Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met with President Obama and the other G8 members along with three other African leaders on May 19th to discuss food security on the African continent. On Friday, Obama pledged $3 billion in private-sector pledges to help feed Africa’s poor. Our campaign partners, the Oakland Institute and the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia (SMNE) along with over 8,000 signees are calling on President Obama to “reass
Attacks on the Saudi-owned rice plantation in southwestern Ethiopia left five people dead on April 28, 2012, including one Pakistani worker and four Ethiopians, with at least another eight people injured.
The attack took place about three miles from the headquarters of Saudi Star, an agriculture company owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi.
The UN has drafted a set of voluntary guidelines that encourage countries to limit the size and duration of agricultural land deals made with foreign companies, deals that have become known as ‘land grabs.’ The document is set to be ratified in May at a special session of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization after more than three years of discussions.
Anuak refugees from Ethiopia are reporting mobilization of national military and police forces in the Gambella region, and increasing violence there.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Agriculture announced that it has temporarily suspended all land allocations in the country to take time for assessment. The Ministry plans to evaluate its internal structures and the use of land currently in the possession of investors before it will lease new allocations.
The Public Broadcasting Network aired a Center for Investigative Reporting video during the PBS Newshour on February 28. The video is episode 3, “A Land Grab in Ethiopia,” of a series called Food for Nine Billion. Anuak people tell how the government forcibly removed them from their homelands so that foreign agro-industrial investors can plant food and fuel crops for export. The problem is examined from the point of view of feeding the world’s growing population.
A poem by Warajor Ojulu.
Sunset Over the Anuaks: What is Left?
What is left?
When the sun goes down
What is left?
The BBC World Service is hosting a series of debates on the topic, "Is 'land-grabbing' good for Africa?" The debates are taking place within Africa, with participation from local communities who are experiencing the impacts of foreign agricultural investment. The first debate was held today in Freetown, Sierra Leone, with panelists including representatives of the Sierra Leone minister of agriculture, foreign investors, local activists, and The Oakland Institute.
The Ethiopian government has come under criticism due to its use of anti-terrorism laws to incarcerate journalists critical of their administration. Two Sweedish journalists were recently sentenced to 11 years in prison, while local journalists have been sentenced to 14 years and even death. Cultural Survival ally Frank La Rue, UN Special Rapporteur onFreedom of Expression, stated that, "Journalists play a crucial role in promoting accountability of public officials by investigating and informing the public about human rights violations."
Reconocimiento de tierra
Reconocemos que nuestra sede está en la tierra de Massachusetts, en Cambridge, MA, y agradecemos a los administradores Indígenas pasados, actuales y futuros de este territorio.
