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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 13, januari 2017
De Knipselkrant opent met een essay van
Anne Rensma over Ethiopië en Nederland.
Zij vindt het hoog tijd dat Den Haag de
relatie met Addis Abeba herziet. Daarna
artikelen over de rust die volgens de
regering terugkeert en de versoepeling van
reisadviezen van Europese landen. Minder
onrust betekent niet dat de regering
toegeeft aan de eisen van demonstranten
of ingrijpende hervormingen doorvoert. Er
zouden 10.000 arrestanten zijn vrijgelaten,
terwijl er ruim 2.400 in detentie op hun
proces wachten. Volgens Sudanese bronnen
is het aantal arrestanten echter twee maal
zo groot. Er worden nog steeds grote
boerderijen in brand gestoken. Over de
vernieling van de Nederlandse Esmeralda
Farm zijn Kamervragen gesteld. President
Obama zond nog maar eens een diplomaat
naar Ethiopië om het over mensenrechten
te hebben. Amnesty acht het blokkeren van
websites tijdens de protesten in strijd met
de Ethiopische wetgeving. Het Europese
parlement heeft een brief geschreven over
de arrestatie van Oromoleider prof. Merera
Gundina. Een achterneef van keizer Haile
Selassie roept op tot stopzetting van hulp
aan Ethiopië en andere slechte Afrikaanse
regeringen. Volgens Radio France is de
terugtrekking van Ethiopische troepen uit
Somalië niet alleen ingegeven door de
noodzaak om die in te zetten om de
binnenlandse onrust te bestrijden, maar
speelt gebrek aan fondsen ook een rol.
Ethiopië en Eritrea voeren een diplomatiek
gevecht om steun in Noord-Afrika en het
Midden Oosten. Fidel Castro’s overlijden
riep in Ethiopië andere emoties op dan in
Nederland.
Ethiopië heeft zijn eigen meidenband,
Yegna. Die maakt niet alleen muziek, maar
roept ook op om gedwongen huwelijken en
huiselijk geweld tegen te gaan.
Op 17 december werd de Dam in de
Omorivier geopend. De Wereld Bank is nog
steeds vol lof over de economische groei,
ook al daalde die van 10 naar 8 procent en
ook al kan de hoge inflatie Ethiopië’s positie
op de wereldmarkt bedreigen. De
Afrikaanse
Ontwikkelingsbank
gaat
Ethiopian Airlines geld lenen om de vloot uit
te breiden. Opvallend is een bericht over
twijfels die parlementariërs hebben geuit
over door China aangeboden leningen. Het
in nood verkerende Holland Car heeft zich
direct tot PM Hailemariam Dessalegn
gewend vanwege mogelijke corruptie in de
afwikkeling van een faillissement. Stropers
van zeldzame dieren ontdekken de Hoorn
van Afrika. Ze zouden zich beter kunnen
richten op bosmieren.
Turkije heeft een Ottomaans consulaat van
begin vorige eeuw in Harar gerestaureerd.
Uit een vergelijking van gewoontes van de
Falasha met die in de Dode Zee rollen blijken
verrassend veel overeenkomsten te zitten.
In deze Knipselkrant komen enkele boeken
aan bod. Een over de Garime Evangeliën, de
oudst bekende uit Ethiopië. Er is een studie
verschenen over het belang van traditionele
hulpinstellingen. En in Vlaanderen is Mijn
Eerste
Amhaarse
beeldwoordenboek
uitgekomen.
Relatie
Nederland
problematisch
–
Ethiopië
Zoals Bangladesh het voorbeeldproject van
minister Ploumen is binnen haar hulp en
1
handelsagenda, kun je Ethiopië de achilleshiel
noemen, schrijft Anne Rensma in een tweedelig
essay.
De
Nederlandse
hulp
en
handelsbelangen lijken er frontaal op elkaar te
botsen. Er worden buitenlandse bedrijven in
brand gestoken. En er speelt nog meer. 10,2
miljoen mensen hebben direct voedselhulp
nodig en er is een vluchtelingenproblematiek.
