Addis Neger

የዛሬ ሳምንት ጁምዓ ስግደት ላይ በነበሩ አማኞች ላይ ከድር ተራ ህንፃ ላይ ሆነው ድንጋይ ወርወራዋል የተባሉ ሁለት የኮንስትራክሽን ሰራተኞች እያንዳንዳቸው በአንድ አመት ፅኑ እስራት መቀጣታቸውን በዛሬው የስግደት ስነ-ስርዓት ላይ የነበሩ አስተባባሪዎች ገለፁ፡፡ ገድፈው ምንውየለት እና ዋለልኝ አንዱምላክ የተባሉት እነዚሁ ተከሳሾች ሌሎች 30 ከሚሆኑ የግንባታ ሰራተኞች ጋር በቁጥጥር ስር ውለው ምርመራ ከተደረገባቸው በኋላ ጳውሎስ የመጀመርያ ፍርድ [...]

(Special Coverage On the State of Ethiopian Free Press )

After 2007 when the theology of EPRDF overtly changed, its mechanism for dealing with the media also changed, growing ever more systematic. As some pundits claimed, the major shift lay not only in its approach to the media in particular, but in its approach to all independent voices. Ato Meles dreams of a country of one party and ideology. For him and the party, they argued, democracy has only instrumental value–to purge other democratic forces and voices from the scene, using “democratic means”

It has been over two years since the ECX missed its target and moved towards a monopoly-like market structure. The first commodity exchange was established in the country in April 2008, with a capital investment of Birr 194 million. At the time of its establishment, many hoped that it would take little time to transform from an era of weak agricultural marketing to one of efficient exchange.

During the Jumaa prayers, Islamic parching (hutba) will be presented by the Imam. Sometimes it coincides with the sound of the Mass prayers from the church. The faithful will be disturbed by a mingled and distorted voice from the two loud speakers. St. Raguel’s Church has a big building on one side of the fence. The shops in the building exhibit the same confusion.

Title: Why Ethiopia Remains Poor
Structural and Conjunctural Constraints for the Emergence of a Civil Society in Ethiopia: 1991-2005
Author: Melakou Tegegn
Lambert Academic Publishers (Germany), 2010

I will not be surprised if the Front transforms itself to a united national party along the lines of CCP, CCM, BDP or its immediate Ethiopian predecessor, the WPE! Given its record of staggering pragmatism (Remember the premier’s frequent remark that EPRDF never repeats its mistakes!), the Front does have the courage to reinvent itself like this. This may turn the table on all pan-Ethiopian opposition parties pulling the carpet from beneath, while satiating the ethno-nationalists by retaining the current ethno-federal structure of the country. The massive influx of the urban voters to support (be it out of conviction or provision) and comprise the EPRDF could serve as one possible trigger of such a phenomenon. The jury is out to find the verdict but still all eyes are on Leviathan.

No wonder civility and celebrating dissent were the trademarks of Ethiopian society when it comes to a very crucial issue potentially divisive and violent-our understanding of God. Some serious criticisms about Ethiopia’s modern intellectuals on my last articles have made me question whether I (as an individual) and us (as a collective) have the courage to declare that our understanding of any notion is by no means a monopoly of the truth. This is an obvious truism, which is seldom translated into action.