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

  ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 10, 2022 - This morning the Russian Embassy in Addis Ababa posted on its facebook page thanking its Ethiopian friends and subscribers for the words of support it is receiving but gained backlash from German Embassy in Addis. The Russian Embassy expressed its pride in the Ethio-Russian "solid, long-lasting, friendly ties, manifested in mutual help and assistance in times of need". It said Russia highly appreciates support from Ethiopians and for choosing to #StandwithRussia when it is fighting Nazism. But the West, represented through German Embassy in Addis, was quick to respond to Russian Embassy's post saying Russia's intention to intervene in Ukraine was not at all about fighting Nazism. It claimed it is more familiar with Nazism although it did not mention Russia was also familiar with brutal impacts of Nazism when, during the Soviet Union, it lost millions of its people due to it. And a surge of Nazi sentiment near its borders and an oppress

ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 03, 2022 — A day after Ethiopia skipped voting on Ukraine at the United Nation's General Assembly, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that the multilateral institutions and international norms the world has built collectively need not be a site of isolation when actually they were designed to be a mechanism for problem solving, heightened diplomacy and collective development. "Let not the failure of diplomacy be the reason millions of fives are uprooted and global shock waves felt throughout when the tools of creating international harmony are within our means", said PM Abiy Ahmed. The West attempted to isolate Ethiopia last year just like it attempted to isolate Russia at the international arena yesterday. It is to be recalled that on December 17, 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) brought a resolution under the pressure of European countries to force Ethiopia to conduct an investigation on Tigray despite the fact that it has alre

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 — Afar People's Party (APP) released a statement today calling on the international community and the federal government to break their silence and give due attention to the plights of Afar people suffering under the occupation of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). It also decided not to participate in the upcoming national dialogue requesting the federal government to revisit the process which it said is as important as the outcome.  FULL STATEMENT === Urgent appeal to the International Community by Afar People’s Party In Ethiopia, the Afar Regional State is neighboring to Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray regions, while internationally bordering to Djibouti and Eritrea. This geopolitically important region that predominantly inhabited by indigenous Afar pastoralist is now exposed to unimaginable scale of grievances and humanitarian calamities due to the invasion of Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) and its military forces. The first unp

ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 27, 2022 — Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces displaced over 34,246 Eritrean refugees who were stationed in Berhale Woreda of Afar National Regional State, according to a report from Refugees and Returnees Services Afar branch. TPLF launched an offensive claiming to defend itself against so-called "Red Sea Afar forces" last month. However, there were no armed groups from the Red Sea in Ethiopia but instead impoverished refugees taking shelter under the scorching sun of Barhale. TPLF's true intention appeared to be an ethnic cleansing targeting the Afar and their land which is full of salt and potash. Exactly last month, the Red Sea Afar Human Rights Organization (RSAHRO) expressed its deep concern about the deteriorating security, humanitarian, and human rights situations, as well as the safety and well-being of Eritrean Refugees, mostly from ethnic Afar living in Barahle district, Kiblatti Rasu of the Afar Regional State, as a

  ADDIS ABABA, FEBRUARY 26, 2022 — Ethiopia's Field Marshal Birhanu Jula told Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) Eastern Command to be prepared for another round operation against the infamous Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) which have invaded Afar National Regional State taking over Kilbati Rasu Zone, killing hundreds and forcing more than 300,000 civilians to flee. ENDF Chief of Staff Field Marshal Birhanu Jula informed the ENDF Eastern Command members to be vigilant during an award ceremony held in Semera, capital of Afar region, today. The speech from the Field Marshal comes on a time the heavily armed TPLF forces continued their attack on the poorly defended Afar front which they began on late December last year. Without the ENDF, TPLF terrorists were only facing resistance from an ill equipped Afar Special Forces and militiamen. "Our operation is not yet over. Eastern Command needs to maintain its honor and repeat its victory with minimum loss. You ne