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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Media Watchdog Criticizes Ethiopia's Press Freedom

Check back with ETP for more news throughout the day

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Also:
- Today's Top HEADLINES
- INTERNATIONAL news
- Picture of the Day

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Response to Gary Klein of DLA Piper
(Professor Alemayehu G. Mariam)
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International media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has criticized the Ethiopian government for its inconsistent approach to press freedom. On Saturday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi conditionally pardoned four journalists who had previously been given long prison sentences.

As Malcolm Webb reports from Nairobi, the media watchdog say that the journalists' release does not suggest a move toward more press freedom in Ethiopia.

[Click here for AUDIO report]

The Paris-based group says it welcomes the release of the four Ethiopian journalists. The journalists had been convicted in July of crimes relating to their coverage of the post-election unrest in 2005. They were given prison sentences ranging from four to 15 years after waiving their defense and pleading guilty, in anticipation of being granted a pardon.

But the group says it is regrettable that they were freed because of what the group believes was the prime minister's wish, not because of the outcome of a fair trial. A senior researcher at Reporters Without Borders, Vincent Brossel, said the Ethiopian government's inconsistent actions are destroying the credibility of the country's justice system, and that their release does not signify any move toward press freedom.(More...)

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GLOBAL WARMING MAY EXACERBATE WATER CONFLICTS

(Washington Post) - "The potential for conflict is more than theoretical. Turkey, Syria and Iraq bristle over the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt trade threats over the Nile. The United Nations has said water scarcity is behind the bloody wars in Sudan’s Darfur region. In Somalia, drought has spawned warlords and armies."(More...)

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Today's Top HEADLINES

-Study says Ethiopian volcano killed 5, displaced 2,000
-Amnesty criticises Czech weapons sales to Ethiopia and others
-World IT Forum opens in Ethiopia
-Cisco to Replace ETC's Poor Broadband Connection
-Ethiopian Jews situation draws look from federation reps
-Missing link fossil extends family tree
(A team of scientists in Ethiopia have uncovered fossil evidence for a new species of great ape)
-Puntland, Somali Government Rift Grows over Oil Resources
-TOP STORIES FROM LAST WEEK (The Week in review)

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STOCKHOLM: CELEBRATION OF THE ETHIOPIAN MILLENNIUM EVENT SCHEDULE

Democratic Uncertainty in Ethiopia (Report/Study by Lahra Smith, professor at Georgetown University, for The United States Institute of Peace, USIP)
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

-Some 10,000 flee Congo to Uganda
-Iraq Prime Minister Rebuffs U.S. Criticism
-Olmert bans mobiles in meetings
-Venezuela Congress OKs Chavez's Reforms
-Democracy Rally Held in Myanmar (Burma)
-Myanmar (Burma) arrests dissidents, squashes fuel protests
-Georgia says Russia again violates airspace
-Paging Mr. Indiana Jones


Picture of the Day

Yes, we here at ETP can't get enough of the ‘Awra Amba’ story. This is because it offers a glimpse into what Ethiopians are capable of and could contribute to the world, if given half the chance. Ethiopia’s untapped reservoir of history, knowledge, culture and natural resources have the potential to benefit not only its citizens but also the entire world. The purging of guns from Ethiopia's political system is what the country primarily needs to really blossom.

(Picture - Awra Amba Kids MOTO)
Kids in Awra Amba are well educated in ethics and morality. The above roughly translates to: " MOTTO: We, kids, will not touch other peoples money. If we find it on the ground, we will return it to the owner. By working together with unity and compassion, we will be productive. Our peaceful lives will nourish.")

-More pictures from AWRA AMBA
-AWRA AMBA: ONE MAN'S MODEL FOR A JUST SOCIETY
-Ahmed Teshome's single - 'AWRA AMBA' (Music)





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