Washint, Ethiopian Flute
Käbäro, Ethiopian Drum
Kirar, Five/Six-String Lyre
Masïnqo, One-String Violin
There are four faculties of music:
1. Digguwa. Yaréd’s collection of hymns for the fast of Lent.
2. Zimmaré. Hymns sung after Mass and Mäwasït are prayers for the dead.
3. Qiddassé. Includes Si’atat.
4. Sälamta. songs of praise and homage.
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 6, 2007
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
On January 23, federal police shot and killed 15 demonstrators and injured 19 others in the East Wallega zone, Guduru District. The shootings occurred during a demonstration by residents against local government forces. No investigation was conducted into the incident.
On February 6, off-duty federal police officer Alemu Dariba, along with other unidentified persons, killed four youths in Gondar. Dariba allegedly approached 17-year-old Berket Fantahu; 18-year-old Abebe Wondem-Agegn; 18-year-old Sentayhu Worknehand; and 19 year-old Dawit Tesfaye and ordered them to raise their hands. He then marched them to a stream 30 yards away, forced them to the ground, and shot each of them in the head. Dariba was arrested shortly after the incident and remained in custody without charge at year's end.
The Ethiopian Human Rights Council (EHRCO) reported that on May 27, in a violent conflict between local store owners in Nazret, Oromiya Region, police shot and killed Alemu Tesfaye, Tariku Yakiso, and Mensur Musema. Police had attempted to evict the store owners, and the owners and their employees responded by throwing rocks at the police. No investigation was conducted into the incident.
During the year reports were received of the August 2005 killing of Elias Molago, of Gibe District, by army troops. After Molago was killed, his body was publicly displayed in the town of Hosana, the district capital. Molago, an election observer in the 2000 parliamentary elections, had disputed the official results that gave the ruling party victory in the area. No investigation was conducted into Molago's killing.
There were no developments in the early 2005 political killings of opposition All-Ethiopia Unity Party/Coalition for Unity and Democracy (AEUP/CUD) party members Anley Adis, Eyilegne Wendimneh, Tilahun Kerebe, and Alamir Aemero. At the end of 2005 police had arrested two suspects in the killing of Tilahun Kerebe, but no further information was available.
There were no developments in the 2005 political killings by police, militia, and kebele (local administration) officials of 24 Oromo National Congress (ONC) members, including Ahmed Adem and parliamentarian-elect Tesfaye Adane. At year's end, three police officers suspected of involvement in Adane's killing were detained at Zway prison as their case remained under investigation.
There were no further developments in the 2005 political killing of CUD coordinator Hassan Endris in Amhara Region or the May killing of Sheikh Osman Haji Abdella in Oromo Region. Both killings were committed by kebele officials.
The politically motivated disappearances of tens of thousands of civilian protestors following the November 2005 political demonstrations persisted into the current reporting period. The independent commission of inquiry into the alleged use of force by security forces in June and November 2005 found that security officials held over 30,000 civilians incommunicado for up to three months in detention centers located in remote areas following the November 2005 demonstrations. Other estimates placed the number of such detainees at over 50,000. By year's end, all but a few hundred of these prisoners were released and those who remained in custody currently were facing trial.
In January EHRCO reported the December 2005 disappearances of six persons. On December 2, security forces abducted Lt. Abebe Alemu of Lafto Subcity, Addis Ababa; Heletework Zewdu of Akaki Subcity, Addis Ababa; and Wondimagegene Gedefaw of Kolfe Subcity, Addis Ababa. On December 21 and 22, security forces abducted Tadesse Zelelam, Ayana Chindessa, and Legesse Tolera at Nekemt High School in Nekemt, Oromiya region.
There were no developments in the June 2005 abduction by security forces of Addis Ababa residents Ashenafi Berhanu, Tsegaye Neguse, Daniel Worku, Adem Hussien, Jelalu Temam, Girum Seifu, Mekonnen Seifu, Endeshaw Terefe, Daniel Abera, Tesfaye Bacha, Tesfaye Jemena, Bonsa Beyene, Getu Begi, Solomon Bekele, Amanuel Asrat, Mesfin Mergia, or Dawit Demerew. The whereabouts of these individuals remained unknown.
