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1. 7 AGES OF WOMAN: CHILD-BEARING; Yiftusera Bekalu
2. ITALY ENDS 50 YEARS OF DELAYS TO SET DATE FOR RETURN OF OBELISK SEIZE=
D FROM ETHIOPIA BY MUSSOLINI
3. ITALY PROMISES TO RETURN ANCIENT OBELISK TO ETHIOPIA
4. Ethiopians urged to pay attention to oral health care
5. Ethiopia's somali region declares state of emergency to contain disas=
ter
6. ETHIOPIA IN DROUGHT PLEA
7. Ethiopia and Netherlands agree to exchange students and researchers
8. Ethiopia: Calub Project Underway
9. Ethiopia: 'Brain destruction' by junta
10. Sudan: Ex-rebel Leade Turns on His Former Allies
11. Ethiopia/Israel: WIZO petitions against Kiryat Malachi council
12. Regional elections end in Eritrea
13. Legislating culture; Merits of ban on genital mutilation debated
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The Guardian
March 6, 1997
HEADLINE: 7 AGES OF WOMAN: CHILD-BEARING; Yiftusera Bekalu
BYLINE: Alice Martin
'THAT'S ENOUGH for me. I will ask to be sterilised.' Yiftusera Bekalu has=
had nine children; only three survived. Bekalu is an ordinary woman from=
a village in Gojam, northern Ethiopia. She is typical of hundreds of pat=
ients who come to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital following a long and =
obstructed labour, damaging the bladder and causing urine to leak. Access=
to health services in rural areas is severely limited and for a populati=
on of 56 million, there are only around 500 trained midwives. For Bekalu,=
it was a year before she came to the hospital; for many it is longer, =
and she is lucky that she has a loving husband: 'When I was sick, he look=
ed after me.' Married at 14 to a 20-year-old man chosen by her parents =
from a neighbouring village, Bekalu, now 37, describes her husband as a =
'good one'. They live in a one-room house, but have a large farm and are =
well-off by rural standards. When she returns home after the operation, =
however, they must sell the house to pay off debts incurred by her illnes=
s. 'We will make a small hut to live in,' she says.
Her ninth baby was born in a taxi on the way to Bahar Dar, the nearest =
town. 'After two days' labour, I knew it was dead, but it didn't come out=
until the third day. People say there's an evil spirit on our family. =
I cooked lamb in a certain way and bought clothes with red edging to try =
to cast the spirit away, but it didn't work. Sometimes I cry. It's been =
hard for me.'
Every woman in the hospital tells a similar story. Many are first-time =
mothers, abandoned by their husbands because they cannot produce a child =
or because they smell bad.
Ethiopia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and=
those who survive labour may develop a fistula. The team of doctors and =
nurses at the hospital includes former patients, and women who are cured =
are given a new dress to help them overcome the psychological trauma they=
have been through.
'We tell those returning to their husband to wait three or four months =
before sleeping together. We tell them they must have their next baby in =
hospital,' says Sister Ruth Gadessa.
Waiting three or four months is the only birth control any of the women =
practise. 'One or two have heard of the Pill, but it is not widely availa=
ble.' Sterilisation can be done on medical grounds, but otherwise the hus=
band must give his permission. Happily for Yiftusera Bekalu: 'My husband =
is also asking for this."
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 1997
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The Guardian
March 6, 1997, Pg. 11
HEADLINE: ITALY ENDS 50 YEARS OF DELAYS TO SET DATE FOR RETURN OF OBELISK=
SEIZED FROM ETHIOPIA BY MUSSOLINI
BYLINE: John Hooper In Rome
HALF a century after promising to give it back, Italy has set a date for =
the return of one of Ethiopia's most cherished monuments.
The Axum obelisk, which stands outside the headquarters of the United
Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation near the Circo Massimo in Rom=
e, is to be returned by the end of the year, a statement by the foreign =
ministry said.
The obelisk was seized, on the orders of the dictator Benito Mussolini, =
after Italy's conquest of Ethiopia in 1935.
Rome's decision is certain to renew the pressure on other governments to =
surrender looted treasures. Britain has turned down requests from Greece =
for the Elgin Marbles.
Italy seems to have succeeded in making political capital from its gestur=
e: press reports suggested Africa had reciprocated by supporting Rome's =
initiatives at the UN.
Dismantling and removing the obelisk will not be easy - it stands almost =
80ft high and weighs 200 tons.
The monolith, dated to the 3rd century AD, once stood over the tomb of =
a pagan king. The Axumite empire ruled northern Ethiopia for 1,000 years =
until the 8th century AD.