In combinatie met etnische conflicten en de
mensenrechtensituatie wordt wrang duidelijk
dat Ethiopië in een complexe en gevaarlijke
positie verkeert. Zeker gezien de context van
landonteigening en een nieuw villagizationprogramma in Ethiopië, lijkt het dringende
noodzaak om de Nederlandse aanwezigheid in
het Ethiopische bedrijfsleven te herzien. De
vraag is welke rol Nederland zou moeten
aannemen om de problematische gevolgen van
botsing tussen de twee agenda’s op te lossen.
http://hetnieuwe.viceversaonline.nl/geencategorie/ethiopie-schuilt-er-economische-bloeideel-i/#.WFjeMPnhBPa
http://hetnieuwe.viceversaonline.nl/dossiers/ethio
pie-is-rol-nederland-deel-ii/#.WFjeQPnhBPb
Over 2.400 to court, almost 10.000 to
released
Ethiopia announced that 9,800 detainees will
be freed. They are among the 11,607 suspects
jailed following the imposed state decree. The
detainees have received training ahead of
planned release from detention. 2,449 Suspects
will come before court. Among them are 19
groups of demonstrators who had been at the
forefront in the violence. According to the
Sudan Tribune the total figure of suspects
arrested amounts to over 24,000.
US official in Ethiopia for political dialogue
During a four day visit, Tom Malinowski,
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labour Affairs, met government
officials as part of a continued dialogue on
human rights and governance. He was said to
also meet with members of civil society,
political party representatives, and local
government officials during the visit.
http://ethioforum.org/us-state-departmentofficial-in-ethiopia-for-political-dialogue/
Sixty hectares of sugar plantation in flames
Sixty hectares of sugar plantation belonging to
the Metals and Engineering Corporation
(METEC) of the ruling party, went up in flames
in Jawi, Gojam. The fire might have been
started by people who were displaced against
their will by the project. This is the second time
that sugar plantation at the project was set on
fire.
http://ethsat.com/2016/12/ethiopia-sixtyhectares-sugar-plantation-goes-flames/
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article602
04
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Prince Asserate Kassa urges EU to exclude
aid from bad governments in Africa
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Dr. AsfaWosen Asserate Kassa, grand-nephew of
Emperor Haile Sellasie, has pleaded with
Europeans and the European Union to stop
supporting bad governments in Africa. He said
bad governments in Africa have received three
trillion dollars from all over the world over the
course of three decades but nothing has
changed in the life of the ordinary African.
Kamervragen over vernieling Esmeralda
Farm
De ministers Koenders en Ploumen
antwoordden onder meer:
‘Buitenlandse
investeringen worden door Ethiopische burgers
soms gezien als verlengstuk van de overheid en
werden om die reden aangevallen. Ook lijkt
meegespeeld te hebben dat op deze wijze de
aandacht van de internationale media
getrokken kon worden.’
http://www.ethiomedia.com/1000codes/asrattekassa-on-german-tv.html
http://www.dw.com/en/interview-save-africa-topreserve-europe-ethiopian-german-author-asfawossen-asserate-in-the-interview/av-36724001
https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/kamerst
ukken/2016/09/28/beantwoording-kamervragenover-vernielingen-van-de-nederlandseonderneming-in-ethiopie
EU parliament writes over detained
Oromo leader
At the suggestion of Ana Gomes, President,
Martin Schulz of the European Parliament (EP)
has written President Mulatu Teshome seeking
clarification on the arrest of Dr. Merera Gudina.
Gujdina, chairman of the Oromo Federalist
Congress (OFC). He was arrested upon his
return from Brussels in early November. During
his stay he and Olympian athlete Feyisa Lellisa
also met with Members of the European
Parliament. According to the government,
Gudina’s detention was connected with
contacts with individuals Addis Ababa deemed
as ‘terrorists.’
https://twitter.com/AnaGomesMEP/status/809469
550882340864/photo/1
http://www.ethiopianembassy.be/en/2016/12/16/
statement-by-mr-tesfaye-daba-on-the-arrest-of-drmerera-gudina/
Government blocking of websites
widespread, systematic and illegal
Amnesty International and the Open
Observatory of Network Interference claim that
access to WhatsApp was blocked, as well as at
least 16 news outlets. In the government’s eyes
‘social media is a tool for extremists peddling
bigotry and hate and therefore they are fully
justified in blocking internet access. The reality,
though, is very different. The widespread
censorship has closed another space for
Ethiopian’s to air the grievances that fuelled the
protests,’ said Amnesty. ‘The internet blocking
had no basis in law, and was another
disproportionate and excessive response to the
protests.’
