Praise for Turkish hospital in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA: Both the government and Ethiopian doctors are praising the soon-to-be opened volunteer hospital run by Turkish medical professionals in the East African country.
“It’s really exciting,” one doctor in the capital, Addis Ababa, told Bikyanews.com.
The Turkish hospital is to be a joint enterprise with the Marmara Health Federation (MASFED) and Kimse Yok Mu in Ethiopia, where the reported life expectancy is around 40-years-old.
The 40-bed hospital is to open its doors on August 1.
A total of 50 medical health-care personnel from both Turkey and Ethiopia will serve the people in the Turkish hospital.
Ten of doctors working in the hospital will be Turkish. Five of them will stay in Ethiopia permanently while the others will stay in the country for period of three to six months.
The hospital will particularly fight against epidemics such as malaria, measles, meningococcal septicemia and typhoid fever, which are the main problems in the country, as well as infant mortality.
Speaking to Today’s Zaman in Turkey, MASFED President Ahmet Seyfi Gozaydin said: “Ethiopia’s Harari region was once under the administration of Turkey’s predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, so we give particular importance to the region. When the hospital’s construction comes to an end, our friends [doctors who are member of the federation] will leave their jobs in Turkey and will go to the Harari region to serve people at the hospital.”
source: http://bikyanews.com/86999/praise-for-turkish-hospital-in-ethiopia/

Ethiopian Israelis take big strides

Obama Shakes hands with Yityish Aynaw,
the Ethiopian -Israeli Woman who won Israel's
national beauty pageant.

TEL AVIV — When Yityish Aynaw immigrated from Ethiopia to Israel at age 12, she was thrust into an Israeli classroom. An orphan lacking Hebrew skills, Aynaw says she relied on other kids and her own sheer ambition to get through.
Ten years later Aynaw, 22, is the first Ethiopian-Israeli to be crowned Miss Israel — a title she hopes to use to showcase Israel’s diversity.
“Israel really accepts everybody,” she told JTA. “That I was chosen proves it.”
Ethiopian and other African-Israelis have historically struggled with poverty and integration.
But recently, several African-Israeli women have made a pop culture splash.
Along with Aynaw, Ethiopian-Israeli actress Ester Rada, 28, has just released her first solo rock record to positive reviews.

And Ahtaliyah Pierce, a 17-year-old Black Hebrew Israeli, reached the semifinals on Israel’s edition of “The Voice,” a reality show in which emerging singers compete.
Though their personal stories diverge, each woman has experienced challenges as an African immigrant and wants to use her fame to help other African immigrants better integrate into Israeli society.
“It’s hard for Ethiopians to adapt, but they should be who they are, be the best that they can be,” said Rada, who was born in Jerusalem to Ethiopian parents who spoke Amharic at home. “Don’t let others keep you down or make you feel like we don’t belong.”
Rada’s parents stayed close to their Ethiopian roots, eating traditional foods and listening to traditional music.
But Rada rebelled. She refused to speak Amharic and failed to understand why she should feel tied to a country she had never seen and did not understand.
In recent years, the resistance has softened. Ethiopian culture “is a part of me and I can’t run away from it,” Rada said. “I decided to embrace it. And it’s helped me define who I am, in my culture and in my music.”
AYNAW says it’s important for Israelis to see the positive side of the Ethiopian community.
She compares the effect of her winning Miss Israel to Barack Obama’s election as president of the US.
The two met at the Israeli president’s residence during Obama’s recent trip to the region.
“There are wonderful things about the [Ethiopian] community, and it’s important that [Israelis] see it,” she told JTA.
“Israel is a multicultural state. We’re diverse and we come from different countries, so we need to show that outwardly.”
Rada and Pierce report incidents of racism directed at them because of their skin color. A woman once accused Rada of coming to Israel only for the money. And Pierce says in her hometown of Dimona, ?she used to be called “kushi,” a Hebrew pejorative used to describe blacks.
“There are many stigmas about the community, and unfortunate stories,” said Hava Tizazu, an Ethiopian-Israeli actress who works with at-risk African youth.
“Now there are new personalities who are beautiful and positive. It helps to change the image, but it’s just one step in a longer process.”
Since she advanced to the semifinals on “The Voice,” Pierce says the slurs have all but stopped. She was voted off the show in March, but like Rada she hopes to keep performing after her army service.
“I want to be on stage,” Pierce said. “It doesn’t matter if I’m modeling, singing or acting. I have to be on stage.”
Aynaw also hopes to model and act, and to support youth arts clubs during her year as Miss Israel. She will represent Israel at the Miss World competition in September in Indonesia.
“I feel like a very important person,” Aynaw said. “I don’t usually get up and see myself on all of the TV channels. I’m definitely getting used to it.”

Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 April 2013 11:19 )
source: http://www.ijn.com/ijn-news/israel/3861-ethiopian-israelis-take-big-strides  

Ethiopia ready to censor, crackdown on Internet, radio and TV

ADDIS ABABA: Worries are abounding in Ethiopia that the government is preparing to pass new legislation that would censor almost all forms of media, both traditional and new.
The new draft law is reportedly being prepared by a steering committee constituting the Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority, Ethiopian Ministry of Communications & Information Technology and Information Network Security Agency.
The Ethiopia Radio & Television Agency is also participating in the drafting process of the new law.
Activists and journalists and have lashed out at the government, saying it is a way of stifling any dissent and opposition to the government’s policies.
“We are fed up with this and hope that it will not come and happen because it would mean the end to any semblance of freedom of speech in the country,” 29-year-old activist and blogger Geteye told Bikyanews.com.
“We cannot allow the government to stifle our ability to be free and have fair discussions in our media. This is dictatorship.”
The bill is required to regulate Internet, television and radio broadcasts, once the current analogue infrastructure is transformed to a digital system.
“The law is needed, in order to prepare for the management complexities that will follow digitization,” Leul said.
A federal agency will also be established  to administer the broadcasting network and radio waves, with Ethiopian Broadcast Authority controlling the content transmitted on different channels, according to Leul.
Under the new bill, additional licenses are expected to be issued, including mobile TV broadcasting license, Bedlu Weldemariam, mass media registration & license director, at the Ethiopian Broadcast Authority.
It comes after a report suggested that the Ethiopian government was using spyware to keep tabs on activists and opposition leaders in the country, which also angered activists, who have called for the international community to take note of what is happening in the country on freedom of speech issues.
source: http://bikyanews.com/87084/ethiopia-ready-to-censor-crackdown-on-internet-radio-and-tv/

Saudi Arabia distances itself from criticism of Ethiopian dam

 By Tesfa-Alem Tekle April 5, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) - 

The Saudi Arabia government has made an official statement rebuffing recent remarks made by the kingdom's deputy defense minister against the construction Ethiopia's Grand renaissance dam. Speaking at a session of the Arab Water Council held in Cairo late in February, Khalid Bin Sultan, accused the Horn of Africa nation of posing a national security threat to Sudan and Egypt by building the massive $4.8 billion hydro power dam, which is being built along the Blue Nile River near the Sudanese border. The Saudi deputy defense minister then blasted Ethiopia's power plant project saying it was intended "for political plotting rather than for economic gain and constitutes a threat to Egyptian and Sudanese national security". The Ethiopian government reacted fiercely over the statements and summoned the Saudi Ambassador to Ethiopia seeking for an official explanation from the remarks.
Addis Ababa further said the hostile statements by the Saudi official could also negatively affect the existing diplomatic ties between Arabs and other Nile basin countries. The Saudi Ambassador in Ethiopia responded by saying that Sultan's views were not the policy of the government and on April 1 the Saudi foreign ministry echoed the this in a statement. In the release Saudi, foreign minister, Ambassador Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Jandan, told a group of Ethiopian diplomats in Riyadh that the deputy defence minister's statements "do not reflect the official stance of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". He further underscored that - unlike media reports the recent statements made on the Nile dam project won't affect the historic relations between the two countries which he said dates back to the First Hijira, when the Ethiopian monarchy gave refuge to the family of the Prophet Mohammed and his followers who faced persecution on the Saudi peninsular at the beginning of the seventh century. The statement said that Saudi Arabia's "relations with Ethiopia are based on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs and work to promote common interests in the service of both governments and their peoples". Despite strong protests from downstream countries of Sudan and Egypt - who argued dam would reduce the flow of the water to their territories - Ethiopia launched construction on Africa's biggest dam in March 2011. An official from the ministry of water and energy told Sudan Tribune on Friday that 18% of the project has been completed. The official further said the plans set to complete the dam in 2016 are well on track. Currently some 5,000 Ethiopian and over 100 foreign employees are engaged in the construction of the dam which will have hydro power processed electricity generation power of 6000 MW. (ST) http://www.hydroworld.com/news/2013/04/06/saudi-arabia-distances-itself-from-criticism-of-ethiopian-dam.html

Ethiopia: Meles Foundation Launched

The inaugural meeting of Meles Foundation opened this morning (March 6) at the African Union Hall. The meeting is attended by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn , President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti , President Omar Hassan Albeshir of Sudan, Prime Minister of Somalia, Abdi Farah Shirdon , AU Chairperson Dr. Dlamini Zuma ,former president of Nigeria Olesegun Obasanjo , Foreign Minister's of Rwanda and Seychelles and other high level dignitaries .