There are more than 1,000 Axumite obelisks, but this is one of the three =
most important because of elaborate carvings on its sides.
Once in Rome it became the centrepiece of celebrations marking the 15th =
anniversary of Mussolini's accession to power.
In 1947 Italy and Ethiopia signed a treaty ordering the Italians to
restore "objects of historical value", but the obelisk remained.
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 1997
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THE ORLANDO SENTINEL
March 6, 1997 Thursday, METRO Pg. A16
HEADLINE: ITALY PROMISES TO RETURN ANCIENT OBELISK TO ETHIOPIA
DATELINE: ROME
Italy has promised Ethiopia it will return an obelisk built as a home =
for the spirits of dead kings and queens that was taken by Italian soldie=
rs 60 years ago. A plan for transporting the 80-foot, solid granite obeli=
sk by the end of the year has been drawn up, Foreign Minister Lamberto =
Dini said. The obelisk was built in 200 B.C.
Reuters North American Wire
March 6, 1997, Thursday, BC cycle
HEADLINE: Witness speaks of torture under Ethiopian junta
BYLINE: By Tsegaye Tadesse
DATELINE: ADDIS ABABA
A witness at the trial of Ethiopia's former "Dergue" Marxist military =
rulers said Thursday she was repeatedly tortured before giving birth in =
a prison in 1979.
She testified at the trial in Addis Ababa of 71 former Dergue officials =
accused of genocide and crimes against humanity. They face the death pena=
lty if they are found guilty.
The witness said she was held in jail for almost 12 years and was repeate=
dly tortured and beaten. She said the torture eased after she told her =
tormentors that she was pregnant.
"I remember a certain Ermias Kebede killing himself by jumping into an
open-pit toilet at the Dergue prison after undergoing sadistic non-stop =
torture," she said.
The 44-year-old woman told the court that when she went into labor, guard=
s refused to come to her aid.
"No one came to help me. After excruciating pains and suffering major bod=
ily harm, I was able to give birth to a baby girl the next morning," adde=
d the woman, who said she had been arrested in northern Ethiopia and impr=
isoned in the capital.
Under court rules the witness cannot be named.
The witness, now a senior official in the prime minister's office, said =
she was taken to the hospital after giving birth.
Only 46 of the 71 accused are in court. The others including dictator
Mengistu Haile Mariam, who ruled Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991 and now liv=
es in Zaimbabwe, are being tried in absentia.
The trial was later adjourned until next Tuesday.
She said in 1986, Lt.-Col. Ednale Tessema, who is one of the accused and =
was then minister of internal affairs, visited the central prison in Addi=
s Ababa almost daily.
She said political prisoners had hoped there would be an amnesty after =
the Dergue set up the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia but to =
their horror many were executed instead.
Ethiopian prosecutors have charged 5,198 people with war crimes, aggravat=
ed homicide and genocide under the Dergue.
LOAD-DATE: March 07, 1997
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Xinhua News Agency
MARCH 6, 1997, THURSDAY
HEADLINE: ethiopians urged to pay attention to oral health care
DATELINE: addis ababa, march 6; ITEM NO: 0306312
ethiopians were today urged to pay attention to oral health care and rais=
e awareness of the existing dental problems in the country. the call cam=
e from dr. wondwessen fantaye, vice presidnet of the ethiopian dental pro=
fessionals association, at a one-day third annual conference of the assoc=
iation here.
dr. wondwessen pointed out that oral health has not been considered among=
the priority health problems in ethiopia. gum and teeth diseases are =
however one of the 15 leading causes of outpatient morbidity in ethiopia,=
he stressed.
at present, he continued, there are only 46 dental surgeons in the countr=
y both in public and the private sectors and the ratio shows only one den=
tist is available for 1.2 million people. the ratio shows that one dentis=
t is available for 114,000 people in uganda, for 60,500 in kenya and for =
only 49,000 in nigeria, he added. dr. wondwessen underlined that absence =
of school of dentistry, very few research and lack of essential facilitie=
s and the graduate number of trained dental professionals are a confirmat=
ion to the fact the sector has not been given the necessary attention. =
he also urged the ministry of health and concerned authorities to conside=
r the problems and give due emphasis to the need of formulating national =
oral health policies and plans based on primary health care.
