By Keffyalew Gebremedhin The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
PART One of two

Maj-Gen. Gabre, as they refer to him in Somalia, possibly picked from his twitter handle
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By Keffyalew Gebremedhin The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
PART One of two
Maj-Gen. Gabre, as they refer to him in Somalia, possibly picked from his twitter handle
Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
by Rachel Ansley, The Atlantic Council
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson traveled to Ethiopia this week to underscore US support for a crucial partner that finds itself in a crisis.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn resigned unexpectedly on February 15 in the wake of violent anti-government protests. The government then imposed a nationwide state of emergency that lawmakers endorsed earlier in March.
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Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
by Shanon Ebrahim, IOL Group Foreign Editor
Never have the stakes in Ethiopia been so high – political tensions are at a knife-edge, and the future stability of the country and its prospects for development hang in the balance.
Up until the last few weeks, most of the country’s opposition leaders and many of their supporters have been locked up as political prisoners. But with the groundswell of popular discontent and burgeoning street protests, the government was compelled to release more than 6 000 political prisoners last month, another 700 two weeks ago, and a further 1 500 on Wednesday. Famous journalists Eskinder Nega and Andualem Arage, as well as prominent Oromo opposition leaders Bekele Gerba and Merera Gudina were among those recently released.
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Editor’s Note:
TEO does not believe the repressive ethnic minority TPLF regime in Ethiopia has any power or influence to block a resolution by or any action of the US Congress.
TEO agrees with Freedom House’s U.S. Congress Should Call Ethiopia’s Bluff. It is an empty noise the senators and Congressmen/women must call its threat to withdraw from security cooperation with the United States for what it is: a mere bluff!
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Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
by Felix Horne, Human Rights Watch
Recent stories from Edward Snowden’s disclosures show how the US government’s involvement with Ethiopia presents a case study in enabling repressive regimes to carry out surveillance on their own citizens. In the case of Ethiopia, such surveillance powers can play a significant role in a government’s criminalization of dissent and politically motivated detentions. The United States is not alone in its assistance. Ethiopia has also used hacking technologies obtained from abroad to spy on diaspora living in the United States. It is high time for the US administration and Congress to reckon with the human rights abuses of the Ethiopian government, and how the sharing of national security technologies is enabling the regime.
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Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
by Jamal Osman*
Somalia will not be able to assert itself and prosper until Ethiopia stops meddling in its affairs. Western nations also need to reevaluate their support of the Ethiopian regime if they ever want to see peace in the Horn of Africa.
Ethiopia has long been a thorn in the side of Somalia, a troublesome neighbour, and an obstacle to regional peace.
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Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory (TEO)
by Abraham T Zere*, Aljazeera
“A country preparing for dawn. We grow less intelligent.”
–Mahmoud Darwish, Under Siege
If available at all, facts about many crucial issues in Eritrea fail to capture the reality in the country. Reading the news about Eritrea, an outsider would not understand the extent and complexity of its transformation: from a country with a promising future into the personal fiefdom of President Isaias Afwerki and his clique at the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).
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