In his opening address, Prime Minister Hailemariam remembered the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as "exemplary leader in his unique leadership skills and flawless performance as chief of the executive" and added that "the establishment of the Foundation is deemed necessary as a thorough study of his life and his works and their implementation thus far is important to ensure the continuity of the renaissance of Ethiopia." Former First Lady, Azeb Mesfin, on the occasion noted that the Foundation will assist researchers interested to study Meles's academic works through scholarships to ensure the continuity of the implementation of his vision.
Djibouti, 500,000$, Uganda $300,000, Sudan, $ 2.000,000 and South Sudan, 1,000.000 $ pledged to support the Foundation. Reflections on the life and works of the visionary leader the late Meles Zenawi was presented to the meeting by Professor Andreas Eshete, renowned scholar Alex De Waal and other dignitaries. The Meles Foundation is established in a proclamation recently passed by the House of Representatives to serve as a memorial of the prime minister's great contribution in socio -economic issues, climate change negotiations and for his efforts aimed at ensuring peace and security of the continent among other things.

Egypt’s Morsi says no Nile River crisis, fears abound

Egypt President Mohamed Morsi says no problems along Nile River.

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CAIRO and ADDIS ABABA: Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday attempted to dispel fears that rifts were continuing to create tension between Egypt, Sudan and the rest of the Nile Basin countries. His comments came after months of wrangling after a report suggested Egypt was ready to attack Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam project if it went forward.
“Egypt’s ties stumbled in the past, but now we are together, with possibilities of enhancing cooperation that satisfies the interests of all sides,” Morsi told reporters at the end of a two-day visit in Sudan.
“Mutual talks in this respect are currently ongoing, and we welcome the restoration of old relations with Africa,” Morsi added.
However, he did not talk specifically about the demands of other Nile Basin countries, including Ethiopia, which has long pushed to have their own rights to the world’s longest river. Sudan and Egypt are seen as two allies and stalwart in their antagonism against other Nile River countries, especially concerning any dam projects.
Despite Egypt and Sudan’s war of words against Ethiopia and the dam project, Addis Ababa has said it will go forward with the project as part of its energy needs.
A source close to the Ethiopian government and those responsible for the massive Nile Renaissance Dam project has told Bikyanews.com that the government is expected to increase efforts to push forward on the construction of the large dam project that has left Egypt and Sudan frustrated.
“It is serious that the government here is looking to increase productivity on the dam project,” said the source, who has worked in the higher levels of the Ethiopian government over the past two decades. “It is a result of the public antagonism that has been leveled at Ethiopia over Nile water and what is believed to be the right of any nation to use its resources for the betterment of its own society.”
It is the latest in the ongoing battle for the world’s largest river’s water, with Egypt and Sudan continuing to remain obstinate in amending any of the colonial treaties that guarantee their countries with a lion’s share of water from the Nile.
Wikileaks released documents this month that revealed Egypt and Sudan had been planning to attack an Ethiopian dam project to “protect” their rights over Nile water based on colonial era treaties.
In documents revealed by Wikileaks, the Egyptian and Sudanese government appeared ready to develop a launching pad for an attack by Egypt against the dam.
Wikileaks has leaked files allegedly from the Texas-based global intelligence company, Stratfor, which quote an anonymous “high-level Egyptian source,” which reported that the Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon said in 2010 that Egypt “would do anything to prevent the secession of South Sudan because of the political implications it will have for Egypt’s access to the Nile.”
http://bikyanews.com/87144/egypts-morsi-says-no-nile-river-crisis-fears-abound/

Saudi Arabia: statements made against Ethiopian Renaissance Dam were not our policy

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Bilateral Affairs, Ambassador Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Jandan has dismissed statements made criticizing the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). In a discussion with Ethiopian diplomats in Riyadh, Dr. Khalid said statements made against the GERD were not the policy of his government.
Citing the historic relations of the two countries, going back to the First Hijira when Ethiopia gave refuge to the family of the Prophet and his followers, Dr. Khalid denied recent media reports suggesting statements made against Ethiopia and the GERD might affect relations between the two countries. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on April 1st issued a statement on its website which strongly affirmed Saudi Arabia’s close relationship with Ethiopia.
The statement emphasized relations with Ethiopia are based on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs and work to promote common interests in the service of both governments and their peoples. The Ministry said any statements suggesting the contrary do not reflect the official stance of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In his discussions,
Dr. Khalid also emphasized that the ministerial statement reflected the high regard Saudi Arabia accorded to its bilateral relations with Ethiopia. These, he noted, are based on the principles of mutual cooperation for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries.
The statement of Dr. Khalid bin Ibrahim Al Jandan was carried by the Saudi Arabian News Agency and in the Al Medina newspaper. It is to be recalled that Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Defense Minister, Prince Bin Khalid, made a comment in a Water Ministers’ summit in Cairo that GERD might be detrimental to downstream countries, suggesting Ethiopia’s legitimate development efforts were a political machination intended to harm Sudan and Egypt. The Ethiopian government strongly rejected the comment and asked for an official explanation from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
http://www.awrambatimes.com/?p=7177
Source: Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs