Abyzemen

Abiy Ahmed is being compared with Mandela and Gorbachev. Can he help transform a region beset by war, tyranny and poverty? Jason Burke Sun 15 Jul 2018  06.00 BST Last modified on Sun 15 Jul 2018  10.16 BST T he flags of the two nations flew bright and sharp. The two leaders waved at the happy crowds. The formal meetings overran, amid ostentatious displays of bonhomie. Even the hatchet-faced security officials appeared relaxed. The meeting of Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s 41-year-old prime minister, and Isaias Afwerki, the 71-year-old president of  Eritrea , in Addis Ababa on Saturday left seasoned Africa observers gasping for breath. “The pace of this is simply astounding,” said Omar S Mahmood, of the Institute for Peace and Security Studies in Ethiopia’s booming capital. The meeting between Abiy and Isaias concluded an  intense bout of diplomacy  that appears to have ended one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts. “Wor...

First commercial flight since peace deal takes off from Addis Ababa heading for Asmara Ruth Maclean Wed 18 Jul 2018  13.52 BST First published on Wed 18 Jul 2018  11.05 BST Tadese/AFP/Getty Images The passengers fastened their seatbelts and settled in for the 80-minute morning flight. Ethiopian Airlines ET0312 took off, much as hundreds of other planes making short-haul hops between neighbouring capitals do. But this was no ordinary commercial flight: it was Ethiopian Airlines’ first in two decades to Asmara, the capital of  Eritrea . In celebratation, according to journalists on board, champagne was served along with red roses. When the plane touched down, it was greeted with cheering and song. The two countries have been locked in a tense military standoff since the border war that began in 1998 and caused the deaths of about 70,000 people. The shock of peace: Ethiopia and Eritrea embrace at last   Read mo...

July 18,2018 Let’s stop confusing the Ethiopian flag with the Insignia and Emblems of Ethiopia’s changing regimes. Each Ethiopian regimes from Emperor Menelik to Emperor Haile Selassie and from the Derg Regime to the TPLF regime adopted their own insignia and emblems and inscribed it on the Ethiopian flag. Those insignias and emblems were changing as the regimes change. Let’s briefly see the insignias and emblems of the past Ethiopian regimes. Under Emperor Menelik, it was the initial of Menelik himself in Amharic, “M”. Under Emperor Haile Sellasie, it was the Lion with a Crown on it. Under Derg, it was some sort of “hebretsebawinet” designed by artists. Under the TPLF regime, it is the star dubbed as “Ambasha”, a local ethnic Tigrean bread. There is no surprise to see the Ethiopian people reject and demand the removal of the emblem of the hated and most repressive and criminal group in Ethiopian history, the TPLF from the Ethiopian flag. In fact, for most Ethiopians, wavi...

Jully 18, 2018 As the reform agenda of prime minister Abiy Ahmed administration gets bolder, Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) called an emergency meeting in Mekelle and issued a statement upon completing it. It sounded more like an ultimatum not only against the “new” government but also against member parties of the ruling coalition whom TPLF linked to betrayal of the ideology of the party, revolutionary democracy. Among other things, TPLF condemned EPRDF Executive Committee economic decision to privatize major public enterprises and unfinished projects asserting that the decision will not bring about lasting solution to the economic crisis in the country. It also boldly stated that the economic crisis, including chronic foreign currency shortage, could rather be resolved in a durable manner by adhering to revolutionary democracy and developmental state principles. In the political front, TPLF appeared as it is frustrated by the decision relating to restoring norma...

Eritrean Embassy is reopened today in Addis Ababa as president Isayas Afeworki was wrapping up his three days visit. He left for his country a few hours after opening of the embassy. July 16,2018 As the Eritrean president and his entourage which included his foreign minister, Osman Saleh, and his top advisor, Yemane Gebremeskel, celebrated the opening of Eritrean embassy in Addis Ababa. The embassy premise which stands in proximity to Addis Ababa Stadium was closed for twenty years following the war between the two countries. Eritrean National Anthem was playing as Isayas Afeworki, Eritrean president, and Ethiopian prime minister, who fought as a soldier during Ethio-Eritrean war, raised the Eritrean flag together in the premises of the embassy.

July 3,2018 A skirmish along Ethio-Sudanese border between Ethiopian farmers and Sudanese border soldiers reportedly left five Ethiopian farmers dead and several others injured from both sides. Amhara Mass Media Agency( AMMA), the regional state media, confirmed that the skirmish involving Sudanese Border Security and Ethiopian farmers happened this morning in Metema district of the zone along Delelo Agricultural investment land. The source added that there were casualties on both sides but did not indicate the numbers. ESAT, US based Ethiopian News outlet, cited sources from Metema region to report that an unprovoked attack by Sudanese soldiers left at least five Ethiopian farmers dead but did not report about casualties on the side of Sudanese forces. Ethiopian soldiers are reportedly deployed to the border region where the skirmish happened and that a relative calm is restored. Based on AMMA report the skirmish is over cultivable land that Ethiopian farmers used to farm. ...

an Ethiopian rebel group has suspended its armed resistance against the government. Ginbot 7 said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's reforms had given it hope that "genuine democracy" may be "a real possibility". Earlier, the government said it had unblocked 264 websites and TV channels. This is the latest of numerous changes made since Mr Abiy came to office in April, relaxing the state's previously tight grip on power. Africa Live: More on this and other stories from the continent Why Ethiopia could be on the verge of a new dawn Is this the man to change Ethiopia? Why landlocked Ethiopia wants to launch a navy Ginbot 7, which is based in neighbouring Eritrea, had been designated a terrorist organisation by previous governments. Its secretary-general, Andargachew Tsege, was seized in Yemen in 2014, and then sent to Ethiopia where he had been sentenced to death in absentia in 2009 for allegedly plotting a coup. The Ethiopian government pardon...