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De knipselkrant over Ethiopië en zijn relatie met Nederland is een initiatief van de ENVV en Meet & Greet
Ethio-Nederland. Hebt u ook een knipsel of commentaar, stuur dat dan naar [email protected].
Nummer 12, december 2016
De afgelopen weken brachten Nederlandse
media nauwelijks nieuws over de onrust in
Ethiopië. Internationaal gebeurde dat wel.
Uit de overvloed zijn enkele opmerkelijke
artikelen geselecteerd. Daarbij is er op
gelet dat alle partijen aan het woord
komen. Amnesty International dringt aan
op vergaande hervormingen van het
politieke stelsel. De toon op de
verschillende bijeenkomsten die de
diaspora overal in de wereld belegde,
wisselde nogal. De diaspora is veel vrijer in
wat zij zegt dan landgenoten thuis.
Meestal werd een nieuwe regering geëist.
Soms ging het om een onafhankelijk
Oromo land. De regering reageert op alle
kritiek en komt met nieuws over het totaal
aantal gedetineerden. De noodtoestand
geldt nog steeds, ook al is die voor
diplomaten
afgezwakt.
In
deze
Knipselkrant krijgt de journalistiek in
Ethiopië aandacht. Freedom House brengt
de gevolgen van de noodtoestand voor
(social) media in kaart. Verder een profiel
van de gemiddelde journalist. Door de
onrust dalen de inkomsten uit het
toerisme. Uit wetenschappelijk onderzoek
blijkt dat grootschalige landbouw door
doorgaans buitenlandse bedrijven slecht
werkt voor de lokale bevolking. Een ander
onderzoeksresultaat is dat vrouwen van nu
minder kinderen krijgen dan hun moeders.
Een onderzoeker van de taal van de Hamar
deed een bijzondere ontdekking. Haile
Gebreselassie wil als nieuwe voorzitter van
de Ethiopische atletiek federatie flink
hervormen. Het 14de -eeuwse Kebra
Negast (De Roem van de Koningen) kun je
op Internet lezen. En vanaf 8 december zijn
er schilderijen van Emanuel Tegene in Den
Haag te zien.
Amnesty asks for real reforms
‘A year after these deadly protests began,
tensions in Ethiopia remain high and the
human rights situation dire, with mass arrests,
internet shutdowns and sporadic clashes
between the security forces and local
communities, especially in the north of the
country’, writes Amnesty. ‘It’s high time the
Ethiopian authorities stopped paying lip
service to reform and instead took concrete
steps to embrace it, including by releasing the
myriad political prisoners it is holding merely
for expressing their opinions. They should also
repeal the repressive laws that imprisoned
them in the first place, including the draconian
Anti-Terrorism Proclamation that has also
contributed to the unrest.’
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/1
0/ethiopia-draconian-measures-will-escalate-thedeepening-crisis/
List of over 11,000 state of emergency
detainees
According to the State of Emergency Inquiry
Board ‘11,607 people had been detained
following the violence occurred in various
parts of the country, among them 347
women.’ They are detained at centres in
Awash, Tolay, Ziway, Dilla, Yirgalem, Bahir Dar
and Addis Ababa.
http://www.africanews.com/2016/11/12/ethiopiareleases-list-of-over-11000-state-of-emergencydetainees/
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national Parliament, the government cabinets
and other institutions are representing the
different peoples according to their size.
http://www.ethiopianembassy.be/en/2016/11/15/
right-of-reply-to-euractivs-interview-with-feyisalilesa/
Government accused of arresting
relatives of Australian protesters
Australia’s Federal Government is treating
allegations that dozens of people have been
arrested in Ethiopia in retaliation for protests
by their relatives in Australia. It has raised the
matter with the Ethiopian Government.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 32
people have been detained in Ethiopia, after
demonstrations by their relatives in Australia.
