Decades of recent history are witness to plots by ruthless dictators to enslave the minds of youth and perpetuate a one-party, one-leader rule; but one by one, these leaders failed and fell. Alemayehu G. Mariam writes that like his autocratic predecessors – Hitler, Mao, Stalin – Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will lose his bid to conform Ethiopia’s youth to his party mentality. What is less clear is how Ethiopia’s youth will react to the increasingly deplorable social and economic conditions their government is cultivating. Mariam cautions these marginalised youth are a ‘ticking bomb’. Conflict prevention, he writes, requires the older generation and youth in the diaspora to actively empower this sidelined generation.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has begun a scheme to boost about 70,000 smallholder farmers in Ethiopia by buying the food they produce to use in the agency’s operations in the Horn of Africa country. Through the Purchase for Progress initiative, which is financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, WFP plans to buy an estimated 126,000 tons of food from local farmers over the next five years.

Following the widely contested result of the Ethiopian elections in May, Alemayehu G. Mariam urges Ethiopian intellectuals to rise and become the ‘tip of the spear of social change’ in the country. Mariam persists to contend Meles Zenawi’s right to the presidency, whilst calling on fellow intellectuals to become advocates of peaceful change and democracy in their homeland through a focus of the intellectual ‘eye’.

Ethiopia's main opposition parties on Tuesday won the first round battle in their attempts to challenge the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front's (EPRDF) landslide victory in last month's general elections. "At least we have managed to have our case filed at the court," Gidada Negasso, Ethiopia's former president, told PANA on phone after the Supreme Court allowed the opposition coalition to challenge the EPRDF landslide win in the 23 May elections.

The result of the recent elections in Ethiopia might have come as a shock to many. What lies behind the near total defeat of opposition parties in the recent elections is the combination of reduced trust in and decimated opposition at the political landscape. It is a logical extension of political developments since 2005

The crime of ‘democricide’ is being committed in Ethiopia both by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and a hoard of accessories who cheat the Ethiopian people out of fair elections, free press and aid, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. Those complicit in this crime include the political bureaucracy that pumps out shining reports on ‘development’ and the donors themselves, who continue to prop up regimes like Zenawi’s and stifle democracy in the name of stability.

Ethiopian rebels said on Friday the military had killed 71 civilians in the last month as part of a growing crackdown in a region where international oil and gas companies are exploring. "The Ethiopian army combed the countryside, summarily executing men in front of their families while beating, raping or killing the women," the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) said in a statement.

The Ethiopian election that ushered Meles Zenawi back to power with a 99.6 per cent majority is a testament to the tyranny of the powerful and the hypocrisy of the collective opposition, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. The opposition parties, through inaction and submission, betrayed the Ethiopian people and must share blame for this most recent violation of democratic rights. To atone, the opposition needs to make a public apology and a renew its commitment to speak the truth.

Last week's Ethiopian presidential election result was no surprise, with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's governing party winning nearly every seat. Harassment and intimidation of voters and journalists, and the absence of a free, independent media was behind this smooth victory, report Human Rights Watch and the International Press Institute (IPI).

In the aftermath of the May 2010 Ethiopian elections, many are left with the question: ‘Where do we go from here?’ writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. Mariam challenges the legitimacy of an election that saw Meles Zenawi reinstated in power with a 99.6 per cent share of the vote, and explores the future direction of the Ethiopian ruling class.

"Behind an orderly facade, the government pressured, intimidated and threatened Ethiopian voters, ...Whatever the results, the most salient feature of this election was the months of repression preceding it." - Rona Peligal, acting Africa director at Human Rights Watch. There is little surprise in Ethiopian election results now beginning to come out, with the ruling party being returned with overwhelming majorities in all parts of the country. Nor has there been any large-scale violence reported, although some observers warned that new crackdowns on opposition might follow the election, But both Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian critics warn that the most important issues are structural, and that the appearance of democracy is belied by an authoritarian system.

Ethiopia's ruling party swept all the parliamentary seats in Sunday's elections and appeared to head back to a single party era. The opposition coalition, Medrek, won a single seat in capital, Addis Ababa, in a race over 547 seats in the House. Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and its allied political parties won all the 533 seats out of the 536 seats declared when the Ethiopian National Electoral Board (NEBE) released the provisional results.

While it was as good as a foregone conclusion that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi would remain in power after the latest Ethiopian 'election', writes Alemayehu G. Mariam, those prone to being dejected should not give up on the struggle for freedom and democracy in the country.

Ethiopia’s opposition says the style of deploying the police and the army might cause post-election violence if the forces intervene during celebrations of victory or expression of disgust at the vote outcome. Ethiopia’s opposition leader Beyena Petros, the chairman of a coalition of eight opposition parties, Medrek, said he was personally scared that the security forces' misreading of the public mood could cause post-election violence.

Though currently incarcerated in Akaki federal prison, Birtukan Midekssa remains a key figure in the suppressed pursuit for democracy in Ethiopia, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. Mariam presents Midekssa's concerns and hopes for the future in this interview, hopes which can only be realised by 'fully embracing democracy, human rights and the rule of law'.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has accused Ethiopian politicians of resorting to threats and intimidation against many Ethiopian journalists in lead up to forthcoming next general elections envisaged for 23 May 2010. “Election times are always a risky period for journalists in many African countries at a time where media have a crucial role for the consolidation of democracy,” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of IFJ Africa Office. “Ethiopian political leaders must respect media as an independent watchdog of the democratic process with the sole duty to inform the citizens,” he added

Ethiopia’s prominent newspaper, Addis Neger, whose editors fled to Europe months back, citing government harassment, will soon be back in circulation following the launch of the paper’s online edition in Europe. The Ethiopian publication said it would begin news coverage of Ethiopia, focusing on religious and political affairs for its Ethiopian readers.

With Mother's Day celebrated in May in Ethiopia, Alemayehu G. Mariam honours the contribution and sacrifices of one of the country's much lauded mothers, human rights defender Birtukan Midekssa.

With more than half of all Ethiopian adults tested for HIV in the past five years and a campaign for behaviour change in place, specialists are now calling for a more targeted approach. “Most-at-risk populations” (MARPs) have to be targeted through better understanding of how the epidemic is affecting them and in turn, to develop a more specific response.

With Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's regime gearing up to set things firmly in its favour, Ethiopia's upcoming national election this month is already a done deal, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. Zenawi's threatening gestures towards opposition leaders and dissenting political activists, Mariam stresses, are simply part of a broader campaign of pre-electoral intimidation and political paralysis.