US President Barack Obama has described as “unacceptable” the expulsion of foreign aid workers from the Sudanese region of Darfur last week. BBC, 11 March 2009.
Mr Obama was speaking at the White House after his first talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Sudan expelled 13 aid agencies after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes.
The expelled groups deny Sudan’s claim that they have a political agenda.
After his talks with Mr Ban, Mr Obama said he wanted to send a strong message with the UN to bring peace to Sudan.
“It is not acceptable to put that many people’s lives at risk,” he said. “We need to be able to get those humanitarian organisations back on the ground.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the US embassy in Khartoum said it was allowing all non-essential embassy staff to leave the country.
Defiance
The United Nations has said kicking out the humanitarian groups puts more than one million lives at risk.
Some 2.7 million people are receiving aid in Darfur after being forced from their homes.
The UN estimates that 300,000 people have died, since black African rebels took up arms in 2003 against the Arab-dominated regime demanding a greater share of resources and power.
President Bashir on Sunday made a defiant visit to Darfur and warned all foreign workers to obey Sudan’s laws or face expulsion.
The ICC issued a warrant for Mr Bashir on 4 March, accusing him of two counts of war crimes and five crimes against humanity in Darfur.
It is the court’s first indictment against a serving president.
Mr Bashir has always denied that his government helped mobilise the Janjaweed militias accused of the worst atrocities against civilians.
Sudan, the African Union [AU] and the Arab League have all urged the UN Security Council to use its powers to defer the arrest warrant, saying it could further destabilise Darfur.
After meeting Mr Bashir in Khartoum on Monday, AU Commission chairman Jean Ping said: “It is clear that the decision of the ICC undermined and jeopardised… reconciliation in Darfur.”
March 11th, 2009 at 3:58 am
President Obama`s administration has to prove to us that it is serious about the issues of dictators and violators. The administration should review its relationships with the regime of ethno-fascists like Meles Zenawi. The US which is considered as the beacon of democracy has disappointed many by allying itself and supporting the narrow ethnic based tyranny in Ethiopia. Ethiopians should also play their part by uniting and presenting a cohesive opposition force which can earn the support and trust of the west as a partner. Any opposition force emerging should be an Ethiopian and as inclusive as possible. However, the weyanne fascists and ethnic supremacists should be excluded because of their crimes against humanity. Besides, the shocking expereince gained from the disintegration of the former Kinijit shows the vital importance of protecting opposition parties from inflitration by persons who have had any association with the weyannes.
March 11th, 2009 at 5:56 am
The new administration of Mr. Barack Obama can not embrace Meles Zenawi as a partner because the former has totally new foreign policy objectives. However, it does not mean that the president will sacrifice vital US interests for the sake of democracy and human rights in the third world. As far as the horn of Africa is concerned, the administration
may not prioritize the war on terrorism and Meles Zenawi may lose playing cards. The emergence of a strong Ethiopian democratic force presenting itself as a credible alternative and a stabilizing force is the prerequisite for US support. So Ethiopians should work on two fronts, i.e.
building up a genuine democratic opposition force on the home front and conducting a univocal and persistent diplomatic work or lobbying in the west. It is the home front which can determine the outcome of the diplomatic or lobby work because the west attach a lot of importance to the balance of power between the TPLF and the opposition. Meles Zenawi appears strong and cofnident because of the crippled opposition
