Ethiopian Citizen

  ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 25, 2022 — The Board of Management of Ethiopian Airlines Group has announced the appointment of Mr. Mesfin Tasew Bekele, as Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines Group, effective March 23, 2022. Mr Mesfin has been a successor to the former CEO of the Airline group, Tewolde GebreMariam whose early retirement request due to health issues has been approved by the board. Mr. Mesfin has 38 years of experience in airline management and operations in the areas of aircraft maintenance and engineering, procurement, information technology, flight operations, capability development, capacity building, development of corporate strategies, airline operation management, and corporate leadership. He earned Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Open University in the UK, MSc degree in Electrical Engineering specializing in Communications Engineering from Addis Ababa University, and BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from Addis Ababa University. The Board Chair

Tigrayan refugees in Sudan [Picture: UNHCR] ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 24, 2022 — In a statement released today, Ethiopian government declared a humanitarian ceasefire and called on rebels in Tigray to take heed and withdraw from neighboring regions which they have occupied. The federal government said the decision is taken to ensure the free flow of emergency humanitarian aid to all those in need of assistance.  But in order for this to be successful, the government said the insurgents in Tigray must desist from all acts of further aggression and must withdraw from areas they have occupied in neighboring regions. The Ethiopian government appeared to have gone soft with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) by referring to them as insurgents although they still remain a terrorist group as declared by the Ethiopian parliament in May last year.  Moreover, their acts of aggression against neighboring Afar was defended only through drone strikes and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces

ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 23, 2022 — Ethiopian Airlines announced in a statement today the "early retirement" of Tewolde GebreMariam, Ethiopian Group Chief Executive Officer, due to health concerns. In the statement Ethiopian Airlines said Tewolde GebreMariam has been under medical treatment in the USA for the last six months. "As he needs to focus on his personal health issues, he is unable to continue leading the airline as a Group CEO, a duty which demands closer presence and full attention round the clock. Accordingly, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam requested the Board of Management of Ethiopian Airlines Group (the “Board”), for early retirement in order for him to focus his full attention to his medical treatment", read the statement. The Board, in its ordinary meeting held on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, accepted Mr. Tewolde’s request for an "early retirement".  Tewolde GebreMariam was appointed by the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi as Group Chief Executive Offi

ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 20, 2022 — The United Arab Emirates has sent a plane carrying 30 tonnes of food items to Mekele, in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, as part of humanitarian efforts to airlift supplies to the Tigray people. The assistance will benefit more than 7,000 people, including 5,600 women and children. It will support the growing needs of families, especially women and children, due to the current situation. Mohamed Salem Al Rashidi, UAE Ambassador to Ethiopia, said: "The UAE is keen to support the humanitarian situation in the Tigray region, and to meet the needs of the population in light of food shortages," noting that these supplies align with the UAE's humanitarian approach, to provide emergency relief to countries and its peoples in need. He added: "The UAE has consolidated its global position in providing support and humanitarian aid. It is at the forefront of extending a helping hand, and taking swift action to provide emergency relief to countries a

 PRESS RELEASE New Jersey’s American Ethiopian Community Protest Outside Congressman Malinowski’s Office Airplane Banner Flies Over Congressman’s District Calling on Malinowski to Stop Supporting the Tigray People’s Liberation Front Somerville, New Jersey (March 11, 2022) – American Ethiopian residents of New Jersey protested outside Congressman Tom Malinowski’s office on Thursday (March 10). Coordinated by AEPAC, its New Jersey and New York State Campaign Elections Committees and AEPAC’s partner New York/New Jersey Tristate Hope 4 Ethiopia, the protestors called on the Congressman to withdraw legislation he sponsors that would damage the long-time US-Ethiopia relationship, devastate Ethiopia’s economy, provide support to a recognized terrorist group and put the lives of millions of people in East Africa at risk. Simultaneous to the protest, an airplane banner flew over Congressman Malinowski’s district to raise awareness of the harmful impact of this bill and how it provides suppor

ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 11, 2022 — The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has, on March 11, 2022, published its 110 pages Report on Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law in Afar and Amhara Regions of Ethiopia conducted between September and December 2021. The report, which provides a detailed account of widespread human rights violations against civilians committed by parties to the conflict including its gender dimensions, calls on all actors and institutions to support justice and redress initiatives for victims and the rehabilitation of conflict affected areas. With regards to torture and inhuman acts committed during the conflict, EHRC narrated the story of a man in Gashena town (Amhara Region) on November 12, 2021 when armed members of Tigray Forces beat, and tortured him for merely having the suspicion that he owned large sums of money. They first beat him and tortured him by drowning him in the river, they then hammered nails into his leg and sliced his