Australian resident, Shukri Guled, said his
mother, sister and three brothers were among
those arrested after he took part in protests in
Canberra and Melbourne in June. The
Ethiopian Embassy in Canberra denies the
claims.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-1108/ethiopian-government-accused-of-threateningprotesters/8004978
Ethiopia lifts travel restrictions for
diplomats
Ethiopia has lifted the state of emergency
directive which restricted diplomats to travel
beyond 40 KM radius outside of Addis Ababa
without notifying and getting the permission
of the Command Post. The decision was
ascribed to the relative peace and security
currently
evident
in
the
country.
http://www.ethiopianembassy.be/en/2016/11/08/
ethiopia-lifts-travel-restrictions-for-diplomats/
Shukri Guled in Australia
Strenge beveiliging op veel plaatsen
Government on Euractiv’s interview with
Feyisa Lilesa
Freedom House: Country Profile Ethiopia
While recognising Feyisa’s right to share his
opinion about Ethiopia, the government
strongly disagrees about the exact number of
demonstrators who died during the protests
and about his claim that the authorities are
‘trying to create tensions between the Amhara
and Tigray’. This is not grounded in reality.
Each region is self-administrated, and the
Freedom House, an independent watchdog
organization dedicated to the expansion of
freedom and democracy, is critical about
Ethiopia. Internet and mobile phone networks
were repeatedly disrupted around the
country, particularly in the Oromia region
during anti-government protests.
Social
media and communications platforms were
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blocked for reporting on the Oromo protests
and a severe drought. In May 2016, a blogger
was sentenced to over five years in prison for
leading a digital security course. Prosecutors
challenged the release of members of the
Zone 9 blogging collective.
https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/FOT
N%202016%20Ethiopia.pdf
Members of the Zone 9 bloggers
Journalist jailed for defaming powerful
Orthodox clergy
A court in Ethiopia has jailed journalist
Getachew Worku of the Amharic independent
weekly, Ethio-Mihidar, to a year in prison on
charges of defaming senior clergy members of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The powerful
Orthodox Church initiated the case following
allegations of corruption on the part of senior
members of the clergy.
http://www.africanews.com/2016/11/15/ethiopia
n-journalist-jailed-for-defaming-powerfulorthodox-clergy/
Profile of Ethiopian journalists
Ethiopia has around 1.600 working journalists.
A typical journalist is male, 30 years old and
holds an undergraduate degree in journalism
or communication. Of the 350 interviewed
journalists, 101 were women (28.9 percent).
On average, Ethiopian journalists were 30.4
years old; less than 10 percent were 40 years
or older. 97.4 percent have obtained a
university degree (88.0 percent completed a
bachelor’s degree and 9.4 percent a master’s
degree). About one third (32.1 percent) of the
interviewed journalists had specialized in a
field related to their area of coverage.
https://epub.ub.unimuenchen.de/29707/1/Countr
y_%20report_Ethiopia.pdf
Diaspora conferences in London, Atlanta
(Oromo groups), Seattle (Amhara groups)
and Washington DC (Vision Ethiopia).
During a conference for a national consensus
organised by International Oromo Lawyers
Association in London, some statements led to
arguments between Oromo groups and other
concerned Ethiopians. At the Oromo
Leadership Convention in Atlanta, an Oromo
National Charter of Freedom, Justice and
Human Rights was drafted and a call was
made for meetings of Oromo from all walks of
life to discuss documents that affirm the
Oromo nation’s commitment to both Oromo
gadaa principles of national unity and gadaa
governance, values and institutions in a free,
democratic
and
self-reliant
Oromia.
https://www.oromolawyers.org/news/132-newiola-press-release
http://ecadforum.com/2016/11/13/to-oromoleadership-convention-organizersatlanta/#sthash.H6IqgLIV.dpuf
Different Amhara Organizations held a first
Amhara meeting on November 7 in Seattle.
http://www.borkena.com/2016/11/07/amharaorganizations-meeting-in-seattle/(Video: Amharic)
Ethiopian scholars, called Vision Ethiopia, held
a conference in Washington DC.
