Archive for September 4th, 2010

“Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Ethiopia”

Last week, US Senators Feingold and Leahy introduced a draft bill into the US Senate. It was entitled ‘Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Ethiopia, Act of 2010.’ Any bill that is introduced into the US Senate is, of course, a matter of US internal affairs. And we wouldn’t criticize Senators for anything they might wish to place before the Senate of the US, even if it does deal with the internal affairs of other countries. Indeed, we would entirely welcome support for democracy in Ethiopia. As we have frequently emphasized, democracy, together with good governance and respect for human rights, is a necessity for the survival of Ethiopia and for the achievement of the eradication of poverty, the main aim of government development strategy. This, indeed, is why we spend a great deal of time and energy ensuring the strengthening of democratic governance. Read the rest of this entry »

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – The Ethiopian birr was devalued by 16.7 percent on Wednesday, according to exchange rates published on the central bank’s website, a move welcomed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The birr was quoted by the National Bank of Ethiopia at a weighted average of 16.3514 against the dollar compared with 13.6284 on Tuesday. A central bank official confirmed the new rate but was not authorised to make further comment. Read the rest of this entry »