Meles Zenawi government created an ethnic based federalism which has come under attack by some Ethiopian opposition parties. However some analysts believe it was not a choice but it was the only solution to the century old oppression under centralist governments and one ethnic domination of culture, language, politics and economy - said to be controlled by the Amhara ethnic group. It was also a policy to give back the colonized nationalities their lands and shape it back to the pre-colonization stage which would empower all ethnicities and develop their cultures & languages. Also it was widely seen as a solution to the demand of governance preferred by various Ethiopian groups, liberation fronts and parties during the July Convention of Nationalities in 1991. In response to critics who say ethnic federalism can bring divisions, Meles Zenawi said this policy serves many interests including equitable distribution of wealth, empowerment of ethnicities, and since this was how the nationalities were before colonization ethnicity was the language they understood best. He said the "ethnic basis of Ethiopia's democracy stemmed from the government's fight against poverty and the need for an equitable distribution of the nation s wealth: peasants must be enabled to make their own decisions in terms of their own culture. Power must be devolved to them in ways that they understand, and they understand ethnicity.... Other approaches to development had been hegemonic and exploitative and had led to internecine strife and civil war." Amhara (አማራ) may refer to: Amhara, an ethnic group of Ethiopia. ...
Meles Zenawi claimed that there are two basic views about ethnic federalism: "if you think it is a threat, it will be; if you think it a benefit, then it will be." Making this statement, he concludes that "ethnicity will become less an issue as the economy grows and Ethiopia's process of assimilation does its job."[31]
Opposition to ethnic federalism Meles Zenawi's policy of Ethnic federalism has been attacked by two groups of the opposition, often associated to different ethnicities. The opposition parties like CUD, and others that are dominated by ethnic Amhara and Gurage ethnic group politicians accuse Meles Zenawi for harming the unity of Ethiopia. They say Meles Zenawi's government is similar to the renowned apartheid regime of South Africa because it decentralized government power based on ethncity. In contrast, peaceful opposition parties like Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM), Oromo National Congress (renamed OPC) as well as armed groups like the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) accuse Meles Zenawi's government for not decentralizing the government more and for not employing deeper ethnic federalism. Gurage is an ethnic group in Ethiopia. ...
The Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement is a political party in Ethiopia. ...
The Oromo National Congress is a political party in Ethiopia. ...
OLF symbol The Oromo Liberation Front (Oromo: Adda Bilisummaa Oromoo, Amharic: ኦሮሞ á¡ áŠáŒ½áŠá‰µá¡ áŒáŠ•á‰£áˆ), or OLF, is an organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to promote self-determination for the Oromo people against what they call Abyssinian colonial rule. It has been designated a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government. ...
Flag of the ONLF Territories inhabited by ethnic Somalis The Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) (Amharic: )(Somali: Jahbadda Wadaniga Xoreenta Ogadenia, JWXO), is a separatist rebel group fighting to make the region of Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia an independent state. ...
Some observers say that these two deeply contrasting opinions of the two sides of the opposition parties show that Meles Zenawi's government's policy is favorable because it touches the midpoint of two radical ideologies of extreme Cultural assimilation and extreme Ethnic nationalism. However, both sides of the opposition ideologies have gained a lot of momentum. Those who reject ethnic federalism and seek assimilation have dominated the peaceful opposition movement and won a lot of seats in parliament, though they complain that Meles Zenawi's government rigged the 2005 elections. At the same time, those who want deeper ethnic federalism up to secession have dominated the armed movement and make up most of the insurgencies. Both opposition have vocal support in the Ethiopian Diaspora: the CUD most notably in Washington D.C. and the OLF and ONLF most notably in Minnesota. Ethnic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives political legitimacy from historical cultural or hereditary groupings (ethnicities); the underlying assumption is that ethnicities should be politically distinct. ...
For other uses, see Secession (disambiguation). ...
An insurgency is an armed rebellion by any irregular armed force that rises up against an established authority, government, administration or occupation. ...
For other uses, see Diaspora (disambiguation). ...
Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...
Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Largest metro area Minneapolis-St. ...
