We UN workers in Addis received today this message from our Administration office:

Staff members are reminded that personal computers, communication means, i.e. telephones, faxes, e-mails and access to the internet are provided to them by the Organization for the performance of their official duties.

Anonymous
June 9, 2005
Addis Ababa

Dr Yacob Hailemariam was targetted”

In a latest development of the life threatening drama orchestrated by the EPRRDF against Dr. Yaccob Hailemariam, the prominent international lawyer, who is also in the leadership of CUD’s alliance, Rainbow Ethiopia. Last evening he was having dinner when his assigned murderers came to the restaurant he was staying in, and threatened to kill. When the plot was discovered, colleagues insisted that Dr. Yaccob should not leave the restaurant and had to wait for long. Things continued as fierce-full as they were initially that he had to spend the whole night at the restaurant. This morning (June 9) he was finally rescued by people from the Carter Center who escorted him to the head office of the center. Meanwhile, attempts to find the whereabouts of Ato Andargachew Tsege, who was detained last night could not be found. We shall be posting any news on this as soon as we get.

Opposition under house arrest

The whole of last night Engineer Hailu Shawl, Dr. Berhanu Nega and Dr. Befekadu Degefe had their houses surrounded by several vehicles stuffed with armed personnel with and without uniforms.
Ato Lidetu Ayalew made 24 hours detained in his office without any food or drink. Member of the leadership of the CUD and its chairman of the public relation and information committee has been house arrested in his office. He was snatched his passport and he was forced to go to his office where he has already spent 24 hours. Colleagues who showed up to provide food were arrested and the same has happened to his office assistant. Their whereabouts is unknown to families and relatives thus far.

Use your conscience!

I am trying to speak to your conscience. As you edit whatever you put
on the web relating to Ethiopia, please consider the following facts:

1. Try to accommodate “other” audiences beside your primary ones ie.
don’t try to exclude others who are likely to oppose your views.
2. The quality and content of materials on your web clearly suggest
that you are pro-Amhara and that is sad.
3. Why is it that (very consistently) Amharas are the only Xebeqaas for
Ethiopia’s unity? As a Walayta, I need to also be given some space in
this country. How proper should it have been for your forum to have
included all Ethiopian views. Mind you, that will greatly boost attendance
of your site.

Thanks!

When Meles and his cronies started comparing the opposition to the
interhamwe, people should have known how low this cabal could go to
cling to
power. As if it wasn’t enough to psychologically terrorize our Tigrean
brothers and sisters of the ominous danger that will befall them if the
gang
loses the election, they have sank to a new low by distribuiting this
leaflet. Lucky for us the great majority of the Ethiopian people will
not
fall for this criminal trap. If recent proof was needed for this, one
only
needs to summon the thousands of young souls who paid the ultimate
sacrifice
in the trenches of Bademe,Tserona, Zalambessa and Irob alongside their
Tigrean brothers in reversing Shaebia’s aggression, despite the
misgivings
they had towards Meles and his gang.In other words efforts by this
cabal to
save its skin by using such desperate tactics will not work, for people
make
a clear distinction between Meles and his cronies on one side and their
Tigrean brothers and sisters on the other. Having said that it is
incumbent
upon all of us at home and abroad to be vigilant for any manifestation
from
any corner and combat it resolutely, for the price we will pay
collectively
would be too high if we don’t. To this end I find the press release by
one
of the opposition groups CUD concerning this evil letter commendable.
Peace
and prosperity to our people.

Terefe

‘Fraud is not OK’

I realize you decided to not publish more comments on the subject.
However, I am compeled to write to you to express my thoughts. Thank you for allowing the forum. Alamudi is an individual with power and influence and his _expression of support of the ruling government at a sports event is different from the support of an average Ethiopian citizen. His support gives the ruling class an edge and legitimacy that interferes with the democratic process at hand. Nurit presents herself as neurtral but what transpires from her writing is naivette, one-sidedness and lack of judgment. Change in the old land ownership system was foremost on the change agenda 30 years ago. Right now, it is the basic Ethiopian peoples rights at stake which is immediate and critical. Nurit implies the election is for show. That is now how the Ethiopian people view the elections. Nurit further under-estimates the Ethiopian people by implying that it is OK to run an imperfect and inaccurate election process and allow the possiblity of a government prevailing by fraud. And she expects the peoples voice including the students’ squashed in return for what??? How about their democratic rights of protesting transparent wrong-doing???

Zenebework

greetings to you and I highly praise your noble effort on behalf of our country

I have an idea to counter the news blackout or the pathetic and marginal coverage by foreign media regarding the dark events transpiring in our country. I suspect the US an the UK see the facsist banda regime as “an ally in fighting terrorism” therefore they may be applying an underhanded pressure on the main media of the respective countries mentioned above. I suggest that we should engage in fund raising effort to buy a full page ad in a widely read newspaper like the New York Times or the Washington Post to inform the progressive or liberal sector of the american society while exposing the banda regime in a very creative manner.