unable to present any challenge to his misrule. His former associates and sympatizers within the leadership of the previous Kinijit have saved Meles Zenawi`s regime by sabotaging the popular strikes. These same forces have brought about the disintegration of Kinijit and paralysis of the opposition to Meles Zenawi.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:55 am
I thought, President Obamas recent action will be in Ethiopia condemning the Weyane Stalinists and we are waiting strong action, anxiously from the ICC, International Crime Court.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:50 am
……የአንባገነኖች መለያ ጠባይ ነው :ግብረሰናይ ድርጅቶችን እንዳይሰሩ ማድረግ::የሚረዱት የተጎዳውን ህዝብ ስለሆነ ተጎጂ የሚሆነውም ይሀው ህዝብ ነው…በ ኢትዮጵያም እንደዚሁ ከ ስራቸው የሚያስተግዋጉላቸው ህግ መውጣቱ ይታወቃል::…..ወደ አውራንባ የአሁኑ እትም ስመለስ…አቶ መለስ ኩላሊታቸውን እዲመረመሩ የጋበዘው ሰውዬ ለምን በዛው ጉበትና ጭንቅላታቸውን አያይልንም? ይሄ ጭንቅላታቸው ውስጡ የጎደለው ነገር እንዳይኖር….ከፍቶ ቢያየው ገራባው ምናምኑ እዛው ሳይኖር ይቀራል?….ኢትዮ ቻናል የተባለው ሼህ ሳምሶን የሚያዘጋጀው…ሳይመዘገብ ገበያ ላይ መውጣቱ….ዛት ኢዝ የአሁንዋ ኢትዮጵያ…አርፈህ ቁጭ ብትልስ ጋዜጠኛ….መኖር አልፈለክም መሰለኝ?….ህጉም ባለሃብቱም ማን እንደሆነ ሳይጠፋህ ቀርቶ አይመስለኝም…በተረፈ ለ ብርቱካን ትንሽ ሎሚ ሎሚ አትሁንባት: የሰጠሀው ር እ ስ ነገር አለው..ማንን ለማስደሰት እንደሆነ እንጃ!…..በመጨረሻ ይቅርታ ምናምን ስለተባለውና ስለሚባለው…ለካ የመቶ አለቃ ግርማ ስልጣን ባለቤት ናቸው:: ነው እነሱ የሚሰሩትን መጥፎ ድርጊት በሳቸው ለማሳበብ ነው:: እሳቸውስ ትልቅ ሰው እየሆኑ በውሽት ይሄ ሁሉ ድርጊት ሲሰራ ለምን አላደርግም አልፈርምም አይሉም? ነው አይናቸውን ሻኛና ጥሬ ስጋ ሸፍኖት ነበር:: በስተርጅና ለክብርና ለ እውነት ወይስ ለሆድ?…ይቅርታ ተደራጊ ሊኖር ቢችልም አድራጊ ግን የለም :: ምክኒያቱም ወንጀለኛውን አገር ስለሚያውቅ:: ቀኑን ጠብቆ ለፍርድ መቅረቡ ደግሞ የታወቀ ነው::መለስ በአደባባይ ላይ ወጣቱን ሲገድል ተመልክተሃል ዝም ብለህ ስለሱ ዘግብ ሳትፈራ::ራሱ ሰዎችን ገድሎ አንዴ ይቅርታ በሉ ሌላ ጊዜ ተገልበጡ የሚለው ተረቱን አውጥተህ ጣለው:: የመለስ ለፍርድ መቅረቢያው ግዜ ደርሶዋል:: …… የሃይሌ ገሪማ ፊልም ተደናቂ ሊሆን የሚችለው ዙሪያውን በሞተ ነገር ላይ ባያውጠነጥን ነበር…የወደቀ ግንድ…..ሃይሌ ልብ ካለው በ ወያኔ መጥፎነት ላይ ስክሪፕቱን አስደግፎ ይስራ….ትንሽ አሁንም ያልገባኝ ግን …መለስ ኢኮኖሚው አድግዋል እያለ በዋሸ ቁጥር..የሚራበው ህዝብ ቁጥሩ መበርከቱ ነው:: አይደለም ህዝቡን ለመመገብ ቀርቶ: በ እርዳታ የመጣለትን እህል እንክዋን ከወደብ አንስቶ :ማደል አቃተው! ችግሩ መሃል አገር እንዳይገባ::ወይም መቀሌ:: በተረፈ ወረቀት እየተወደደ ስለሆነ የራስህ ዌብ ሳይት ለማዘጋጀት ሞክር:: ከወረቀት በፊት ማዳበሪያ ተብሎዋል:: ቤኒፊሽያሪ ስለሆኑ ከዚህ በፊት በማዳበሪያ ግዢ:: መልካም ሳምንት::
March 11th, 2009 at 9:29 am
WE NEED NEW FACES IN ETHIOPIAN POLITICS.WE ALL ARE TIRED OF SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE OPPOSING JUST FOR THE SAKE OF OPPOSITION.TO ALL YOUNG EDUCATED AND NATIONALIST ETHIOPIANS THIS IS YOUR TIME WAKE UP AND SHOUT FOR YOUR NEW MODEREN IDEAS.LET ME TELL YOU ONE THING,MORE THAN 50 MILLION PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR THEIR OWN OBAMA.THIS IS YOUR TURN GUYS
March 11th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Obama’s policy is talk talk and talk. He wants to talk with Alkhida, hezbullah, Hamas, Iran, Russia, Korea etc which were once considered to be evil by the Bush adminstration. But I doubt it if Obama could stop terrorism just by talking.
March 11th, 2009 at 10:48 am
I know one thing for sure, America does not need no more war or enemies. Unless it is absolutely a must do or die situation. America is in serious economic chaos ever encounter since the great depression. The housing market is in free fall decline, some areas from 24%–41%. The GDP which the nation main indicator of economic activity is stageringly declining by unprecedented higher record percentage ever since second world war. the consumer confidence is lower than early 1960`s. The nation main major banks are in serious trouble and the government already nationalized several major banks and more to come. The nation main core manufacturing sector included the automotive industry is wallowing in bankruptcy and bankruptcy protection (chapeter 11) . The stock market lost its value by 39% for the last four months. International investors pulling their money out of American market, which becoming another alarming indicators. The unemlployment reaching to record high, some areas such as detroit michigan the unemployment reaching to double digit. Bankruptcy and housing Foreclosure increasingly becoming another saga for the economy. Cities and towns suffering facing unprecedented budget shortage and cutting off basic services. Homless shelters filling beyond their capacity througout the cities.
March 11th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
jaayyano if president obamas civilized way doesnot fit you do it your way bum bum bum make your slogan no talk only bum bum kkkkkkk
March 11th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Nothing concrete action would certainly taken by obama against those dictators and brutal killers like Zenawe,as he is a service dog of America.Thus ,first and formost ,we got to rely on the struggle of the Ethiopian people and ofcourse if possible conduct aggressive but co-ordinated diplomatic campaign to isolate these desperados organized under the name “TPLF”
March 11th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
By Assta B. Gettu
When that Day comes what will happen to the Tegarues (Tigreans)? That Day is to some a Day of doom; to others a Day of Joy and celebration, and that Day is the final Day of Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi).
After Meles Seitanawi’s regime is terminated and all of his political gangs have vanished from the face of the earth, I always fear many Ethiopians who have been marginalized for so many years under Meles’ political party whose main purpose has been to enrich the few selected tribes may retaliate disproportionately against the Tegarues, who are also to be Ethiopians but badly misguided by one of their evil sons – Meles Seitanawi.
To protect such fallen victims from being completely erased from the map of Ethiopia, the avengers – the Amharas, the Oromos, the Somalis in the Ogaden and the other Ethiopian tribes – must gingerly take immediate actions against those hot-tampered Ethiopians who want to destroy the Tegarues because of Meles’ vicious political leadership.
As in all wars or conflicts, the victors do not always completely destroy their enemies: some they capture and send them to jail, and some they pardon and send them home without harming them. In this way, all Ethiopians, it is my hope, are expected to do better than this toward the Tegarues, their own people, not their foreign enemies. This does not mean the few criminals must go unpunished, and most Ethiopians well know who these hard core criminals are and who have been terrorizing Ethiopia for almost twenty years. If captured, these evil men and women who have been eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the unfortunate Ethiopians should face justice and should be told what they have done to their own people and why they have done such heinous crimes against humanity.
The conflict in Ethiopia is a family conflict, and as such it could be solved by the Ethiopians themselves; in fact, it could have been solved long time ago if, for instance, Washington’s support for Meles Seitanawi were a legitimate one to help Ethiopia elect a democratic government.
Conflicts occasionally exist in a family, no matter how strong, or spiritual, the family is, and when the family is unable to solve its conflicts, a good neighbor comes in and tries to solve the conflict; however, Ethiopia, at this time, does not have a very concerned neighbor, thanks to Meles Seitanawi for a job well done in rendering Ethiopia almost a friendless nation.
The friendship between Ethiopia and the West is an artificial one on which Ethiopians should not rely at all; if it were a genuine one, the West, with all its overwhelming power and economic might, could have helped Ethiopia to remove the dictator Meles Seitanawi from his corrupt regime as the West helped Iraq by overthrowing Saadam Hussein; rather, the West has emboldened Meles Seitanawi by training his army and by financing his criminal activities continuously and shamelessly.
Therefore, when the conflict in Ethiopia comes to an end naturally or by waging war against Meles Seitanawi, the Tegarues who have not committed any crime should not fear any retaliation from the oppressed Ethiopian tribes, for most Ethiopians could remember the divine words: “Vengeance is mine” – and they should prevent themselves from shedding the bloods of some innocent Tegarues. The Apostle Paul firmly declares: “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Romans 12:19). These particular divine words should be learned diligently and practiced effectively by every Ethiopian who has the propensity to harm another Ethiopian from the region of Tigray.
When Meles Seitanawi divided the country on ethnic lines, the main purpose was to give the Tigreans an economic and political advantage over the other tribes without first thinking carefully what would happen to them after he leaves office. By doing special favor for them, he is, in fact, isolating them from the rest of the Ethiopian people and making them an easy target to fall into the hands of an angry mob from the other tribes of the Ethiopian people as soon as he is removed from power.
So in the long run, Meles is hurting the Tegarues rather than helping them, and some of the Tegarues may not yet realize the danger they are heading to after their master Meles Seitanawi abandons them and flees the country and asks for an asylum in America or Saudi Arabia to save his life before he is caught and handed over to the International Court for his crimes against his own people.
We may fail to identify all the criminals, but we will never fail to identify Meles, Azeb, Abune Paulos, and Al Amoudi when that final Day – a “Day of Reckoning” – comes, and those who escape from the wraths of the Ethiopian people on that final Day are those who have never given up their struggles to overthrow the Meles regime, and these heroes are the ones who can determine the final fate of the Tegarues.
These well-disciplined Ethiopian heroes will not automatically destroy everyone who speaks Tigrigna but carefully examine if one has been involved with Meles criminal activities when Meles was in power and bring him/her to justice. In this way, the innocent Tegarues are spared from being executed, and they will be reconciled with the rest of the Ethiopian people.
After all, most Ethiopians follow the teaching of Jesus, that is, they can forgive the Tegarues as many times as the Tegarues ask for forgiveness; what matters here the most is not revenge on one’s own people but forgiveness for the sake of Christ, who taught us to forgive our brothers and sisters and live together in peace. As it has been difficult to live in peace with our neighbors during Meles’ reign of terror, it would be possible for every Ethiopian to enjoy freedom and to live in peace under a democratically elected Ethiopian Prime Minister whose priority is the Ethiopian people not his/her own interest.
Someone may say that the Jews persecuted, one by one, the Nazi criminals wherever they had been hiding but forgave the world that failed to protect the Jews, and it would be the same thing with the oppressed Ethiopians: they would hunt the Meles family and his death squads and impel them to confess their atrocities toward the helpless Ethiopians but allow the peace-loving Tegarues to go free and work in their country without a fear of any reprisal from the other oppressed Ethiopians.
Mengistu Haile Mariam and Meles Seitanawi slaughtered many Ethiopian students, priests, and political leaders without giving them a chance to defend themselves in the court, but such offensive and arbitrary killings will never happen again in Ethiopia once Ethiopia has a democratically elected leader from whatever tribe he or she might be. This is my dream, and, I think, it is also the dreams of many Ethiopians in the diaspora and at home; of course, dreams sometimes may not come true, but I hope this time they will come true because Meles is morally, economically, and politically weaker than ever before.
The good Tegarues, the Amharas, the Oromos, and the many other Ethiopian tribes should stick together and work hard never to bring to power the evil leaders to govern them once the Meles regime is over through peaceful negotiation or arms struggles or through what ever means necessary.
No one in his or her right mind wants to see Ethiopians wage an ethnical war except Meles Seitanawi so that he could stay in power indefinitely; an ethnically divided country, like Ethiopia, may not prosper because of the conflict that exists among the different tribes, each tribe claiming superiority over the other tribe instead of thinking as one nation, as one Ethiopia. If, for example, the Tegarues believe in the Abay Tigray; the Oromos in their big number; and the Amharas in their Imperial dynasty, then such conflict of interest would take Ethiopia further to more disintegration and instability. Such uncalled for disintegration and instability would create continuous hostility between each tribe, and each tribe claiming victory over the other tribe and trying to subjugate the weaker tribe. In such rare or perhaps common cases, the weaker tribe may ally itself with the other stronger tribe, and the internal conflict will continue until a lasting solution to the conflict is found through a democratically elected leader, and this democratically elected leader will benefit not only the Tegarues who fear retaliations from the other tribes but all the tribes of Ethiopia after that final Day of doom for Meles Seitanawi and his entire political advisers.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Obama is looking the balance of power in Africa to be partner with.
Target-1, Sudan- to get to Sudan US needs Ethiopia on his side. Sudan is important for the west to control the region including Eritrea.
The delima is big for US.
a, Meles is not popular by its people
b, Meles will not risk Sudan ties. Oppositions dream!!
c, UGANDA and Kenya are not ready to openly to be hired as hit men, like Meles did in Somalia.
Very delicate situation for Obama and considering the unpopularity of ICC verdict on the region, it will be interesting what he will do. Meles is still his best bet for his problem. Go G7
Cheers!
March 11th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Almaz,
HA!!HA!!!HA!!!HA!!!!!!HA!!!!!!!!HA!!!!!!!!!!!!HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are retardedly funny.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:48 am
TEGRAI ZENBAR WHAT IS FUNNY HERE THERE IS ONLY ONE RETARDED HERE AND THAT IS YOU YOU ARE MOVING TO A DANGEROUS ZONE WITH OUT REALIZING IT IT WILL BE LATE CAN YOU IMAGINE IN YOUR TINY BRAIN HOW WOYANNE IS HATED BY MAY BE 98% OF ETHIOPIANS EVEN BY THE PEOPLES WHERE HE THINKS AS HIS STRONG HOLD
March 12th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
በሬ ሳሩን አይተህ ገደሉን….ናቸው ህውሃት ባልስልጥኣን እና ደጋፍዎቻቸው::ማእበሉ እስክ ጤርጋቸው የሚያደርጉትን አያውቁም አሁን እንደነጋለት ድሃ::