There were no new developments in the May detention of Jigsa Soressa, a guard at the Mecha and Tulema Association (MTA), an Oromo Non-governmental organization (NGO), who reportedly continued to be detained at Addis Ababa prison.
March 9, 1894 - Emperor Menelik II gave royal permission to his Swiss advisor Alfred Ilg and a french semi-private company to build a railway between the capitol Addis Ababa and the French port city in Djibouti. A 99 year lease was given to Sir Alfred Ilg and the French firm.
1897 - Permission and support was given by French authorities. British initially showed opposition, because they did not want to lose business at their port in British Somaliland.
October 1897 - Construction began in Djibouti. Somali and Arabs worked mostly as laborers, Ethiopians as security force, Europeans as overseers.
Before the construction reached Ethiopia, there were serious financial problems. So, the British New Africa Company took over the project.
1901 - the British joined the French and formed the International Ethiopian Railway Trust and Construction Company
July 1901 - The first commercial train service from Djibouti to desert area near Harar
1902 - Dire Dawa was founded
Coordinates: latitude and longitude of 9°35′N 41°52′E
Relative Size: 2nd largest city in Ethiopia
Economy: A commercial and industrial center located around the railroad and on the Dechatu River
Manufactures: processed meat, vegetable oil, textiles, cement
Population: 398,000 (2005)
Ethnic groups: 48% Oromo, 27.7% Amhara, 13.9% Somali, 4.5% Gurage, 5.9% other.
Religion: 63.2% Muslim, 34.5% Orthodox Christian, 1.5% Protestant, 0.7% Catholic, 0.1% other
We all remember Adwa in historical terms - the battle of Adwa (1896) was one of the greatest military victories for Ethiopia. Adwa, in geological terms, is a stratovolcano - "A stratovolcano is a tall, conical volcano composed of many layers of hardened lava, tephra, and volcanic ash. These volcanoes are characterised by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions. The lava that flows from them is highly viscous, and cools and hardens before spreading very far (Wikipedia)."
Here is more data on the Adwa Volcano provided by the Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program:
Volcano Number: 0201-17=
Volcano Status: Holocene
Last Known Eruption: Unknown
Summit Elevation: 1733 m 5,686 feet
Latitude: 10.070°N 10°4'12"N
Longitude: 40.840°E 40°50'24"E
So many Ethiopian scholars men and women exist; more notably, so many Ethiopian scholars of art, poetry, literature, social sciences exist, under the shadow of the medical doctors, engineers, and computer scientists (whom are a wonderful asset too). But it is important to bring to light the underrepresented intellectuals who have given so much to the progress of Ethiopians world-wide.
Dr. Eshetu Chole (1945-1998) was an economist and a poet. He received his BA in Economics at Addis Ababa University (1966); then obtained his MA from the University of Illinois (1968); and completed his PhD in economics from Syracuse University (1973). A member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Dr. Eshetu dedicated his expertise to the sustenance of Ethiopian studies. You can read more about his personal life by clicking on the title of this post. Now, here is one of my favorite poems of the late Dr. Eshetu.
SILENCE
Silence
Is life infinity
Majestic
Its depth unsurpassed
By talk-glib talk, gossip, proud talk
And other human trash.
Silence is beauty,
For truth is silent
And, truth, they say, is beauty.
Silence is peace-
Peace absolute
Peace consuming
Silence is joy
Unparalleled
Undiluted by the cheapness of our lives.
A tear is silent
A smile is silent
And love too is silent
And death is silent
Oh! If only life were
As pure as silence.
Project Name: Lending amount (in millions $US): Approval Date
Accelerated Electricity Access (Rural) Expansion: 133.4: 22-JUN-2006
Ethiopia - Financial Sector Capacity Building Project: 15: 22-JUN-2006
ROAD SECTOR DEVELOPMENT PHASE II PROJECT IN SUPPORT OF RSDPII SUPPLIMENT: 87.3: 22-JUN-2006
Rural Capacity Building Project: 54: 22-JUN-2006
Protection of Basic Services: 215: 25-MAY-2006
The total funding activated in 2006 for the government of Ethiopia: 504 million US$
We should be looking out for better electricity access throughout Ethiopia, increase in capacity of private sector and banking institutions; improved road structures; agricultural productivity; and better educational, health, etc services.
Click on title to see other all active projects funded by the World Bank