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/12
/ethiopia-government-blocking-of-websites-duringprotests-widespread-systematic-and-illegal/
3
European countries ease travel advice
According to the Ethiopian Embassy in Brussels,
the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the UK
have recently eased their Ethiopia travel
advice.
Peace keeping problems in Somalia
According to radio France, the redeployment of
Ethiopian troops highlights problems with the
international community’s funding of military
operations in Africa. Many assumed this
redeployment was aimed at bolstering
Ethiopia’s security forces in order to tackle the
country’s ongoing six-month state of
emergency.
http://www.france24.com/en/20161215-ethiopiantroops-withdraw-highlighting-peacekeepinginternationally-funded-peacekeeping
Nile Politics: Eritrea, Sudan Ethiopia, Egypt
Eritrea’s Isaias
Afwerki
met
Egypt’s
president, Abdulfatah Al-Sisi. Egyptian news
outlets opined about the nature of the
Ethiopian-Egyptian relations in connection with
Isaias’ visit. For four years, Egyptian papers
have been writing extensively about the Great
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) presenting
it as a factor over which Egypt and Ethiopia
might go to war. The newspapers also stated
that Egypt was using Eritrea to pressures
Ethiopia.
http://awate.com/nile-politics-eritrea-sudanethiopia-egypt/
Prime-Minister
visits
Saudi
Arabia
PM Hailemariam Desalgen discussed regional
security with Saudi officials. Last year, several
outlets reported unconfirmed news that Saudi
Arabia and the UAE signed a thirty-year lease
agreement with Eritrea to use naval facilities in
its territories around the port of Assab,
adjacent to Bab Al-Mendeb, the Southern
entrance to the Rec Sea. Saudi Arabia is fighting
the
Houthis
in
Yemen.
The Saudi investment portfolio in Ethiopia
includes about 300 projects with an estimated
value of US$200 million. The two sides have
agreed to further increase Saudi investments in
Ethiopia in the field of agriculture, livestock,
leather manufacturing, and other sectors of the
Ethiopian
economy.
http://awate.com/ethiopian-pm-on-a-state-visit-tosaudi-arabia/
Ethiopian Girl Band Yegna's funding 'under
review' in UK
The five female band members of Yegna do not
only perform pop music hits, but also produce
a
radio
broadcast that
invites Ethiopian listeners to discuss women's
issues, including domestic violence and sexual
harassment. In the UK a £5.2m subsidy request
had
been
submitted.
International
development secretary, Priti Patel, promised
MPs she would work to ensure taxpayer value
for money, after reports the group Yegna was
getting £5.2m. There are many other ways to
deal with issues like forced marriage and
violence against women. But the government
could not "vacate the pitch", Ms Patel said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke__UYzYJaA
http://www.girleffect.org/what-we-do/yegna/
4
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-38364687
over the interest rates payable to the loans as
well as on the loans reimbursement periods.
http://www.thereporterethiopia.com/content/mps
-raise-concerns-external-debt-repayment-capacity
World Bank lauds Ethiopia’s economic
growth in a report
Inauguration of Gibe III hydro plant on
River Omo
Ethiopia inaugurated on December 17 the €1.5
billion Gibe III hydro plant on River Omo,
located 450km southwest of the capital Addis
Ababa. It has ten turbines, each with a capacity
of 187MW, will increase Ethiopia's total
electricity output to 4,238 megawatts. It is
expected to supply both domestic and export
markets.
‘Economic growth remained at a respectable
8% in 2015/16, which is impressive especially
compared to previous drought situations which
often resulted in economic contraction’,
said Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director
for Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan. The
World Bank report provides an in-depth view of
Ethiopia’s’ labour market, which should
become more efficient and reveals that
Ethiopia also kept inflation under control. The
World Bank fears that Ethiopia loses its global
competitiveness because of its overvalued
currency.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/pressrelease/2016/12/06/world-bank-group-launchesits-5th-economic-update-for-ethiopia
http://allafrica.com/stories/201612170254.html
http://capitalethiopia.com/2016/12/13/ethiopiamay-lose-global-competitiveness-overvaluedcurrency-world-bank-says/#.WFg7VvkrLIU
African Development Bank lends to
Ethiopian Airlines
MP’s raise concern on external debt
repayment capacity
Members of Parliaments (MPs) demanded to
ascertain the country's external debt
repayment capacity, before ratifying new
concessional loan agreements recently signed
with the Chinese Export-Import (EXIM) Bank.
The $332.7 million are meant for road
construction and power transmission projects.
The draft ratification proclamations for the two
separate loan agreements were tabled before
parliament, where MPs voiced their concerns
Ethiopian Airlines will get the 159 million $ loan
to help finance doubling the size of its fleet and
increasing its revenue to $10 billion over the
next decade. The state-owned carrier has
around 80 planes, including Boeing 787
Dreamliners and Airbus A350-900 jets, and has
50 aircraft on order. It is considering buying
either the 366-seat Airbus A350-1000 or
Boeing's 777x long-haul jet.
http://af.reuters.com/article/ethiopiaNews/idAFL5
N1EA4UH
New ambitions Awash Winery (co-owned
by Bob Geldof)
Awash Winery S.C hopes to place Ethiopian
wines on the world map with a 200 million Birr
capital expansion project to improve its
capacity. The expansion has now reached one5
third completion, pushing the winery’s
production capacity from seven million to 10
million litres. It includes expansion of the
vineyards and farming mechanisation. New
vines have been planted in Merti Jirsu, on the
upper
Awash
stream.
http://addisfortune.net/articles/awashwinery-aspires-to-crack-world-market/
Holland Car requests PM’s intervention
One of the two founders of car assembler
Holland Car Plc, which is under liquidation, is
asking the Prime Minister to intervene in the
company’s corruption case. Tadesse Tessema
flew to Addis Ababa from his base in
Rotterdam, to file a claim with Prime Minister
Hailemariam Dessalegn, in which he alleges
that actions taken by the Liquidity Supervision
Commission of Holland Car Plc, which was
appointed by the court, are illegal and that the
Commission, led by Assefa Ali, is
inappropriately using its power. ‘They have
transferred Holland Car to a company called
Axis International Plc to commence the
assembling’.
http://capitalethiopia.com/2016/12/13/hollandcar-requests-pms-intervention/#.WFg7rvkrLIU
Wild life trafficking, poaching continues
gripping Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is emerging as a transit route
for illicit wildlife products and live animals. This
was the focus of the recent Steering Committee
Meeting of the Horn of Africa–Wildlife
Enforcement Network (HA-WEN). The meeting,
organized by the Horn of Africa–Regional
Environment Centre and Network (HoAREC&N) and others, talked about devising a way
forward for a concerted effort to protect
wildlife in the Horn of Africa Region. HA-WEN
members are Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya,
Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.
Increasing evidence shows that there is
widespread trafficking of Cheetahs and ivory,
rhino horn, skins and shark fins. Most are
destined to the Arab Peninsula and Far East.
Until recently, prevention of wild life crime in
the Horn has been neglected.
http://capitalethiopia.com/2016/12/13/wild-lifetrafficking-poaching-continues-gripping-hornafrica/#.WFg8uvkrLIU
Ethiopische bosmieren kunnen uitgroeien
tot wereldwijde plaag
Amerikaanse wetenschappers hebben in
Ethiopië een mierensoort ontdekt die kan
uitgroeien tot een wereldwijde plaag. De
relatief onbekende bosmieren van de soort
Lepisiota canescens vormen in Ethiopische
bossen kolonies die tientallen kilometers
beslaan. Ze zouden zich kunnen verspreiden
naar omliggende landen en verder.
Tadesse Tessema, Holland Car
http://www.nu.nl/wetenschap/4356381/ethiopisch
e-bosmieren-kunnen-uitgroeien-wereldwijdeplaag.html
6
of military equipment into the country. Castro
sent 11,600 Cuban troops and more than 6,000
advisers.
http://qz.com/859579/in-ethiopia-and-somaliafidel-castros-legacy-is-very-different/
New television channels may threaten
state control
In Addis Ababa and elsewhere one sees satellite
dishes. ‘People have roofs to repair, but they are
buying satellite dishes instead,’ chuckles Abel
Adamu of the Addis Ababa School of
Journalism. ‘The proliferation of these dishes
symbolises the frustration that Ethiopia’s 90m
citizens feel with state-owned television.’
