Ethiopian PM wins disputed poll

Meles Zenawi will enjoy a majority in parliament
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has won May's bitterly disputed elections, official results show.
His Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front gained 296 seats out of 547, enough for a working majority.

At least 36 people died in protests against alleged fraud when police fired into the crowds. The opposition has complained of discrepancies.

The election body wants the vote to be re-run in 31 constituencies, but this will not affect the overall outcome.

The National Electoral Board called on all sides to accept the result.

"The parties should accept the final results which have come after an investigation process that was long but also transparent," said chairman Kemal Bedri.

ETHIOPIA'S NEW PARLIAMENT
EPRDF: 296
EPRDF allies: 22
CUD: 109
UEF: 52
Others: 13
Re-runs: 32
Still to be held: 23
Source: National Electoral Board
But Berhanu Nega, of the opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD), told Reuters news agency that his party rejected the outcome.

"We will not accept it. We will challenge it in court," he said.

Despite their anger at the way in which the elections were held, the opposition parties will be greatly strengthened in the new parliament.

They now hold 174 seats - compared with just 14 in the last parliament.

Re-runs of the vote are scheduled to be held in 32 constituencies on 21 August.

A further 23 seats in the Somali region are due on the same day.

Is Birhanu Nega not joking when he says that he will challenge the robbery of the votes by Zenawi and his cadres in the courts. He must be too optimistic to expect justice in Woyane courts.

CUD/UEDF seems to be not ready for any sacrifice because they know that this is another rubber stump visit to Kemal Berdi Himself. Let them not ask Meles anything more and avoid another definition for “sore loser” by gracefully and silently exhausting of all the Court process. Let them not complain anymore about court. That would make them the butt of all satire in the western world. Finally CUD/UEDF should just only tell their followers that they did what they could legally and show up for work the next day after Mr. Kemal's second decision as the court judge with out accepting any loss. If Meles forces try to fight for acceptance, let them go to court insisting on their right to start work with out any acceptance. When beginning work let them show their united opposition on all possible parliamentary procedures. So Much for our doctors, I am glad I did not attend AAU. All of this fast wrapping up move by EPDRF is came from the stupid begging because EPDRF now knows there is no real and imminent danger. All you stupid people who supported the proposal look what happened now.

Berhanu Nega is a lame brain. What a disappointment he is. He sold out the people of Ethiopia and delivered victory to woyanne in a silver platter. The other cud leaders around him are also losers for following his lead. Ethiopia is not blessed with competent leaders.

Efrem!

Ethiopia is not blessed to have a person like you!

Here is a counter-TPLF move all of the diaspora opposition should come together expose every company that is linked to TPLF coffer and campaign to freeze those accounts.


Silencing the media abroad
Ethiopian free press journalists in exile (Amsterdam)
Aug 9, 2005

As part of its harsh campaign against independent journalists and producers in and outside the country, the EPRDF regime has just announced suing of four Ethiopians in USA for alleged labeling. The EPRDF-controlled media said on 8 august 2005 the accused are Ato Goshu Habte, Ato Yonas Habte, and Ato Dawit Kebede who live in the United States and Ato Lishan Gizaw who resides in Germany.

This is not the first move of the regime in power trying to sue journalists who fled from its brutal attack. Two former independent journalists, who reside in the Netherlands, were also charged with yet another "crime of drug dealers" simply for exposing the imminent danger of the life of journalists in the country. Unsuccessful attempt, however, it was an obvious fabrication of crime to silence the media abroad.
One other example is the recent case of radio-journalist Mirchaw Sinishaw, who was actively campaigning for a demo in the US against Meles' act of terror. Finally he is compelled to close his radio by Sheik Al Amudi allegedly for disseminating defamation

