ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -(AP) President Barack Obama urged Ethiopia’s leaders Monday to curb crackdowns on press freedom and political openness as he opened a trip that human rights groups say legitimizes an oppressive government.
“When all voices are being heard, when people know they are being included in the political process, that makes a country more successful,” Obama said during a joint news conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Obama’s trip marks the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Ethiopia, a fast-growing economy once defined by poverty and famine.
Despite Ethiopia’s progress, there are deep concerns about political freedoms on the heels of May elections in which the ruling party won every seat in parliament.
Obama said he was frank in his discussions with Ethiopian leaders about the need to allow political opponents to operate freely. He also defended his decision to travel to the East African nation, comparing it to U.S. engagement with China, another nation with a poor human rights record.
“Nobody questions our need to engage with large countries where we may have differences on these issues,” he said. “That’s true with Africa as well.”
Ethiopia’s prime minister defended his country’s commitment to democracy.
“Our commitment to democracy is real — not skin deep,” he said.
Short and informative. You’re a boss!
I was just looking at your Obama urges Ethiopia to curb crackdowns on media, opposition | Hiber Radio site and see that your website has the potential to become very popular. I just want to tell you, In case you didn’t already know… There is a website network which already has more than 16 million users, and the majority of the users are looking for websites like yours. By getting your website on this service you have a chance to get your site more popular than you can imagine. It is free to sign up and you can find out more about it here: http://pandalove.info/35p0i – Now, let me ask you… Do you need your website to be successful to maintain your business? Do you need targeted traffic who are interested in the services and products you offer? Are looking for exposure, to increase sales, and to quickly develop awareness for your website? If your answer is YES, you can achieve these things only if you get your site on the service I am talking about. This traffic service advertises you to thousands, while also giving you a chance to test the service before paying anything. All the popular sites are using this network to boost their readership and ad revenue! Why aren’t you? And what is better than traffic? It’s recurring traffic! That’s how running a successful website works… Here’s to your success! Find out more here: http://www.teqdar.net/shortl/6adt
Hello my name is Teresa and I just wanted to send you a quick note here instead of calling you. I discovered your Obama urges Ethiopia to curb crackdowns on media, opposition | Hiber Radio website and noticed you could have a lot more traffic. I have found that the key to running a successful website is making sure the visitors you are getting are interested in your subject matter. There is a company that you can get keyword targeted visitors from and they let you try the service for free for 7 days. I managed to get over 300 targeted visitors to day to my website. http://misdivi.de/at