Weekend news:
[Dailymail: Al Qaeda trying to buy Britons in Ethiopia kidnap] - [Ethiopia in contact with kidnappers ] - [Ethiopia, Britain rule out kidnap rescue mission]
South Africa Candlelight vigil for prisoners of Conscience in Ethiopia, March 2. As international concerns regarding the human rights situation in Ethiopia escalate, Rights groups all over the world are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of opposition leaders, human rights defenders and journalists who are on trial In Ethiopia._________________________________________________
SPECIAL CALL TO ETHIOPIAN AMERICANS IN CALIFORNIA TO SUPPORT A.J.R. 12
The Coalition for H.R. 5680: If you live in California, please contact your state assembly member or senator and ask for their support in co-sponsoring and/or voting for AJR 12.
For Sample Letters and the California Assembly Member Roster [Click here....] (word doc.)
Also see:
- California Joint resolution to Urge Bush, Congress to support human rights in Ethiopia
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Dailymail: Al Qaeda trying to buy Britons in Ethiopia kidnap
Video: Footage and interviews from the kidnap scene
MI6 is involved in a race against time to prevent British diplomats kidnapped in Ethiopia being sold on to Al Qaeda terrorists. Diplomatic and intelligence sources believe Osama Bin Laden's terror network had nothing to do with the abduction but is now attempting to get its hands on the five hostages.
A senior source told The Mail on Sunday Al Qaeda was prepared to offer a bounty to persuade the group behind the seizure to sell the prisoners.(More...)
Ethiopia in contact with kidnappers
MEKELE, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Ethiopia said on Saturday it was in contact with an armed group that kidnapped five European and eight locals in a remote northern region -- but ruled out a military operation to rescue them.
"Those who are responsible are being reached through different channels, and we are hoping that these people would be freed unharmed and safe," Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin told reporters in the northern town of Mekele.
Amid speculation British special forces were in the area, Mesfin said a rescue mission was not being prepared.(More...)
Ethiopia, Britain rule out kidnap rescue mission
MEKELE, Ethiopia (Reuters) - Britain and Ethiopia have, for now, ruled out a military operation to rescue a group of five Europeans and eight locals kidnapped in a remote Ethiopian region, their officials said on Saturday.
The hostages were seized by gunmen nine days ago during a tour of the Afar region, one of the hottest and most hostile terrains on earth, inhabited mainly by nomadic herders.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said there had been indirect contact with the kidnappers, but a rescue mission was not being prepared.(More...)
The Week in Review
- Monday - March 05, 2007
- Tuesday - March 06, 2007
- Thursday - March 08, 2007
- Friday - March 09, 2007
[California Joint resolution to Urge Bush, Congress to support human rights in Ethiopia] - [Adjourned...again] - [Ethiopia kidnapping: Vehicles found, manhunt intensifies ] - [Britain prepares SAS raid to free Ethiopia hostages ] - [World Council of Churches Calls for International Action in Horn of Africa Crisis] - [ION: Sebhat Nega’s double language]
[Amnesty Issues new Urgent action appeal for over 60 CUD supporters] - ['Progress' in Ethiopia kidnapping] - [International community continues to honor prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia ] - [State Department Report on Human Rights Practices in Ethiopia] - [Britain suspects Afar rebels behind Ethiopia kidnap] - [Violence welcomes first Ugandan peacekeepers to Somalia] - [Somaliland jailed journalists sentenced to prison]
[INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN JOURNALISTS INCREASING] - [Qaliti qalkidan: Letter from Qaliti prison] - [Russia to cancel Ethiopia debt] - [Britons 'tried to pay off kidnappers'] - [U.S. hires contractor to help with peacekeeping ] - [Peacekeepers suffer first casualties in Somalia]
[Britain cautious on reports Europeans kidnapped in Ethiopia 'safe'] - [Meron Ahadu: a woman of substance] - [Ethiopia govt say European hostages "safe" with rebels-local leader] - [Rich get richer on the Forbes billionaires list] - [Desert telegraph brought first word on Ethiopian hostages] - [Salt merchants learn to survive Ethiopian desert]
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