Hi Ethiomedia,

It looks like Mr. melese zenawi is executing the plan he announced just at the dawn of the election that the Rwanda Syndrome will smear Ethiopia. He is now telling us Tigrians are threatened by other tribes of Ethiopia. The next leaflet he will pass around may be state, tribe X
against tribe Y.

So what is new, this was what he has been doing for the past 14 years anyway.

I hope no one will fall for this evil scheme.

LONG LIVE ETHIOPIA.

Dear Ethiomedia Staff,

We Ethiopians in Stockholm have recently formed a CUD\UDEF Support Committe, so as to give the nessary assistance for the struggle the two organisations are leading. So as to acheive that goal we have for instance recently taken initiative in starting a fundraising where we have collected 100 000 Swedish krown (equivalent to 120 000 birr).

The fundraising is continuing at the same time, we are also co-ordinating a demonstrations in supporting the struggle of these organisations back home and in condemning the recent massacer carried out by TPLF (the so called Agazi foreces of MELES ZENAWI). This demonstration will take place the 13th of June i.e. on Monday next Week in Stockholm, at the center of the Stockholm City called Sergelstorget (Sergels Square).

We would therfore be very glad if you could inform the exact date, time and place of the demonstration for your website vistrors by publicing this information on your Website.

Even today we had a relatively smaller but effective demonstrations, in which we blocked the Ethiopia Embassy in Stockholm and made the Swedish News Paper and TV cover it on their morning news.

But the one (demonstrations) we are going to have on Monday must be much bigger, we therfore believe that it would help if you help in announcing it (on your side too). By doing ss residents of Norway, Finland, and Denmark who may read about this on your website join the demonstrations.

Thanks! Victory for Ethiopia People.
Support Comittee Member !

If you have questions you can even contact me or send your questions to this e-mail adress:[email protected]

www.ethiopiancenter.com

Hi brothers and Sisters,

The following few pictures are very disturbing and graphical.I got this pictures from a friend. I believe they are from Addis. Here is the sad reality facing our beloved country and people today. Now is the time to act each and everyone of us when our motherland is bleeding. Since day one when the election started, I have been following the news via your site. I’m really proud of the work you have done so far and still doing. Your site is very informative and educational for all the sons and daughters of the beloved, motherland Ethiopia. Keep up the awesome job you are doing. I will pray day and night, hopefully our country’s situation will be resolved peacefully. If not,we will do whatever our country asks us to do. There is a plan to hold a rally in downtown San Jose Friday at 10:00am. This rally shows our solidarity and strong opposition to the brutal act of mafia ring leader Meles and his gangsters. There is another big rally is coming up soon.
Dereje

Today June 9 the metropolitan Addis remained quiet, silent
with a
big sorrow.
All the dwellers of Addis Ababa irrespective of ethnicity, sex, age, the
educated and the not,
government employee, self employee, taxi drivers (except the ruling
party
and their tales)
United to Bring dawn the Brutal EPRDF to its END .
Shops are totally closed, Taxis Remains Strong on there Stand, The City
Busses with finger
counted passengers only shuttling in some part of the Town. Even
Banks
and Insurances except some
that are belonged to the ruling party are functioning.

The Town Dwellers as well as Foreigners are very much sorry for that
the
government using the
internationally forbidden excessive force for bare handed innocents
city
dwellers bringing Mules special Force. Over the night and in some
areas early in the morning
the special forces lade by the EPRDF Cadres have entered to some
City
dwellers residents
and took youngsters to Sendafa beating and harassing them
mercilessly.
What ever the case may be Once an arrow shot would not come back again.

Many thanks for extending support and encourgement. While we were taken off guard by the sudden reign of terror in Addis Ababa, and the pain and suffering hundreds of young univesity students are enduring each minute at Meles Zenawi’s “torture camp” in Sendafa, we were trying to catch up with news developments on the one hand and trying to read, format and publish articles coming from our contributors on the other. The degree of brutality of the regime had left us stunned. When 100 messages (news reports, letters and multi-page commentaries reached us suddenly), we encouraged ourselves to publish as much info as possible, while facing an avalanche of telephone calls, and when we open our email bag, bundles of pictures of protest rallies or gruesome scenes of murder and mayhem from Addis Ababa. Since the regime is fighting to cut us off from our people by banning key media outlets like the Amharic VOA and Deutsche Welle, it is up to every one of us to network for information. Amidst all the chaos and confusion, one thing stood out prominently: Our unity was a stunning blow to those who tried to stun us by butchering the defenseless civilans! We roared in anger for the respect of our people, and by doing so, our unity voice echoed from Stockholm to Pretoria, from Melbourne to San Jose, California. The regime, which lived fooling the diplomatic world for the last 14 years is now losing it fast. With the US, the UN and European Union raising eye-brows, not to mention personalities like Bob Geldof telling the ruthless “Ethiopian” in power to ‘grow up,’ we hope both domestic and foreign forces of peace and democracy would team up to bring the perpetrators of mass murders to justice. Therefore, We have to keep building our network! Once again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! Write us at [email protected]. We are at your disposal all the time!

Regards,
www.ethiomedia.com