Ethiopians are fast becoming spoilt for one,
Kana TV. It is taking the country by storm.
Conservative commentators decry its foreign
soap operas, dubbed into Amharic, for
corrupting Ethiopian culture.
http://www.economist.com/news/middle-eastand-africa/21711274-news-programmes-are-likelyfollow-soaps-and-game-shows-new-televisionchannels
Seized weapons on display in Harar, 1977
Turkey restores Ottoman-era building in
Harar
The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination
Agency (TIKA) has completed the restoration of
an old Ottoman-era consulate building in of
Harar, built during the Ottoman era in 1912.
The building had neared collapse. Families from
the Ottoman period had lived in Harar and
some buildings similar to classical Turkish
architecture could still be found in the city.
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/181702/turke
y-restores-ottoman-era-building-in-ethiopian-city
Ethiopia mourns for Fidel Castro
In early 1977 Fidel Castro met the Ethiopian
leader, Mengistu Haile Mariam and Siad Barre
from Somalia in Aden. After lengthy
negotiations he came down on the side of
Ethiopia, telling East German leader, Erich
Honecker: ‘I have made up my mind about Siad
Barre, he is above all a chauvinist. Chauvinism is
the most important factor in him.’ In September
1977 the Soviet Union established an air bridge
to save the Ethiopians, pouring $1 billion worth
Civil society organisations
In Civil society organisations and societal
transformation in Africa: the case of Ethiopia,
schrijft Feleke Tadele (Afrika Studie Centrum),
dat maatschappelijke organisaties geen
uitvinding van het westen zijn maar in Ethiopië
al eeuwen lang functioneren en deel van de
lokale cultuur van humanisme zijn.
7
http://www.connectingafrica.net/query_2.php?rid=B00062219
Gada system intangible world heritage
The indigenous democratic socio-political Gada
system of the Oromo has been recognised as
immaterial world heritage.
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/RL/gadasystem-an-indigenous-democratic-socio-politicalsystem-of-the-oromo-01164
Mijn eerste Amhaarse beeldwoordenboek
Een mooi nieuwjaarsgeschenk met meer dan
400 Nederlandse en Amhaarse woorden. Met
de kleurige illustraties vergroten kinderen
spelenderwijs hun woordenschat van het
Amhaars.
36 pagina's.
http://www.finado.be/node/221
Ethiopian Traditions ‘Nearly Identical’ to
Dead Sea Scrolls From Second Temple Era
Strict observance of the Sabbath is one
example. Unlike mainstream Judaism, which
abides by a Talmud teaching that violating
Shabbat is permitted in order to save a life, ‘for
the Ethiopian Jews, the sanctity of Shabbat
must be preserved, even at the cost of human
life,’ said professor Dr. Yossi Ziv recently, adding
that similar stringencies were found in the Dead
Sea
Scrolls.
Another Second
Templeera custom practiced by Ethiopians includes not
lighting Sabbath candles in observance of an
ancient tradition which prohibits the use of a
fire on Shabbat, even if it was lit before Shabbat
started.
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/80005/ethio
pian-judaism-nearly-identical-second-templepractice/#H7yj02lxRmvsmi4d.99
8
The Garima Gospels - Early Illuminated
Gospel Books from Ethiopia
According to Judith Mckenzie and Francis
Watson are the three Garima Gospels the
earliest surviving Ethiopian gospel books. They
provide glimpses of lost late antique luxury
gospel books and art of the fifth to seventh
centuries, from the Aksumite kingdom of
Ethiopia. This book reproduces all of the Garima
illuminated pages for the first time.
Ethiopian photographer Wongel Abebe
inside the country’s oldest university
She interviewed male and female students
and made pictures.
http://qz.com/849348/an-ethiopian-photographertook-a-humans-of-new-york-approach-tochronicle-conditions-at-the-countrys-oldestuniversity/
https://bijzonderecollecties.hexspoorwms.nl/NL/w
ebshop/museumwinkel/the-garima-gospels.-earlyilluminated-gospel-books-fromethiopia/122358&page=
9