http://www.visionethiopia.org/
http://ethsat.com/2016/11/esat-vision-ethiopiaconference-part-1-sat-oct-22-1016/
https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/?s=atlanta&subm
it=Search
https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/2016/11/14/thebig-debate-beyond-assimilation-accommodationthe-resurgence-of-oromo-nationalism/
Diaspora has strong voice
The government has singled out social media
as playing a key role in the unrest. But internet
restrictions may have less to do with silencing
Ethiopians at home than with stymieing
influence from abroad. ‘The diaspora have the
freedom to speak freely, assemble and
organise under the constitutions and laws of
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the countries in which they reside’, says
Alemante Selassie, emeritus professor at the
William and Mary Law School in the US.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/nov/0
6/ethiopia-unrest-tourists-addis-ababa-foreignoffice
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38076389
Envisions
Large-scale farms undermine local level
food security
At a press conference at the National Press
Club in Washington, DC, the Ethiopian
National Movement (ENM) was launched. It
had taken months of negotiations among four
political parties that form the coalition to
agree on the struggle for justice, freedom and
democracy. ENM strives to create a peaceful
transition and urges the U.S. Government and
other Western countries to work with agents
change such as EMN instead of providing
unconditional aid to a regime that is
terrorizing its own people.
Maru Shete Bekel examined two foreign and
one domestic large-scale farms in Oromia,
Gambella, and Benshanguel Gumuz. Such
farms generally undermine local level food
security and incomes, generate little
employment, deteriorate vegetation cover
and soil quality, and contribute little to local
economic development.
New Opposition
Regime Change
Coalition
https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/2016/11/02/new
-ethiopia-opposition-coalition-envisions-regimechange/
http://opc-ascl.oclc.org/PPN?PPN=407772456
At the end of 2015 the government cancelled
its contract with Karuturi Global Lt. which was
to develop a large area in Gambella.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/201601-11/karuturi-challenges-ethiopian-decision-tocancel-farming-project
http://ecadforum.com/2016/11/01/new-ethiopiaopposition-coalition-envisions-regime-change/
Tourism revenue falls
According to the BBC, the Horn of Africa
country is projected to lose millions of dollars
from tourism. The BBC refers to the tourism
ministry’s disclosure that income from the
sector had fallen by more than $7m (£5.5m)
over the last quarter alone. The country had
planned to generate 3 billion dollars from
tourism this year.
http://www.africanews.com/2016/11/12/ethiopias-tourism-revenue-falls-by-over-7m-due-toprotests/
Ethiopian Coffee receives ‘2016 World’s
Best Coffee Award’
Ethiopian coffee received the award at the
first-ever Ernesto Illy International Coffee
Awards Ceremony held in New York on 1st
November 2016. The judges, who tasted 27
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cups of coffee from Brazil, Colombia, Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala,
Honduras, India and Nicaragua, awarded
Ahmed Legesse from Ethiopia with the
Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award: ‘A
special coffee with a mild, delicate aroma and
a unique perfume with distinctive floral notes
of jasmine and a hint of citrus fruit.’
http://www.ethiopianembassy.be/en/2016/11/08/
ethiopian-coffee-receives-the-2016-worlds-bestcoffee-award/
Nurse Muluwork Tesfaye
Cut in the fertility rate also in rural areas
Ethiopian women have fewer children
Ethiopia has seen a massive cut in its fertility
rate, from an average of seven children per
woman in the 1990s to 4.6 currently. Experts
see a combination of factors. ‘Women stay
longer in school, the standard of living is
increasing so people don't want to have too
many children and more importantly, family
planning is becoming more popular’, explains
Faustin Yao, the United Nation Population
Fund (UNFPA) representative to Ethiopia.
Muluwork Tesfaye, a nurse in Addis Ababa,
could not afford to support a large family in
the capital. The mother of two grew up in a
family of eight and her parents struggled to
provide for them. ‘My husband is the one who
took me to college’, she says. ‘I wanted a
better life for my children.’ The cut in the
fertility rate is also visible in rural areas.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34732609
Tedros Adhanom’s weak performance for
WHO candidacy
Former foreign minister and current candidate
for the World Health Organisation (WHO)
director-general post Dr. Tedros Adhanom’s
vision was badly attacked at the Geneva WHOorganized Candidates Forum. He was asked
about his claim of wanting to defend the
interests of developing countries, while his
vision was seen wearing the lens of Western
security interests, thus espousing their
priorities.
https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/2016/11/05/drtedros-adhanoms-presentation-of-his-vision-forwho-at-geneva-an-embarrassing-moment-forethiopia/
https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/2016/04/18/doe
s-dr-tedros-adhanom-have-the-requisitequalifications-to-become-next-who-directorgeneral/
https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/2016/11/14/nor
wegian-paychologist-psychiatrist-rejects-dr-tedrosadhanom-as-unfit-for-who-post/
http://ecadforum.com/2016/07/07/an-openletter-to-dr-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesusminister-of-foreign-affairs/
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Donkeys get more respect
Ethiopia doesn’t want to be thought of as a
donkey country. Yet about 80 percent of the
93 million inhabitants depend on them to
transport water, wood for cooking, food and
other goods. According the Donkey Sanctuary,
a U.K. non-profit organisation, Ethiopia has
with seven million animals the world’s largest
population of donkeys, outstripping the
number donkey country, China. Since 1994,
The Donkey Sanctuary has educated
Ethiopians about proper care for donkeys,
strengthened government livestock and
animal welfare policies and treated more than
two million donkeys.
http://www.nazret.com/2016/11/10/donkeys-arefinally-getting-more-respect-in-ethiopia/
In de taal van de Hamar zijn mannelijke
dingen klein
In Ethiopië wordt een taal gesproken waarin
ieder zelfstandig naamwoord zowel een
mannelijke als een vrouwelijke vorm kan
aannemen – ook voorwerpen. Als je het
woord ‘huis’ een vrouwelijke uitgang geeft,
betekent het: een groot huis. Met een
mannelijke uitgang: een klein huis. De
vrouwelijke variant van ‘honing’ betekent: een
heleboel honing. De mannelijke variant: een
beetje honing. Sara Petrollino van de
Universiteit Leiden promoveerde deze maand
op de grammatica van deze bijzondere taal,
het Hamar.
https://nvethio.wordpress.com/2016/11/22/neder
landse-kranten-in-ethiopische-taal-zijn-mannelijkedingen-klein/
Ethiopia made worst Olympics showing in
Rio Games
‘This Summer Olympics was really the worst
since the last 20 years. There are no upcoming
athletes to replace the elite ones.’ Haile
Gebreselassie, polled nine out of 15 votes to
emerge the new president of the Ethiopian
Athletics Federation (EAF), plans to ‘reform
the federation, to build up the finance and
upgrade the Ethiopian system to be
comparative with the international level’.
http://www.africanews.com/2016/11/08/ethiopiamade-worst-olympics-showing-in-rio-games-hailegebrselassie/
Kebra Negast als pdf
Voor wie graag een keer de 14de eeuwse Kebra
Negast – De Roem van de Koningen – wil
inkijken, kan op Internet een Engelstalige pdf
vinden. Daarin staan talloze legendes en
verhalen, gebaseerd op het Oude Testament
en bronnen uit Ethiopië, Egypte en het
Midden Oosten. De weergave over het bezoek
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van Koningin Makeda van Sheba aan Koning
Solomon blijft fascineren.
http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/kebra_budge.pdf
Support Ethiopic studies and culture
Emanuel Tegene exposeert in Den Haag
Van 8 december tot 23 januari worden werken
van hedendaagse Afrikaanse kunstenaars in
de WTC Hague Art Gallery (Prinses Beatrixlaan
582, 2595 BM Den Haag) getoond. Uit Ethiopië
doet Emanuel Tegene (1985) mee. Hij kreeg
zijn opleiding op de Alle School of Fine Arts
and Design in Addis Abeba en heeft
verschillende exposities achter de rug.
Due to a lack of resources and knowledge for
adequately preserving, Ethiopia’s cultural and
historical heritage is disappearing at an
alarming rate. The University of Toronto is
setting up an Ethiopian studies program for
teaching Ethiopia’s heritage to consecutive
generations of students, in supporting
digitization efforts, and to the dissemination
of source material to the research community
within and outside the University.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/ODPLq/
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/theweeknd-ethiopian-studies-1.3712185
www.wtcthehague.com
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