VOA Amharic Service February 14

Reception was clearly audible on one frequency (13870 Khz), poorly audible on two with strong interference (9320Khz and 9530 Khz) and totally inaudible on three (11905 Khz, 11675 Khz and 9860 Khz).

After the international news, in the first item of the News Magazine, local stringer Eskinder Frew reported opposition parties have been complaining seriously about the upcoming local and by-elections to be held in April 2008. The registration of candidates which will end after two days is also not free from complaints. The National Electoral Board (NEB) for its part says the process is going well according to schedule. The head of NEB’s office, Ato Tesfaye Mengesha, told VOA Thursday, “From the information that we have, contesting parties that have selected their election symbols have been registering their candidates in the regions for kebele and woreda councils, city administration, zonal councils, sub-city administration as well as for the by-elections. Ato Tesfaye mentioned that the candidate registration date had been extended by seven additional days upon request from the United Ethiopian Democratic Force (UEDF) and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM).

However, opposition parties do not agree with NEB.  They say although they have tried to register their candidates, the problems have become worse. OFDM chairman Ato Bulcha Demeksa complains that the problems have been aggravated, and that administrative bodies at every level are carrying out intimidations and arrests. As an example he cited the case of OFDM’s legal advisor, Ato Humlisa Ejeta, who, he said, was imprisoned after he went to his home town of Abaynchi woreda in Eastern Wollega to register as a candidate. “He was taken by force and imprisoned. He was kept for two days and then taken to Nekempte and Chancho and then to Gimbi. He is still in detention.” NEB head Ato Tesfaye Mengesha said he knows nothing about the detention of Ato Humlisa Ejeta, stating that his office has been taking actions to resolve the problems that arise. “We do not intervene in cases that are being handled by the court. However, if candidates are detained we do everything to have them released. We have done so in cases where candidates were detained. However, we do not intervene in cases where parties complain that their members have been imprisoned and demand their release.”

According to UEDF chairman Professor Beyene Petros, opposition parties are facing serious problems in registering their candidates. He said candidates cannot be detained and commented that he does not know whether this is being done from lack of knowing the rules or intentionally. He stated that his party is fighting hard to have its candidates released from prison in the woredas and kebles but with little success. Professor Beyene commented that they are facing more problems this time than they did in the past election and “we have put our people in a seriously challenging situation.” NEB’s Ato Tesfaye Mengesha said the process of candidate registration is smooth, and believes that some of the complaints are being made for political gains. 

The News Magazine also reported President Bush is stepping up U.S. support for efforts to end the political crisis in Kenya. He is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Nairobi during his upcoming trip to Africa. President Bush says Rice will deliver a message directly to Kenya's leaders and people. "There must be an immediate halt to violence," he said. "There must be justice for the victims of abuse, and there must be a full return to democracy." He says the United States backs efforts by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to end the crisis in Kenya that began with disputed national elections late last year. Mr. Bush says elsewhere on the continent, conflict mediation, largely led by Africans, has yielded results. He says one prime example is Liberia, which is recovering from a long civil war. Liberia is one of the countries on his itinerary, along with Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ghana. He says overall, Africa is in the midst of great change and is now a place of potential.

Another local stringer, Meleskachew Amha reported on the increase in Ethiopia’s export of red roses to the international market in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day with a brief interview with Ato Tsegaye Abebe, president of the Ethiopian Floriculture and Horticulture Producers Association. A caller from Maryland on VOA’s toll-free line suggested that VOA do programs on people applying for the DV lottery commenting that he finds that many of them are facing problems in the U.S. after having sold their property and all that they have in Ethiopia to come to the U.S.; the other two listeners commented on the views of Dr. Getachew Metaferia and Professor Alemayehu Haile Mariam on the U.S. primaries and election. This was followed by the second part of the interview with the two university scholars on U.S. Elections 2008. 

In its wrap-up news at the end of the program, VOA reported witnesses in Somalia's capital say a grenade attack on a gathering of Yemeni nationals has killed one person and wounded four others. The witnesses say the Yemeni community was electing a local leader in southern Mogadishu Thursday when a grenade was thrown into the meeting hall. An officer from the Yemeni embassy in Mogadishu was among those present at the gathering. It is not clear who was behind the attack. Mogadishu has endured more than a year of chronic violence stemming from the conflict between Islamist militants and Ethiopian-backed government forces. The country as a whole has been plagued by unrest since warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.