Background
It is unfolded by several international human right and media groups that since the inception of the free press in Ethiopia, dozens of independent journalists and publishers are regularly charged in flimsy indictments of fomenting dissension. The courts sentence journalists to politically prescribed long-term jail time and heavy fines.
Along with the frequent harassment, intimidation, threats of torture and killings, other attacks have been made against the media. The burning down of free press offices, robbing of their office equipments, burn copies of the news papers by armed agents are some of cases in point.
Amnesty international has reported that seven journalists of the free press are killed by TPLF soldiers simply for exposing government corruptions.
According to the New York based committee to protect journalists, one of the most glaring instances of the intensity of the EPRDF-driven persecutions of the free-press journalists is the large number of those who have fled the country in exile to save their lives. The exodus of the 51 journalists manifests the ever-increasing intensity of the ordeals faced by the press in Ethiopia. Although hindered by their exile, these journalists are working from abroad and throwing their human resources together to continue their work toward freedom of expression.
Dawit Kebede
Among the accused, Ato Dawit Kebede is the former publisher and editor-in-chief of the bi-weekly newspaper, Fiameta. He had also served in the EFJA executive committee as head of the public relations. He is one of the 51 journalists who fled their country from persistent persecutions by the incumbent TPLF regime. He had to face more than 15 arbitrary charges and detention for alleged "crimes of defamation" against the government. He had 12 cases pending while he left his country. Along with colleague producers of TENSAE radio, he has continued his work toward freedom of _expression from abroad. The current charge is nothing but the extension of the harassment in Ethiopia.
TENSAE Ethiopia.Inc is a registered organization under the US law. It is governed by its editorial board members. There is no person called Ato Goshu Habte in its board. If the accuser meant Dr. Gashu Habte, he is not chair-person of UEDP-MEDHIN support group in USA. Ato Yonas habte is a brother and has nothing to do with TENSAE radio. Strong enough, Ato Lishan Gizaw is not known by TENSAE radio at all.
Paranoia
After the election-crisis in Ethiopia , various media groups are unfolding that journalists are being used as scapegoats for the country's instability and chaos.
"Beneath a facade of democracy, the government of Meles Zenawi is riddled with taboos," said the Paris based Reporters without Borders. "Once again journalists are paying the price for an unhealthy political climate, under the easy pretext of defamation."
As victims of terror by the Meles regime, two journalists of the US news agency, the Associated Press, photographer Boris Heger and reporter Anthony Mitchell, were arrested together with eight editors of the free-press journalists in the aftermath of the election. The credentials of five journalists working for the Amharic-language services of the German public radio, Deutsche Welle (DW), and the US government's Voice of America (VOA) were revoked. These moves clearly show how paranoid the regime is and it would not be a surprising if it went further to sues the journalists abroad.
A warning message
Although desperate and rhetoric, the lawsuit dream, it is a warning message for all of us to be silent about the crimes of TPLF in its recent election fraud, arrest, and killings of innocent civilians.
It could, instead, be used as backfire against the accuser. It is time for the international community to resist the regime in power. The lawsuit would be a good begin for us in Diaspora to expose the corruption of the TPLF. Using its power, TPLF has amassing billions of Ethiopian funds in the name of privatization. With its 70 illegal companies, the TPLF has stolen multi-billion birr from the poor, the money that was supposed for the development of the country.
We would not allow the accused became accuser. The move would rather awaken us not only compiling and digging a list of the companies abroad that are linked to the TPLF, it shall also be the awakening of the international community to come together, organize and file crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Meles regime.
Furthermore, we have to expose the regime of using the free-press for its diplomatic consumption and to manipulate international donors and financial institutions.
Finally, the nervous and paranoid regimes seem confused with the legal suit. It accused the four Ethiopians of defamation of individuals and at the same time sued them via its ministry of foreign affairs. According to legal analysts, defamation is personal. That means that each individual should have brought his case personally and not via government authority. In this case we wonder if the TPLF is going to use the hard-earned public money for private cases. Let us wait and see.
More information is available on the links below.
http://waltainfo.com/EnNews/2005/Aug/09Aug05/Aug09e3.htm
http://www.TENSAE.com
Contact
Ato Dawit Kebede at 678 437 5597
Dr. Gashu Habte at 202 276 1645