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 1997
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Xinhua News Agency
MARCH 6, 1997, THURSDAY
HEADLINE: ethiopia's somali region declares state of emergency to contai=
n disaster
DATELINE: addis ababa, march 6; ITEM NO: 0306330
ethiopia's somali region today declared a state of emergency to control =
and withstand the natural disaster that has reportedly befallen the regio=
n.
according to the ethiopian news agency, in a statement issued in jijiga, =
capital city of the region, the executive committee of the regional counc=
il said despite efforts to alleviate problems emanating from scarcity of =
water in the area, the magnitude of the disaster was found to be beyond =
the resources of the region.
it said, people have started to evacuate their villages due to the acute =
shortage of water with animals as well as humans dying from disaster that=
surfaced in the vicinity. the number of aid recipients which was estimat=
ed to be 200,000 earlier has now increased by three-fold, the committee =
said. it called on governmental and humanitarian organizations to coopera=
te in providing tank-trucks, water pumps and generators and medicinal =
drugs. according to local
reports, the somali region in eastern ethiopia was suffering from shortag=
e of rains since last september. over 54,000 tons of food aid is required=
to feed some 600,000 victims in the drought area.
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 1997
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The Guardian
March 5, 1997
Pg. 13
HEADLINE: ETHIOPIA IN DROUGHT PLEA
BYLINE: Alice Martin, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia has issued an urgent appeal for help for drought victims in
southern and eastern parts of the country, where the failure of last year=
's October rains is having a dramatic impact on the largely nomadic popul=
ation.
The country's Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Commission has asked =
for tankers to help carry water.
In Borana, in the far south, the distance between available pasture and =
available water is greater than two day's walk, and cattle are dying from=
exhaustion. Overcrowding of herds has led to the spread of livestock dis=
eases.
LOAD-DATE: March 5, 1997
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Xinhua News Agency
MARCH 6, 1997, THURSDAY
HEADLINE: ethiopia and netherlands agree to exchange students and resear=
chers
DATELINE: addis ababa, march 6; ITEM NO: 0306331
ethiopia and netherlands have agreed to exchange students and researcher=
s. an agreement of cooperation to this effect was signed here today betw=
een the ethiopian international institute for peace and development and =
the netherlands institute of social studies.
according to the agreement, ethiopia will also send students to netherlan=
ds for masters degree. the students could work towards
obtaining a joint degree of the two institutes.
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 1997
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Indigo Publications
March 5, 1997
HEADLINE: Calub Project Underway
An Ethiopian company has kicked off a project to extract and process up =
to 65,000 tons of liquid petroleum products annually from the Calub gas =
and LNG field in Ogaden in southern Ethiopia.
Jehad Abakoyas, general manager of the Calub Gas Development Share Co., =
said in late February that work would soon begin on drilling wells at a =
site 25 km west of Shilabo in central Ogaden. Abakoyas added that a gas =
extraction and processing plant would be built alongside to produce LPG, =
gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil. Once the facility is fully operational=
in two years' time, he said, it could earn up to $ 4.6 million annually =
and supply electricity to towns around the site.
The World Bank put up $ 74 million towards the scheme and the Calub Gas =
Development Share Co. is adding an unspecified amount of its own. Calub =
Gas was set up two and a half years ago with a $ 18 million capital and =
the central Ethiopian government as its main shareholder. Some 400 privat=
e investors and five of Ethiopia's nine regional states also hold stake=
s.
Ethiopia says a survey carried out by a foreign oil company 23 years ago=
pinpointed gas reserves of 74 billion cubic meters. Recently Ethiopia's=
energy and mines ministry signed a contract with BEICIP-Franlab, the con=
sultancy and international engineering unit of Institut Francais du Petro=
le, to examine possible outlets for gas from Calub as well as assess the =
country's oil potential in general (AEM 198).
In the past, BEICIP conducted a study on the potential of Calub's reservo=
ir. It is not clear whether Ethiopia's claim of gas reserves of 74 billio=
n c.m. stemmed from that survey. The new BEICIP study is being bankrolled=
by the World Bank.
LOAD-DATE: March 7, 1997
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The Independent
March 5, 1997, Wednesday
Page 14
HEADLINE: 'Brain destruction' by junta
Ethiopia's former Marxist rulers made a deliberate effort to destroy
educated people in the country, a witness said in a genocide trial.
The witness was testifying at the trial of 71 former Ethiopian Marxist =
officials accused of genocide and crimes against humanity. All 71 could =
be sentenced to death if found guilty. "I am of the opinion that killings=
undertaken by the Dergue the military junta in Ethiopia were aimed at =
a brain destruction," the witness, a former educator, told the court.
LOAD-DATE: March 05, 1997
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Inter Press Service
March 5, 1997, Wednesday
HEADLINE: SUDAN-POLITICS: EX-REBEL LEADER TURNS ON HIS FORMER ALLIES
BYLINE: By Nhial Bol
DATELINE: KHARTOUM, Mar. 5
The accusations against neighboring countries broadcast on the state medi=
a this week could easily have come from an official of Sudan's government=
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