BBC's Re-Aired Programme Fails to Reflect Objective Realities in Ethiopia- Geoffrey Lipma

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Chairman of the Green Global Village and President of the International Council of Tourism Partners said that through his several trips to Ethiopia he has observed a government and private sector committed to a modern African democracy.

Geoffrey Lipman also indicated his protest on a recently re-aired programme of BBC's Michael Buerke concerning Ethiopia Twenty Years On as, he pointed out, the film makes a number of incorrect assertions about the current situation in Ethiopia.

Geoffrey Lipman, who is also Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, said that dramatic positive changes have occurred in Ethiopia particularly in food security, poverty alleviation, education and democratic empowerment.

However, Lipman noted, Michael Buerke's re-aired programme has selectively picked areas in which changes have not been fast enough. In this sense it does not reflect the traditional BBC impartiality in these matters, Lipman noted.

Lipman said, that for the past eight months, he has been working on a project, advanced by Ethiopian Prime Minister, to use tourism as an important component of the continued accelerating social development of the country and the war on poverty.

"During that period in my several trips to Ethiopia I have only seen a government and private sector committed to a modern African democracy- recognizing all of the challenges that implies," Lipman said.

In his letter to Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, Lipman said, "surely, this is a moment to exercise some caution in re-airing a dated and controversial view of a country which needs objective support in its quest for development."

"... you may not have fully thought through the implications of airing this programme at this delicate moment in the democratic evolution of Ethiopia itself," Lipman added in his letter.

Lipman urged the BBC to immediately follow with a similar length prime time programme, including businessmen and international experts familiar with Ethiopia who would have a very different view than that continually repeated by Mr. Buerke.

Lipman sent, as an attachment to his letter to the BBC Director General a paper entitled "Tourism-A Creative Industry for Africa", which Prime Minister Meles presented to the Commission for Africa.

In that paper Prime Minister Meles underscores both the potential of the sector as a development agent and the commitment of the government to the transparency and democratization that an open tourism policy requires.

LOAD-DATE: August 3, 2005

Email: shirdons@yahoo.com

City: Washington DC

Ibrahim,

When are you stop following and begin leading. Stop competing with gebremenamin in cutting and pasting business. For God's sake you are PHD/JD and stop acting like gebremenamin.

Mamo Qilo

Dear Mamo:
Somali saying goes" Truth will not kill you, but it will scare you". I am sure that you are in the state of surprise that your opposition group are warming up the palace of Ethiopia with Meles in order to get a power seat. In the past, we have said that when the dust settles and emotion disappears, the truth will rise its beautiful head and face you and your kind with facts and evidences.
Today, CUD/UEDF expressed publicly that they are after power and do not have any clear and inclusive programme that will adress the need of ethiopian people.
Moreover, we are appealing to all Ethiopian namely the majority of Ethiopian people Oromo, Somali, Afar and Kambelas to name a few and work with Meles and other opposition group camp from the northern who are in the first place work on how to share your resources. They have done in the past and are repeating the same historical game again and again. This is the time we, southern people, need VJ to hire as lobbyist and ask to immplement his approach to bargain the power sharing; otherwise, three scenario will be foretell.
First, a coalition of EPRDF and CUD/UEDF will be making and govern the country. This is desastrous for the majority of Ethiopian people. Meles will replace the former Dawit, Genet and the mayor of Addis with Betroys, Haile Shawal, and Merrara. He will rule the next five years.
Second, EPRDF will dominate and CUD/UEDF will confine in Addis Abeba and one by one will be eliminated while EPRDF beat the drum that Amhara ghost with Ali Goshu is coming back and Ethiopia will be heading to doomday.
Third, the EU, USA, Arab League and AU will force Meles to include OLF, ONLF , KLF and ALF. Mr. Meles who is very good at selling its achievement to the international community of being the man who introduce democratic system, multi parties and rule of Law will go to the storage of strategy and tactic of 1995 and bring the rosy window dressing that will alow economic power to the southern and keep the political power in the hand of EPRDF. In addition, Meles will govern, widening the difference gap and pit the CUD/UEDF with OLF/ONLF/KLF/ALF in order to pass bills in the parlaiment.
. This will help him to overcome the current crisis and also allow him to rule Ethiopia in the next five. In retrospect, he will prepare him to field his EPRDF candidate in the next coming election.
All in all the same broken CD will be played which has the follwoing songs: the song of the week will be that EPRDF is the savior and guard Ethiopia from the invisible hand of opposition group, the second one will be CUD/UEDF will steal Article 39, the third one will be OLF and ONLF will be painted as asual with big brush that these organizations are in the path of terrorism ( which is not true, but will help Meles to gain the money from Bush ) and the fourth song will be Ethiopia embarks on democratic system, rule of law and multi partie( this will be only target as consumer to the Western World) Gebre and Ibrahim will entertain this song.

Email: shirdons@yahoo.com

City: Washington DC