Equity and growth Throughout its operation, the government and the Prime Minister have advocated "pro-poor" domestic policies. According to World Bank's East African leadership, the Ethiopian government ranks number one in Africa on spending as a share of GDP going to Pro-poor sectors.[32] However critics say that the rich is getting richer as the poor is getting poorer just like other capitalist economies in the West.
The administration has also created self-governing regional development organizations like Amhara Development Association,[33] Tigray Development Association,[34] Oromia Developmemt Association and many others.[35]
Even though Meles Zenawi's administration inherited one of the worst, if not the lowest, economies in the world, the country's economy has been growing steadily since he took office. During the last three years, Ethiopia's GDP has shown a rate of growth of about 9 percent a year. The country was also in the top category for “policies of social inclusion and equity”, in the domain of “economic management” and Ethiopia did exceptionally well in the domain of “structural policies” and “public sector management and institutions. Gross primary enrollment rates, a standard indicator of investment in the poor, went up to 93 percent in 2004 from 72 percent in 1990, contributing to a rise in literacy rates from 50 percent in 1997 to 65 percent in 2002.[36] Still some opposition parties in the Ethiopian parliament doubted the economic growth. During the House's 31st regular session where the parliament reserved for its monthly "Opposition Day," some opposition MPs condemned the ruling party, pointing to double-digit inflation as a sign of the government's economic failures.[37] African Development Bank and the Paris-based OECD Development Center stated that Ethiopia has become one of the fastest growing countries in Africa.[38]
Water One of the most important resource of the country, water (Nile), has also been the focus of Meles's administration. Due to the potential conflict that can occur between Egypt and Ethiopia, Meles's EPRDF-led government have chosen to initiate and support programs that would benefit all sides of the Nile. So far many small scale Dams have been constructed in Ethiopia but large dams have been rare because of financial capabilities. Two of the big projects include the Tekeze hydro-electric power project in Tigray and the largest hydroelectric plant in Ethiopia located in Achefer Woreda of the Amhara State [39] [40] Yet the building of the Tekeze power project has dominated the media since it was built in the Tigray region, the home state of Meles. The country is planning to export electricity to Sudan and Djibouti by 2010. [41]
Freedom of religion Even though Muslims and Orthodox Christians lived together for many centuries, complete religious freedom didn't arrive until 1991. Many of the issues that existed before; for example, pre-1974 state religion followed by seizure of the Church by 74-91 government, the state sponsored persecution of non-Orthodox Christians, the 2nd class citizenship of Ethiopian Muslims, landownership & similar issues for non-Orthodox religions have subsided for the most part. Currently there are between 12-15 million Protestant Christians (see also: Pentay) as well as other new non-Orthodox Christians. Even though there was one big religious war in Ethiopia many centuries ago, after that, clashes have been very rare with the domination of Orthodox. In contrast there has been more violence lately since there is no state religion (Orthodox) guardian-like control of other religions in Ethiopia thus creating a rise in religious clashes. Some of these are causes because of inability to share lands equally as well as due to aggressive evangelism and conversion which some relate to Western vs Arab proxy politics. Still most analysts say that since such equality and full religious freedom didn't exist before, the infrequent clashes might occur until the culture of tolerance grows between all old/new religions and denominations. Pentay or Pentay is a slang term widely used in modern Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (nor the Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church). ...
Press freedom Meles Zenawi's administration was the first to aggressively push the development of private media and introduce free press in Ethiopia.[42][43][44][45][46][47] However, he has been under fire lately for some website censorship and imprisonment of journalists.[48]Despite the accusations, the banned media outlets were cited saying "a certain population should be quarantined" and inciting "violence among different ethnic groups in the country," including using hate-filled text messages on mobile phones asking people to attack ethnic groups.[49][50] Some sources blame certain websites & papers who have been caught inciting violence and asking for bombings on companies.[51] A couple of them have even been sued for provoking uprising.[52] Others claim that the supporters of the previous dictatorship government are trying to use the new opportunity to freely express themselves by defaming the current government officials. [53] But the government critics say that the ruling party is not willing to be criticised. Even though the number of private media outlets are lower than during Meles Zenawi's first term, there are still several of them currently. For what is believed to be the first time in the Ethiopia's history, the government has granted licences to two domestic private commercial FM radio operators.[54][55]
Language policy Meles Zenawi's government introduced a diverse but controversial policy of decentralization of the language system in Ethiopia. All Ethiopians are taught using their mother tongue and they are encouraged to develop their own language. Some critics have said that this policy harms the unity and national identity of the country. While others have supported and praised the policy. Currently, the majority ethnicities in every regional state have their lingua as their official state language. For instance, Afaan Oromo is the official language of the Oromia regional state.
Qubee Afaan Oromoo Meles Zenawi was the highest political figure in the 20th century to help advance Qubee Afaan Oromo in Ethiopia.In addition to the use of Qubee, the Oromo language was banned in Ethiopia during the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie I. Particularly, two years after Meles Zenawi’s new government, Oromo historians state that eight million copies of dozens of textbooks were published in Afaan Oromo and “in 1993 and 1994 alone more material was produced in Afaan Oromoo than from 1880 to 1992.” [56] [57] Qubee was officially adopted in Ethiopia in 1991. Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is a religious symbol in the Rastafarian movement. ...
According to Oromo historians, there was “suppression and replacement” of Oromo language in Ethiopia before Meles Zenawi’s government arrived because previous governments wanted to enforce "homogeneous nation-states.” [58] Though the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), then part of the transitional government, contributed to the progress of the Oromo language, most of the current development of Qubee and Afaan Oromo language inside Ethiopia is attributed to the policies of the Oromo Peoples Democratic Organization (OPDO) sub-party of Meles Zenawi’s EPRDF ruling party. Presently, Afaan Oromo is taught in every school of Oromia region. According to historians depicting the previous difficulties, after Emperor Haile Selassie I was overthrown, the 1980s government of Mengistu Haile Mariam made teaching Afaan Oromo illegal at any level in its school system. [59] Look up Homogeneous in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Oromo flag The land of the Oromo Nation is known as Oromia (sometimes spelled Oromiya). ...
Mengistu Haile Mariam (IPA: //) (born 1937[3][4]) was the most prominent officer of the Derg, the military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the president of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. ...
Recently, Afaan Oromo has increasingly become the instructional medium for primary and junior secondary schools throughout the region and its administrative zones.
Other To bring order and transparency to the agricultural sector, the country started its first market exchange program and company called the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECEX.)[60] Other than the dominant coffee industry, the government has made the floriculture industry another sector where Ethiopia can have comparative advantage. Thus Various Kenyan investors have already moved to Ethiopia and the industry seems to be growing rapidly. [61][62] According to the Oromia Investment Commission, foreign investors are taking advantage of the new favorable investment opportunity in the Sugar sector, where the most recent being a $7.5 Billion investment.[63] Ethiopia also depends on livestock exports as well. Issues relating to wild life conservation has been tackled aggressively under Meles Zenawi. World Wildlife Fund also praised Ethiopian government's progress saying "Ethiopia has set a fine example for other countries to emulate,"[64] Critics say that the government has not set up workable forest conservation programme. Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ...
Other issues promoted by Meles Zenawi has been economic development in "green fashion." Discussing during an annual meeting under the Clinton Global Initiative in September 2007, Meles debated with Tony Blair and other world leaders about global warming and trade.[65][66] According to Reuters,Meles stated the need for a cap and trade mechanism and for different strategies towards Africa, since it did not contribute as much towards global warming.[67] The Clinton Global Initiative is a project of the non-profit William J. Clinton Foundation and was inaugurated on 15 September 2005 in New York, United States, under the chairmanship of former president Bill Clinton. ...
For other people of the same name, see Tony Blair (disambiguation) Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born May 6, 1953)[1] is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the Labour Party, and Member of Parliament for the constituency...
Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pronounced is known as a financial market data provider and a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. ...
Some recent issues have been the shortage of cement to sustain the construction boom in the country. However foreign and native investors, including the recent investment on a US$5 billion cement factory in Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, are an attempt to stabilize the situation.[68] Still the brief severe shortage that occurred in 2005 was blamed on Meles Zenawi's policies that were alleged to ignore urban development. Other recent development in the country included a first car factory in Ethiopia that assemble cars and to sell for local- and export-markets as well as cars that use Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Bus manufacturing in Mek'ele and Taxis manufacturing in Modjo city, Oromia state. [69][70][71][72] But the drastic development of most sectors in Ethiopia; including textiles, leather, garments, agriculture, beverages, construction and others have made Ethiopia to be labeled the "East African land of opportunity" by the World Investment News."[73] Misraq Gojjam (or East Gojjam) is a Zone in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. ...
Map of Ethiopia highlighting the Amhara region. ...
45 kg LPG cylinders Liquefied petroleum gas (also called LPG, LP Gas, or autogas) is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used as a fuel in heating appliances and vehicles, and increasingly replacing chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol propellant and a refrigerant to reduce damage to the ozone layer. ...
Mekelē is capital of the Tigray region of Ethiopia and home to the headquarters of the UNMEE. It is located some 650 km north of the capital, Addis Ababa. ...
Modjo is a french house/pop musical duo made up of producer Romain Tranchart and vocalist Yann Destagnol (aka Yann Destal). ...
While some economists state[citation needed] that Ethiopia has not had significant economic growth under Zenawi, several observers continued to praise the economic growth. African Development Bank claimed that Ethiopia "is registering a remarkable economic growth in recent years." [74]However various social concerns exist and the Ethiopian section of VOA news on its Amharic language program has reported about problems facing farmers and growers who often get less profit due to the market exploitation of city brokers and urban businessmen. Flower growers from other countries were also said to be relocating to Ethiopia. [75] Ethiopia recently became Africa’s second largest flower exporter after Kenya, with its export earnings growing by 500 per cent over the past year.[76] Voice of America logo Voice of America (VOA) is the official international radio and television broadcasting service of the United States federal government. ...
On autonomy (also Ethnic federalism) The constitution allows substantial regional autonomy and any region has the right to secede from the country. This area of the constitution was originally amended by the current government to satisfy the interests of ethnic based states in Ethiopia especially Oromia and one of its historical leaders, OLF, as well as to give free will to TPLF and other liberation fronts in the country. After centuries of centralization, the TPLF-led government used this policy to unite all Ethiopian states voluntarily instead of by force. This TPLF/EPRDF ideology of voluntary unity resulted in the secession[citation needed] of the former Ethiopian province, Eritrea, after a referendum was held in 1993 before the Ethiopian constitution was adopted. Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: A referendum (plural referendums or referenda), ballot question, or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, originally a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...
This policy of self-determination has been opposed by some political parties, particularly CUD, which wants to limit regional autonomy and outlaw the rights of states to secede. However, this CUD policy is casually opposed by the TPLF and largely against the interests of by OPDO, SEPDF, and OFDM political parties and historically opposed by OLF and ONLF rebel groups.[77]
Education policies
Teaching history Meles Zenawi’s TPLF sub-party shares common interest with the rest of liberation fronts in the way history is taught in Ethiopian schools. Very similar to how African-American history is taught in the United States, the government have allowed schools to teach the atrocities caused by elite groups that used monarchical system to exploit the majority Ethiopians for decades and treat them as second class citizens. Thus the general reasoning for adopting this type of curriculum is so as to not repeat history. Image File history File links Merge-arrows. ...
Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa, with one of the longest recorded histories in the world. ...
Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. ...
Indeed, many[who?] have accused Meles Zenawi of provoking anti-Amhara teaching in schools but most[who?] allies of the government oppose this accusation and favor the introduction of the real and at times dark history of 19th century Ethiopia where slavery and oppression subsisted. Before multi-party election was held, OFDM, an opposition party representing the ethnic Oromos declared several years ago that, Amhara (Amharic: አማራ, Geez: አáˆáˆáˆ«) is an ethnic group in the central highlands of Ethiopia, numbering about 23 million, making up 30. ...
OFDM believes that there will be better harmony among the country’s diverse peoples and cultures, if young Ethiopians were taught the true and genuine history of the country in general and that of the Southern regions and peoples in particular, which is a history of conquests, subjugation and grinding poverty.[cite this quote] Accordingly, most Ethiopians both from the southern regional states and the northern regional states hold the common knowledge that both southerners and northern people (including Amharas) “were cut off from the world” and exploited by the Emperors and their close Shoan relatives and friends who were the only beneficiaries and lived in the central, near Addis Ababa city area. Consequently, this progressive form of curriculum is carried out in some colleges.[78][not in citation given] Shoan (正安) was a Japanese era name after Einin and before Kengen and spanned from 1299 to 1302. ...
School expansion Since the 1990s Ethiopia has experienced more increase of schools and colleges despite still not covering all regions.[79][80] Millions of money (ETB) continue to be spent on building educational institutions and many new schools have been constructed since Meles Zenawi took office. However, the government's focus on the agricultural sector has slowed the growth of jobs in the urban areas of Ethiopia which is also reflected by the anger of the urban population and its students as well as the landslide victory of opposition parties in these areas during the recent national election.[81] The statistics showed that in 1991 only 27 percent of Ethiopian children attended school, but in 2004 gross enrollment rate was up to 77 percent and it reached 85 percent in November 2006.[82] Image File history File links Merge-arrow. ...
Education in Ethiopia has been dominated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church for many centuries until secular education was adopted in the early 1900s. ...
As of 2005, there were 13,500 elementary schools and 550 secondary schools. A majority of them are newly constructed and the secondary schools are connected by satellite in a new programme called School-Net.[83]
More colleges and Universities have been constructed and/or established during the last few years than in whole history of Ethiopia. These colleges and Universities include Adama University (Oromia), Jimma University (started earlier), Mekelle University, Debub University, Bahir Dar (Amhara state) University and others.[84][85] Also most of the older colleges have added various new departments, including Faculties of Law, Business etc. Other new growing colleges include Jijiga (Somali state) University, institutions in Debre Markos, Semera (Afar), Aksum, Tepi, Nekemte (Oromia), Kombolcha (Amhara State), Dire Dawa and in Debre Birhan. Wollega University in the Oromia state is the most recently finished university in Ethiopia with various modern facilities, with 20 new fields of study [86] and the new Wolaita Soddo University started taking in students in February 2007.[87][88] Including the new Axum University, 12 new universities are starting operation in 2007 [89] Other fairly new universities like Dilla University in the Bale Zone of Oromia launched new facilities, expanded laboratories for research and initiated new post-graduate studies. [90] [91] Adama University (formerly known as Nazareth Technical College, and later Adama Technical Teachers College) is a university on the outskirts of Adama, Ethiopia. ...
Jimma University is an institution of higher education located in Jimma, Ethiopia. ...
Mekelle University is located in Northern Ethiopia (Mekelle or Mekele, Tigray), at a distance of 783 kilometers from the Ethiopian capital city, Addis Ababa. ...
Debub University (South University), also known as Hawassa University, is a university in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region of Ethiopia. ...
In the last decade, more than 30 new private colleges & universities have been created, including Unity college. The University Capacity Building Program (UCBP) is a leading project in this sector.[92]
Women's rights In a reflection of the gender equal rights valued since TPLF's battle days where northern states Tigrean and some Amhara women soldiers fought together with men against the Derg dictatorship, Meles Zenawi's administration, along with First Lady Azeb Mesfin, have sternly advocated for more equal rights & opportunities for women in Ethiopia. Despite the country having a rich history of respected queens, rulers & empresses, Meles inherited another unfavorable national conditions were Ethiopian women did not have equality or basic rights. In contrast, since his administration began, there have been a steady growth of women's organizations, women activists, employment opportunities and a forum where women discuss backward cultural issues on national television.[93] In their long fight against destructive traditional practices, HIV transmission, early marriage, women legal rights, unfair public policies, job opportunity and other issues, various organizations continue to work with the government including the Ethiopian Women’s Lawyers Association (EWLA), Network of Ethiopian Women's Associations, the Ethiopia Media Women’s Association (MWA), the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Women in self employment (WISE), Ethiopian Medical Women's Association (EMWA), the Women’s Association of Tigray (WAT), Kembatti Mentti Gezzima-tope (KMG), Ethiopian Nurse Midwives Association(ENA) and others.[94] The Ethiopian leadership has made significant advances to protect women's rights in recent years: it has its first Minister of Women's Affairs and overhauled legislation on rape, female genital mutilation and other offences. [95] Derg party badge, c1979. ...
This article is about the use of the term first lady internationally. ...
Azeb Mesfin is a wife of Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. ...
Foreign policies
Egypt Meles Zenawi, just like previous Ethiopian governments wants Ethiopia to have a larger share of the Nile River. In order to end its decade long dependency on foreign aid Ethiopia needs to develop its irrigation system. The country has already lost millions of people to poverty due to its inability to use the Nile water which 85% of its water runs through Ethiopia.
With the exception of Eritrea (through which the Nile doesn't stream), all East African nations have developed their economies enough to finance a greater use of the Nile River. However, due to the 1929 Blue Nile accords between Egypt and England as well as other agreements, Ethiopia is not allowed such use of its Nile river water. But in contrast to his predecessor, Meles Zenawi and his political party favors diplomatic solutions and accommodating ways to solve this stalemate since Egypt will also fall into poverty without the Nile resources.[96]
Eritrea Just like Emperor Haile Selassie and Mengistu Haile Mariam, Meles Zenawi and his administration preferred a united but federal nation that included the Eritrean state. However, since Zenawi's TPLF fought together with EPLF, Zenawi originally left the decision of independence to the Eritrean citizens. Also according to Time magazine's 1991 analyzes, Zenawi and the TPLF: Haile Selassie Haile Selassie (Power of Trinity) (July 23, 1892 – August 27, 1975) was the last Emperor (1930–1936; 1941–1974) of Ethiopia, and is a religious symbol in the Rastafarian movement. ...
Mengistu Haile Mariam (IPA: //) (born 1937[3][4]) was the most prominent officer of the Derg, the military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the president of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. ...
National motto: None Official languages Tigrigna, Arabic and English Capital Asmara President Isaias Afewerki Area - Total - % water Ranked 96th 121,320 km² Negligible Population - Total (2002) - Density Ranked 118th 4,298,269 37/km² Independence - Limited - Fully From Ethiopia May 29, 1991 May 24, 1993 Currency Nakfa Time zone UTC...
- endorsed the right of the Eritreans to their referendum but wants a unified Ethiopia and so hoped that the vote, if held, goes against secession.[97]
However after the EPLF secured their borders when Mengistu's regime fell and after the majority of Eritreans voted for independence on May 24, 1993, Isaias Afewerki Isaias became the new leader of the youngest nation in Africa after Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia. Many people in Meles Zenawi's Ethiopian government and the opposition parties were angry over the decision to grant Eritrea its independence in 1993. [98] is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ...
U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki shake hands in Eritrea Isaias Afewerki (born 2 February 1945) is the first president of Eritrea. ...
But despite working together against the Derg regime, Meles and Issaias' positive relationship turned sour after Meles succumbed to US pressure to deliver elections within a year and Issaias abandoned his original promise to create a transitional government in the early 1990s..[99] The Eritrean-Ethiopian War began in May 1998.[100] After the Ethiopian breach of the western front and subsequent capture of parts of western Eritrea, the Ethiopian President Negaso Gidada gave a victory speech and a peace treaty was signed a few weeks later. According to the peace treaty Ethiopia then pulled out.[101] The stance of the EPRDF-led Ethiopian government to pull out its troops and let go of the Asseb port and eastern Eritrea led to one of the many reasons for EPRDF's unpopularity in Ethiopian cities. However since the Ethiopian government accepted the border ruling "in principle" with 5-point condition, tensions between these two nations still exist. Combatants Eritrea Ethiopia Commanders Sebhat Ephrem Tsadkan Gebre-Tensae[3] Casualties Estimates vary: 19,000;[4][5] 20-50,000[6] 67,000[7] Estimates vary: 34,000[8] up to 60,000;[9] 60,000[10] 123,000[11][12] The Eritrean-Ethiopian War took place from May 1998...
Somalia Meles Zenawi and his government have a strong relationship with the internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. Two of the main reasons are regarding state borders and secular values. In contrast, the vastly growing and powerful Islamic Courts Union (ICU) was accused on bringing religious extremism as well as strict law & order by intimidation (using Sharia law sternly) where Somali citizens are hung or executed if disobeyed the Sharia law. Motto: none Anthem: none Capital formerly Mogadishu and Kismayu Largest city n/a Official languages Somali and Arabic Government Sharia Krytocracy - Executive Chairman Sharif Sheikh Ahmed - Shura Chairman Hassan Dahir Aweys Civil War Faction Has not declared autonomy or independence - Established June 6th 2006 in Mogadishu Area - Total not finalized...
Sharia (Arabic: transliteration: ) is the body of Islamic religious law. ...
Both the TFG and Ethiopia respect the current Ethiopia-Somalia border while the ICU rejects it and considers the Ogaden region part of “Greater Somalia.” Secondly, both TFG. and Ethiopia share secular values where church and state stay separate. Lastly, the United States accused the leadership of ICU of harboring the suspects of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, while Ethiopia also labels ICU as “Jihadists” due to the assistant ICU received from terrorist groups (Al-Itihaad) and others mainly crossing the border to Africa from Arab nations of the Middle East.[102] A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly...
Also according to RAND corporation, several Al-Qaeda fugitives had "found sanctuary in Somalia" and exploited the lack of government.[103] There were also several Al-Qaeda operatives identified in southern Somalia. [104]Despite Western interest to solve the problems in Somalia, RAND claims that world powers have failed to practiced their will, particularly in financing the peacekeepings and humanitarian assistance. In addition other analysts have identified documents and Al-Qaeda letters to increase their involvement in Somalia.[105]
Even though the ICU and its Al-Qaeda militant foreign allies received support from various sources, the war was a shortlived one with Ethiopia and the Somalia government defeating the ICU and its allies[106] The battle between the allied Ethiopian/Somali forces and ICU/alleged Eritrean forces ended abruptly and placed the Somali Transitional Federal Government back in control of the capital Mogadishu but an insurgency developed since then. It is reported that the ICU lost hundreds of its fighters but the most important factor might have been the self-destruction of ICU's allies and united militia.
However, the transitional government still faces many security issues and the hundreds of Somali refugees that left Somalia because of ICU's extremism are not willing to return back to Mogadishu.[107] Also some political parties in Ethiopia continued to oppose Meles Zenawi's policies and demanded the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops. Merera Gudina, leader of the opposition party United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) said "the military victory against the Islamic Courts forces was not followed by political victory or national reconciliation."[108] He also said staying in Somalia harms Ethiopian economy and some of the leaders in the Transitional Somali government were not reaching out to civil society members in Somalia. With the exception of the SPDP, UEDP-Medhin(EDUP) and ONC opposition parties, not many other opposition parties in Ethiopia supported the choice of intervention in Somalia forwarded by Meles Zenawi's ruling party.[109] Some members of the Somali parliament expressed their appreciation of Ethiopia's help publicly, but other oppositions remained against the intervention which was portrayed as an invasion instead. [110] The United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (or UEDF) is a coalition of several existing political parties of Ethiopia which combined to compete for seats in the Ethiopian General Elections held on May 15, 2005. ...
Criticism and scandals
Anuak Conflict On December 13, 2003 (in the Gambella Region) an ethnic conflict led to the death of 61 Anuaks in one day and hundreds more over the coming months. It is alleged that the highlanders were also being helped by the Ethiopian Defense forces. According to Amnesty International, federal soldiers participated in the killings and regional authorities did not take necessary preventative measures against the violence.[111] is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience...
The highlanders are mostly from the northern regions of Amhara and Tigray (but also Oromia) which populated the Gambella region after they were forced to move southwest from north in the mid-1980s. When the Marxist & dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam was ruling in the 1980s, more than 1.5 million Ethiopians were forced to relocate which led to more than 200,000 Ethiopians dead and many more sick in what is described as one of the worst humanitarian crisis of that decade. Since those old days some of the northern highlanders have been living in Gambella, and added a fuel to the already existing conflict between the Nuar and Anuaks. Mengistu Haile Mariam (IPA: //) (born 1937[3][4]) was the most prominent officer of the Derg, the military junta that governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987, and the president of the Peoples Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. ...
In December 2003, some of the highlanders who worked for Ethiopian refugee agency, were looking for new camps to shelter the thousands of Sudanese fleeing from their country's internal battles. In that early December a group of armed Anuak killed many highlanders.[112] Anuak rebels have also attacked civilians many times including killing eight people after attacking a United Nations vehicle as well as killing traditional gold miners.[113]
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